Firegate Sentry

Computer and network security is a serious issue for everyone from individual home users to global enterprises. Small businesses have a higher need and obligation to protect the network than a home user, but lack the budget or personnel of a global enterprise. Small businesses need effective security that doesn't require too much administration or expertise and that doesn't break the bank.

The Firegate Sentry from Wiresoft provides a self-configuring firewall with tranpsarent virus protection to scan incoming email, web and FTP data to ensure it is safe. It can establish VPN (Virtual Private Network) connections between offices or for remote employees accessing the network over the Internet using IPSec or PPTP.

The Sentry can be implemented in routing or bridging mode, making it compatible with any host network. Wiresoft designed the Firegate Sentry to be configured and operational on your network in under 30 minutes.

The Sentry performs antivirus scanning transparently in the background. Because it scans incoming traffic before it goes to client machines there is no need to install any agent or software or configure the client devices in any way. Users will continue to use their email and the Internet just as they always have. Wiresoft states that the user will not even know the Sentry is scanning their network traffic unless malware is detected at which point the offending traffic will be halted.

The Sentry will receive virus signature updates every 2 hours. Wiresoft's ANA (Artificial Network Administrator) service. Firewall, VPN and antivirus in one device provides a good value for SMB's.

The Firegate Sentry appliance acts as a proxy for incoming information, allowing it to intercept and analyze entire files. Detecting a virus within a single packet of data is exceptionally difficult. Instead, the Sentry acquires the entire file, scans it for viruses or other malware and then retransmits the file to its intended destination within the network.

As part of its function as a firewall, the Sentry acts as a proxy for Web (HTTP), FTP, POP3 and SMTP traffic. Requests from clients on the internal network are intercepted and validated by the Sentry before being retransmitted to the intended destination on the public Internet.

When the server on the public Internet replies, the data is sent to the Sentry which ensures that the traffic is legitimate and that it is virus and other malware free before resending it to the destination client machine on the internal network.

One advantage to this proxy system is that it is transparent. Unlike a normal proxy, where the client systems must be properly configured and authentication is usually required, the Sentry performs its proxy duties without unbeknownst to the end users.

The Sentry proxies can be enabled or disabled to configure which data streams are monitored.

My "lab" network does not have enough devices or use enough network bandwidth to really put this appliance through the wringer, but it faired very well during my experience.

It took only about 10 minutes to get the device out of the box and connected to the network. Initially I installed the Sentry in router mode, removing my existing firewall from the network and allowing the Firegate Sentry to act as my sole network defense.

Straight from the box, the Sentry is configured to run as a router and use DHCP to distribute IP addresses to devices on the internal network. By default, it will also use DHCP to attempt to get an IP address and networking information for the public Internet.

Voila! With nothing more than plugging it in and connecting the LAN cables the Sentry retrieved its network information and IP address from my ISP and started handing out IP addresses on the internal network. In a flash I had a NAT (Network Address Translation) router, firewall and antivirus scanning device with VPN access for my network.

I had to do some reading to figure out how, but I eventually re-configured the network so that my other firewall device provided the firewall protection for the network, but the Sentry still did the antivirus.

Overall I had a good experience with the Firegate Sentry appliance. It performed well out of the box and was relatively easy to install and configure.

All-in-one devices are not always the way to go because they tend to be mediocre at a lot of tasks while excelling at nothing. This device is not the most powerful, but for small to medium businesses it performs admirably for the money.

Coupled with Wiresoft's ANA service, which automates the process of updating the virus signatures and can automatically notify the responsible party or take proactive action on its own if a problem arises with the Sentry, this solution will benefit many companies that lack the budget or expertise for enterprise-class protection.

The ANA service also automatically delivers, installs, and verifies new features on existing Sentry systems to bring them up to the most current Sentry version available. For small to medium businesses this product is definitely worth looking into. You can get details or contact Wiresoft using the information below.

Web: Firegate Sentry Appliance

Phone: 866-333-4567

Email: sales@wiresoft.net

Price: Starting at $995 with 1 year of ANA service included (ANA is $120 per year afterward with no per-client licensing)