Free Security Suite For Small Businesses

[Thaising]

You can get free antivirus software, free anti-spyware software, and a free firewall individually, but it is a rare thing to get them all together in a suite for use at work. A lot of free security software is intended for the home user only.

This week, a company called Untangle, previously called Metavize, announced that businesses with 10 employees or fewer would be able to download for free its security software--which includes antivirus, anti-spyware, firewall, antispam and other components. All the business would need to have is the server to run the software.

Right now, Untangle's security software components are based on open-source code, to which the company has added a graphic user interface and other enhancements. Spam Blocker, for example, is based on SpamAssassin, the open-source spam-filter project. Antivirus protection comes from Clam Antivirus. Intrusion prevention comes from Snort. Untangle says that spyware signatures come from multiple sources and that it has developed its own firewall. But it's not open source or bust. The company says that it is open to licensing paid security software components if necessary in the future.

You don't need powerful hardware to run Untangle software, which installs a Linux operating system. System requirements are listed on the site.

http://www.untangle.com/

Untangle says that the free-for-10-user deal is ongoing and hopes that the news will entice bigger companies to pay for Untangle wares. Right now, Untangle charges $75 per month for businesses of 11 to 30 users, and $195 per month for companies upwards of 30 users.