NetScreen, Trend Micro team on security

Network security device maker NetScreen and antivirus company Trend Micro announced on Monday that they had teamed up to release a single security appliance under both their brand names.

The device--sold as the NetScreen 5-GT and as the Trend Micro GateLock--is the first result of a partnership that the two companies announced in May, when they agreed to develop several gateway devices for specific applications.

For Trend Micro, which last introduced a hardware product in North America back in 1988, the move is unlikely to presage a slew of new hardware devices. Rather, it's about creating a product that's easy to use for small offices, said Bob Hansmann, the director of enterprise product marketing at the Cupertino, Calif.-based company.

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"Sometimes these offices don't have a person that can even spell 'Internet security,'" he said. "With this (product), the administrator (at the corporate headquarters) can tell the person to plug the Internet cable into the port that says 'Untrust' and plug the network cable into any of the four ports that says 'Trust,' and you are done."

The device, which is designed to protect corporate systems from the entry of viruses, worms and other network- and application-level dangers, is the latest product to integrate several security functions into a single appliance. The software includes a firewall, intrusion detection, virtual private network capabilities and the new antivirus features provided by Trend Micro.

Both companies plan to sell the device to companies interested in having security devices that a central administrator can maintain remotely.

"It's suitable for small offices, but we focus on remote office and telecommuters," said Robert Ma, the director of product marketing for NetScreen.

The appliance is the first of NetScreen's products to include antivirus functions, Ma said. Eventually, the Sunnyvale, Calif., company's entire line of security appliances will include such functions.

Trend Micro may team up with other security hardware makers and release more devices, Hansmann said.

"You should expect more appliance-based solutions coming from Trend Micro," he said. "But you should expect it to come from our partner-based strategy."

Current owners of 5GT appliances can upgrade to ScreenOS 5.0, which includes the antivirus functionality, when it becomes available later this month. The device will be available from NetScreen with a 10-user license for $645. Trend Micro will sell the devices in two models: the GateLock 3000 with a 5-user license for $395 and the GateLock 5000 with a 10-user license for $645.