David Strom

Cisco ASA has better application granularity, a more flexible means of policy creation, and easier to use controls and more powerful reports than its predecessors. We tested the ASA-5525-X in January 2013 and found a much improved user interface and lots of content-aware features. *******cisco****/go/asacx Pricing starts at $13,500 for hardware and software subscriptions

Symantec's 2012 version has a complete user interface makeover that vastly simplifies the backup and recovery process, making it easier to automate backup and even save copies to cloud-based storage. There are major improvements to protect virtualized machines too. Symantec Corporation Mountain View, Calif. Follow BackupExec on Twitter *******Www.BackupExec**** *******www.backupexec****/besbe Backup Exec 2012 Small Business Edition Starting at $995 MSRP

Symantec's backup service is easy to setup, can support multiple computers and keep track of previous file versions, includes protection for both Windows desktops and Servers, and is reasonably priced cloud-based backup for small businesses at $7 per GB per year. Symantec Corporation *******bit.ly/K5SUD5

Nimble offers a way to unify and better engage your social network contacts and track your customers and prospects. We tested version 2.0 in February and found lots of great enhancements, including support for Google Plus and Facebook business pages and integrations with leading SMB marketing tools. There is a free plan and a paid corporate one for $15 per user per month. *******nimble****

SoleraSix from Solera Networks will provide greater detail of your network traffic and help you respond quickly – and intelligently – to network-based threats. The SoleraSix product takes the form of a hardware or virtual appliance to capture all network traffic and a Web browser front-end. Prices start at $10,000 for the Virtual Appliance model. We tested SoleraSix on a live network in February 2012. *******SoleraNetworks**** 877-5Solera

Wave Systems is a leading provider of self-encrypting drive management solutions. Self-encrypting drives are now included in many desktop and laptop computer hard drives. This video will show you how to deploy it and some of its protective properties. Embassy Remote Administration Server Wave Systems *******wave****/products/eras.asp Price: Starts at $92 per seat MSRP, quantity discounts available ERAS is a snap-in to Microsoft's Management Console and integrates with Active Directory. It runs on any Windows Server. We tested it in November 2011.

The latest version of Symantec's Endpoint Protection software offers a comprehensive defense incorporating seven different security technologies in a single agent-based product that can handle anti-virus, device and application control, network-based intrusions, and phishing attacks. It has a single management console with reports that are easy to understand. We tested v12.1 on a small network running Windows Server 2003, Mac and Windows XP machines in August 2011. Price: ranging from $31-$54 per client with volume and competitive discounts available and free 30-day trial for unlimited licenses; Server licensed free. Supports: - Endpoints: Windows 7, Vista or XP, Windows Server 2003 & 2008, Windows Small Business Server 2008 & 2011 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008Mac OS, and unmanaged Linux clients - Manager: Windows 7 or XP, Windows Server 2003 & 2008, Windows Small Business Server 2008 & 2011 and Windows Essential Business Server 2008 Symantec**** 350 Ellis Street Mountain View, CA 94043 *******go.symantec****/sep12

If you are tired of patching your many security solutions and are looking for a simple yet effective managed security appliance, Network Box offers a new protection direction. Combining several dozen active scanning technologies, they can provide advanced anti-malware and network protection within seconds of discovering an attack. Network Box USA *******blog****workboxusa****/david-strom-video/ Price (US only): 100-user enterprise is between $5400 and $11,000 per year for all UTM options enabled.

TuneUp Utilities – Version 2011 can help speed up your PC with a new collection of tuning features that is powerful yet extremely easy to use. Price: $49.95 for three PCs, upgrades for $29.95 Download a free, 15-day trial here: *******www.tune-up****/download

The combination of McAfee’s TrustedSource reputation system and geo-location filtering can help to better protect your network when using McAfee Firewall v8, as you can see in this short video.

McAfee Firewall v8 has a lot of flexibility when it comes to blocking difficult applications like BitTorrent, and in this short video, we show you how to do so using a combination of features in the firewall.

Network admins need more granular control over how Secure Shell (SSH) connections traverse their networks, and in this short video, we show how McAfee Firewall v8 can be used to allow SSH for file transfer and terminal connections but be used to block BitTorrent apps from tunneling through that protocol.

We show in this short video an innovative method available in McAfee Firewall v8 that is called AppPrism. It can identify particular applications and control parts of their behavior, such as blocking Instant Messaging file transfer but allowing the actual IM chats themselves.

McAfee’s Firewall Enterprise version 8 has more protection that can be more easily configured than the Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) 5500. We look at three distinguishing areas in this video: • creating firewall rules • protecting their network users and applications • integrating other security features into their firewalls McAfee 3965 Freedom Circle Santa Clara, CA 95054 888-847-8766 *******www.mcafee****/firewall/ Pricing: Starts at $1500

This allows you to set up policies, access rules, and other security measures to segregate your virtual infrastructure from your users. It comes with integration with Microsoft's Active Directory users and groups, and a newly designed user interface with the ability to handle extremely large virtual installations. We tested the appliance during March 2010. Pricing: Download for free, limited to managing three hosts Other versions start at $1000 per host Hytrust****

SEPATON's S2100 is a virtual tape library backup appliance that can work to significantly reduce backup completion and restore times and cut down on storage requirements. It has a flexible capacity to hold from 10TB to over 1 PB. SEPATON S2100-ES2 v5 400 Nickerson Road Marlborough, MA 01752 Sepaton**** 508 490 7900

Looking to do a better job monitoring all of your network's applications portfolio? The GV-2010 is a unit designed to give you very granular control over how your end users use particular applications, and inspect all of your content leaving your network. We tested the appliance on a small network in February 2010. Global Velocity GV-2010 Globalvelocity**** St. Louis MO 314 880 2900