Mi5 Networks Secure Web Gateway Appliance Protects Against Web Malware, Botnets

Webgate 3.0 includes URL filtering, anti-spyware, anti-virus, and anti-botnet features

• By James E. Powell
• 06/25/2007

Mi5 Networks today released the Webgate line of high-speed appliances that protect Web users and detect botnet activity on an enterprise network. Webgate employs Mi5's proprietary S2 Streaming Engine and inspects and filters bidirectional Web traffic as well as internal network communications on all ports and protocols. The company says the protection comes “without imposing user discernible slowdowns associated with proxy-based products.”

Webgate can protect against malicious URLs, spyware, and viruses. It intercepts and filters inbound and outbound data streams in real-time. An enterprise can define and enforce acceptable-use and Web-security policies at the Internet Gateway. Webgate combines network behavior heuristics (which the company developed) and signature-based malware detection data from several providers, including IBM, Sophos, and Sunbelt. The program can also control user behavior by preventing users from uploading and downloading files in any of almost 300 formats.

To guard against botnets, Webgate inspects all inbound and outbound Web streams; it also monitors internal network activity. Using proprietary Mi5 algorithms, Webgate “automatically identifies Bots, detects Botnet traffic, and can disinfect hijacked machines based on policy settings,” according to a company release, and can track Bots attempting to find and infect systems connected to the network.

"Web traffic is the new backdoor that enables malicious software to sneak undetected into an organization's network and silently install Bots, which are rapidly becoming the leading threat to corporate security," said Doug Camplejohn, founder and CEO of Mi5 Networks, in a release.

To automatically remediate malware infections, Webgate identifies infected PCs and indicates the severity of the problem. It can automatically launch a cleanup agent, called SpyWash, to fix the infected hosts without the need for a restart.

A policies and drill-down reporting engine keeps track of “botnet activity, remote attacks, spyware phone homes, malware detections, infected clients, as well as URL and file upload/download inspections,” according to Mi5 Networks.

Webgate is available in five models based on network size; prices begin at $3,495. For more information visit http://www.mi5networks.com.