Content

Sygate Secure Enterprise

Sygate Technologies says that its policy enforcement ensures remote connections over a VPN are not exposed to hijacking of data. It ensures remote authentication is only made if the user conforms to the policy set in force. This makes a lot of sense.

What Sygate Secure Enterprise provides is the ability to maintain certain rules, even for remote users. These include whether their firewall is current and configured correctly, if the remote user's anti-virus is up to corporate specifications and, equally important, up to date. These are just a few example of areas where compliance may be required.

This approach ensures security is not jeopardized by remote users taking short cuts with their own security. If they want to connect then they comply - it's as plain and simple as that.

Three components are required to set up the product. The implementation is fairly straightforward, and is ideal for the larger business model focused on securing remote access and data transfer.

You should consider the integration of your current security applications and devices as you plan your deployment, to take full advantage of Sygate Secure Enterprise.

Only the Sygate personal firewall can be utilized by your remote and internal users, and certain VPNs may not be easily recognized. Having said that, most popular vendors such as Nortel, Cisco, NetScreen and Check Point are fine.

The solution requires agents to be placed on any vehicle used on your network, and for communication and access to your network. This means each laptop will require an agent, as will servers and workstations.

The main installation is the Sygate Management Server, although if required you can run several. In that event, synchronization of your server clocks is a must where the same database is being utilized.

The Management Server is the area you work from to provide groups and locations for user rules. Groups hold your clients in a tree-like fashion, and can be set by different criteria depending on the individual corporate specifications within your organization.

These include user groups, which are defined by user logon credentials, and computer groups that allow any user the same rights as those allocated to the computers in that particular group.

Profiles (your policy settings) are then assigned to these groups to ensure compliance in accordance with the allocated permissions.

Product title
Sygate Secure Enterprise
Product info
Name: Sygate Secure Enterprise (Policy Managemnet group test) Description: Price: $25 to $85 per user
Strength
Provides a rule-based network-wide usage policy for all connections, including remote users.
Weakness
Sygate Security Agent is not compatible with other personal firewalls and the signature files for McAfee 4.0.3 Anti-Virus are not recognized by the Agent, requiring a custom host integrity rule to solve the problem.
Verdict
More complicated than some policy management tools, but it provides extensive security for remote connections, a real plus.

Get daily email updates

SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news

By clicking the Subscribe button below, you agree to SC Media Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.