Astaro's Security Linux 5.1 takes the open source Linux software and hardens it, but also adds commercial software for a complete security package. It comes with six components: firewall, VPN, anti-virus (provided by Kaspersky), content filtering, anti-spam and intrusion prevention.
Based on a Toshiba Magnia SG20 solution developer kit, this unit runs a special version of Linux created by Astaro. It includes a firewall, VPN, DHCP server, traffic management and content filter. The latter includes web blocking and anti-spam.
The firewall uses stateful packet inspection and includes proxies for HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, POP3, DNS, IDENT and SOCKS. It has user authentication and offers protection from the most common forms of DoS attacks. Of course, it provides network address translation. In addition it detects port scanning.
We looked at version 3.0 of this product in the virtual private network Group Test last year, and it is good to see it being evaluated as a firewall this time around. Astaro might not be a familiar name to most people, but it deserves to be if it continues to produce products such as this.