Hacker-thwarting tools to abound at N+I show

LAS VEGAS - Security vendors want to make the world a safer place by giving you a way to shoot down hostile applets or patrol your net for vulnerabilities.

At NetWorld+Interop 99, L3 Communications Network Security Systems, a vendor that until now has sold mainly into the military market, will debut the Retriever LAN security probe. The product can analyze network nodes and services and report back on security holes.

"You can schedule Retriever to do daily checks," says Ken Berry, L3's director of product marketing. "It uses methods such as Ping, SNMP, and port scanning on your network operating systems and firewalls. It could tell you if someone added a device or changed the services on the network."

The Retriever security tool will report back on the number of vulnerabilities you have and how to fix them, he says. It works on any kind of LAN, and L3 is pricing licenses for the tool according to the size of the network. For instance, it costs $500 per Class C address block.

Also at Interop, Internet Security Sys-tems (ISS)will announce upgrades for two of its products, Internet Scanner and Database Scanner.

"The upgrades in both are related to managing information risk in an electronic commerce environment," says Patrick Taylor, ISS vice president of strategic marketing. Specifically, Internet Scanner 5.8 will add a way to detect security vulnerabilities in certain Web applications, including ones built using Allaire's Cold Fusion application-development product, in which security vulnerabilities were identified recently.

"We've also added a lot of new Unix checks, and a capability called FlexCheck to ensure certain directory files can be read by only a limited group of people," Taylor says.

Database Scanner 2.1 will add support for Microsoft SQL Server 7, allowing the ISS tool to monitor unauthorized attempts at object access or stored procedure use.

Another security product being introduced at Interop is designed to block hostile Java or ActiveX applets that might do damage to files after users inadvertently download them from the Web into an intranet.

Finjan Software, Inc. will introduce SurfinShield Corporate 4.0, desktop software that works with the user's browser to block ActiveX or Java code. The new version can prevent a hostile Web-based applet from copying or erasing a person's Microsoft Office files. "We call this Auto-Launch Blocking, and the policy determined by the security manager can determine where this feature is used," says Bill Lyons, Finjan's president and CEO. Expected to ship in June, SurfinShield Corporate 4.0 will cost about $128 per user.