* Try out Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004
Microsoft has made available 120-day evaluation copies of the new Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004
The subject of the last issue was free training, but this time I want to mention some free software. It seems that hardly a week goes by when I don’t mention security and Windows at least in passing. This week is no exception, but it’s good news that I’m bringing.
Microsoft has made available 120-day evaluation copies of the new Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2004, which can be downloaded from the link below. If you prefer, for only $1.88, you can order the software on a CD.
Note that ISA requires Windows Server 2003. If you haven’t already moved to the platform, you can download a trial version of the server software (or order it on CD) at https://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/trial/default.mspx in either 32- or 64-bit versions.
I talked about ISA a couple of months ago (see editorial link below) when it was announced that, in conjunction with hardware partners HP, Network Engines, Celestix Networks and Avantis, an appliance version of the product was being released as a drop-in, plug-and-play network security device.
But if you don’t need the hardware, or prefer to do the configuration and setup yourself, buying ISA as a software-only product is a decided advantage. But even if you think the appliance version might work best for you (to ship to a technologically challenged branch office, for example), you still ought to take advantage of the free trial to see what the product can do.
Among the many features of ISA Server 2004 are:
* Multilayered firewall security.
* Stateful inspection.
* Smart application filtering.
* Secure server publishing.
* Intrusion detection.
* Integrated VPN.
* Firewall transparency.
* Strong user authentication.
* SSL-to-SSL bridging.
And those are just the security features! (Note: If any of those terms were strange to you, check the further explanations at https://www.microsoft.com/isaserver/evaluation/features/ .) There are dozens of other useful services, including a nice Web caching server featuring high-performance Web caching, intelligent caching and scheduled caching.
Download or order the package and try it out. It can’t hurt, it won’t be boring, and it just might be the tool you need to make your network more secure.
