Linksys and TrendMicro Aim for Better Internet Security

Remember that ’70s Reese’s commercial? You got chocolate in my peanut butter…you got peanut butter on my chocolate? Well, Linksys and Trend Micro have joined forces to create an Internet security version of two great tastes that taste great together.


Today Linksys announced it’s integrating Trend Micro ProtectLink Gateway – a subscription-based unified threat management (UTM) service – into select models of its Cisco Small Business routers. It’s designed to protect small business networks from spam, viruses, spyware, bots, phishing, inappropriate Web sites and other types of security threats.


According to Bill Hansey, product-marketing manager at Trend Micro, the ProtectLink service offers performance advantages over dedicated UTM hardware appliances that plug directly into a network. “All of the processing required to scan for the various threats takes place in the UTM appliance and creates a bottleneck,” he said.


Hansey went on to say that the processing demand essentially crushes the appliance or forces you to shut off some of the features. “The scanning in ProtectLink happens on Trend Micro’s servers so small business network performance, and employee productivity, doesn’t suffer.”


John Hermano, Trend Micro’s director of small business product services, said that adding ProtectLink to select Linksys by Cisco Business Series Routers gives small business owners another layer of security in the fight against Web-borne security threats. The service includes three Trend Micro technologies – anti-spam, Web Reputation and URL filtering, which the company said provides the following functions:



  • Anti-spam filters in-bound e-mail for spam, viruses, spyware, bots, phishing and other malware;
  • Web Reputation helps customers determine which sites are safe to visit and blocks known unsafe sites;
  • URL filtering blocks out inappropriate or non-work related Web sites that could expose employees to offensive Web content known to distribute malware.

The service reroutes a company’s incoming Web traffic to Trend Micro’s servers, where, said Hansey, it’s filtered, scrubbed and then delivered to the customer. “All the work is done on our servers,” he said. “There’s no hard work involved for small businesses, no tuning, patching or maintenance. We believe it’s more cost-effective than other solutions while providing greater value and simplicity.”


The ProtectLink Gateway is currently available on one Linksys router, the 10/100 4-Port VPN Router (RV042). Hermano said that other routers integrated with the ProtectLink service should roll out every 30 days. The company stated that the next two routers with the service will follow soon: the 4-Port Gigabit Security Router with VPN Secure (RVS4000) with Gigabit networking and the Wireless-N Gigabit Security Router with VPN (WRVS4400N) for wireless networking capability.


You can purchase Linksys by Cisco Business Series routers with Trend Micro ProtectLink Gateway through select retailers, major distributors and channel partners. The 10/100 4-Port VPN Router (RV042) sells for $184.99.

The annual subscription cost for the ProtectLink Gateway subscription service (a five-seat license) is $114.99. A 25-seat license sells for $464.99.

Lauren Simonds is the managing editor of SmallBusinessComputing.com





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