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Technology Stocks : Check Point Software (CHKP) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: P-san who wrote (1941)	4/4/1998 12:55:00 AM
From: Sbtorres	Respond to of 7150

Firebox/Firewall Here is an article from Investor's Business daily. Firebox is for small-business owners and should be a threat to Checkpoint ala msft/csco. ****** WatchGuard Technologies Inc. is trying to make network protection easy and inexpensive for the small-business owner. The Seattle start-up has developed a new device called Firebox for the less technically savvy. Firebox is designed to easily hook into a network and relay information in a simple manner. Analysts say the company seems to have accomplished its task. ''It's plug and play,'' said Ira Machefsky, an industry analyst at the research firm Giga Information Group in Santa Clara, Calif. ''If you can hook up a network, you can hook up this.'' The Firebox is a ''firewall appliance,'' an all-in-one hardware device that performs the tasks of a firewall. Traditionally, firewalls have consisted of software loaded onto computers running either Unix or Windows NT operating systems. They have been expensive to buy and hard to maintain. A firewall is the layer that protects a company's internal network from the dangers of the Internet. By authenticating users and encrypting files, it prevents hackers from accessing sensitive corporate data. Firewalls also can stop employees from checking out inappropriate Web sites. Firewall protection is a market that should heat up. In four years, analysts figure, Firebox- like appliances will account for most of firewall sales. Pundits say that at just under $4,000, the Firebox shows promise. But WatchGuard isn't alone in the market. Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. sells a higher-end firewall appliance called Pix Firewall. Atlanta-based Technologic Inc. offers a device for the same price as the Firebox, but it doesn't have all the same software features. And TimeStep Corp., a unit of Newbridge Networks Corp., sells what it calls a ''solid-state firewall'' for a bit more - $5,000. Fortune 500 firms buy their firewalls from companies such as Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. in Israel. Large corporations usually have their own network-support staffs and can manage the complexity of the software. WatchGuard is aiming for the lower end of the market - small to medium- sized companies, schools and other organizations. It also figures branch offices of large corporations could use the Firebox. ''The Firebox is geared toward companies that don't have a lot of in-house technical expertise,'' said Christopher Slatt, president and chief executive of WatchGuard. The price is also more palatable for small companies. Software firewalls can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The Firebox is operated via security management software that runs on any PC. The software uses simple graphics to explain the status of the network. It also is equipped to detect hackers. Fireboxes set up at different sites can be joined to create a ''virtual private network.'' A VPN allows users to communicate via the Internet the same way they would with a private network. For another $1,500, users get reports on how their employees are using the Web and can block inappropriate sites. They also can see a chart that shows exactly how much bandwidth they are using at any given time. This could help an administrator decide whether or not to upgrade the network. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Copyright (c) 1998 Investors Business Daily, All rights reserved. Investor's Business Daily - Computers & Technology (04/06/98) Will Firebox Cool Off Hot Security Issues? By Nick Turner Transmitted: 4/3/98 6:04 PM (p0acpyua)