StillSecure Releasess Free Network Access Control Solution

Safe Access Lite shortens time to learn NAC-implementation, displays security posture without need for network infrastructure changes

• By James E. Powell
• 09/24/2007

StillSecure today announced Safe Access Lite, a free version of its network access control (NAC) solution. The company says Safe Access Lite is an easy-to-install, non-disruptive version of Safe Access that monitors the security of up to 250 endpoints using any combination of StillSecure's three testing methods (agentless, agent-based, and Web-based non-persistent agent).

Using Safe Access Lite, network and security administrators can enjoy the benefits of NAC without needing to make network changes or exposing end users to risks. Safe Access Lite examines device, computer, and endpoint compliance so IT can see how NAC affects the organization's business.

"The industry has been crying out for something to ease the pain of NAC implementations," said Alan Shimel, chief strategy officer at StillSecure. "Safe Access Lite ... makes it easy to understand how NAC affects your business by finding out how compliant your computers are, checking for the health of your devices, and helping to plan for a successful NAC implementation." Organizations can then enforce NAC policies by manually quarantining unsafe devices or by upgrading to the commercial version of Safe Access.

The company says hundreds of health checks are available to fully assess an endpoint's security; it can test for everything from operating system patches and hotfixes to security and browser settings. The Lite version will also examine personal firewalls, anti-virus/anti-spyware, and check for required and prohibited software (such as P2P and instant messaging). It will test for the latest worms, Trojans, and viruses. Finding "dirty" NAC endpoints can then be corrected before the NAC is implemented across the enterprise.

"Interest in NAC continues to grow, particularly given NAC's potential to be a great option for addressing challenges with guest networking -- visitors, consultants, [and others] trying to connect to a corporate network," according to Andreas Antonopoulos, senior vice president and founding partner with Nemertes Research, in a StillSecure release. "One of the main barriers to adoption has been NAC's reputation of being difficult to implement, especially without significant network upgrades. The good news is vendors have made a lot of progress evolving their solutions to better work within an enterprise's existing network infrastructure."

The full, commercial version of Safe Access offers policy enforcement, remediation, and post-connect NAC.

Additional information are available at http://www.stillsecure.org. The StillSecure Safe Access Lite download site is http://salite.stillsecure.com; the software is offered as a pre-built, pre-configured and ready-to-run VMware download for quick installation and ease of use. Support for Safe Access Lite is available via online support forums.