WebDefender 2.0 protects intranets

ROCKVILLE, MD. - As organizations grant more business partners access to their intranets, so grows the problem of restricting access to sensitive data.

Axent Technologies is taking a swing at this problem with WebDefender 2.0, the latest version of the company's server software for checking user identity through static or dynamic passwords.

WebDefender now works not just with Microsoft's Web server, but with any Web server. And the product no longer uses a proprietary database to store user permissions, but can make use of Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) directories where this data may already be stored.

LDAP a plus

"It's real nice," says Geoff Meek, Web site applications manager at Open Market, which has deployed WebDefender as the single point where customers log on to use Open Market's set of extranet applications for order processing or discussion forums.

"The advantage of the LDAP support is that there are other applications that use it, too, for storing user data," Meek says.

In addition, the latest version of WebDefender can accomplish single sign-on access for multiple NT or Unix servers through a component called SecureLink Bridge for Unix. "One machine is acting as the protector for all the other machines," Meek points out.

Axent Product Manager Vic Demarines says that in a mixed NT and Unix environment, SecureLink Bridge plays the role of a proxy server so that the user seeking Web access always gets directed to this central authentication point on the network.

WebDefender costs between $5,000 and $35,000, depending on the number of Web servers.

Axent: (888) 442-9368