Yoggie: A Watchdoggie for Notebooks

One of the major benefits of having a mobile workforce is being able to respond to clients, customers and colleagues at any time from just about anywhere, including cafes, airports and hotels. Things can get a bit tricky, however, when it comes to protecting your data whenever you plug in and logon to these very public and non-secure networks.

Yoggie Security Systems, a security company formed in 2005 and headquartered in Israel, has announced the Yoggie Gatekeeper, a device it describes as a “miniature mobile security computer” that’s designed to protect notebooks from a raft of digital dangers typically found on open, public networks.








The Yoggie Gatekeeper
Guard Duty: The Yoggie Gatekeeper is designed to keep your notebook safe when you logon to public hotspots at cafes, airports or hotels.

“When you’re traveling,” says Schlomo Touboul, CEO and founder of Yoggie Security Systems, and you access a hot spot or login to the Internet at a hotel or airport, you’re sitting on the same network infrastructure as all the other guests. You’re data is not secure.”

As Touboul describes it, Yoggie is a palm-sized computer that contains 13 different security applications — the same type an IT center would offer. You connect to the Internet through the Yoggie, which physically isolates your notebook from any incoming Internet threats.

Yoggie measures 4.125- x 2.0- x .0.875-inches and weighs 2.5 ounces and comes with its own processor, memory and Linux operating system. According to Touboul, the device offers notebooks the following protection:


  • Firewall
  • VPN
  • IPS and IDS: Intrusion prevention and intrusion detection
  • Anti-virus
  • Anti-spyware
  • Anti-phishing
  • Content filtering
  • HTTP and FTP Proxies (Yoggie Basic and Pro)
  • POP3 and SMTP Proxies (Yoggie Pro)

In addition, the appliance uses the following proprietary, patent-pending technology developed by Yoggie Security systems.

Layer 8 Security Engine: Touboul says this feature protects notebooks from unknown attacks and new viruses without the need for virus signatures. It’s designed to scan incoming content and to detect and block malicious code as it arrives for the first time.

Multi-Layer Security Agent: Software designed to coordinate between Yoggie’s different security components to provide early detection of new attacks.

Adaptive Security Policy: Touboul says the agent analyzes the risk level of the sites you visit. For example, a gambling site might try to load Active X to your PC in an attempt to spy on your habits. CNN also downloads it to your PC, but not for nefarious purposes, so it’s a much lower risk.

Yoggie plugs into and draws power from the USB port and does not require any setup or configuration. The device works regardless of the way you connect to the Internet, says Touboul. “It doesn’t matter what type of connection you use — dial-up, broadband, Wi-Fi, or wireless broadband — Yoggie intercepts the Internet traffic before it hits your operating system.”

Starting in November, the Yoggie will be available in two configurations, Yoggie Basic and Yoggie Pro, which will sell for $180 and $220, respectively. Both include a one-year update subscription. An annual $30 subscription fee starts the second year. The Pro version comes with more memory, a faster processor and e-mail and spam protection. The Pro can also support up to five notebooks.

The Yoggie Management Server, a 1U rack-mount appliance, is available for companies with 50 — 500 Yoggie devices. It provides a unified way to manage the devices, push security updates and generate reports. It will sell for $5,000.

Lauren Simonds is the managing editor of SmallBusinessComputing.com





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