Astaro launches free firewall for SMBs

Network security vendor Astaro has launched a free firewall product designed to boost the threat protection capabilities of small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) with limited resources to spend on security tools.

The Essential Firewall edition of the firm's Astaro Security Gateway solution is available as a software or virtual appliance, and includes network address translation and remote access support.

Also featured are logging and reporting to give administrators visibility into the network and the threats they face, and a web based GUI with a set-up wizard, explained Astaro chief software architect Gert Hansen.

"We've seen SMBs, especially those at the lower end, tending to use consumer equipment for security because of cost issues," he added.

"They're not willing to pay a lot for a professional solution, so we've removed a few of the advanced features and made this free Essential Firewall edition."

Customers that see their business and security requirements grow are able to purchase additional functionality such as intrusion prevention, email encryption and URL filtering, the firm said.