Panda GateDefender Integra 300 offers enterprise-level internet protection in a box.
For home users on broadband, a router firewall and a combination of antivirus and spyware software should be enough to keep out most online marauders. But if you're running a business, lost time is lost money.
And given that there's more to security than virus protection, it would be useful to have a simple one-stop plug-in box that can deal with spam, phishing, spyware, viruses, unauthorised access attempts and the kind of web filtering that makes sure your employees aren't playing World of Warcraft or surfing for porn when they should be working. That's very nearly what the Panda GateDefender Integra 300 does.
Physically the Panda GateDefender Integra 300 is a 1U rack-mount server-style box that's designed to slot into a machine room. It's not quiet, and it's certainly not practical to leave it in an office environment and expect people to work around it.
Functionally the Panda GateDefender Integra 300 bundles all of the tools mentioned above and makes them available in a slot-in box that's designed to plug into your network.
Although the price of Panda GateDefender Integra 300 appears high, it's certainly much lower than the prices more usually charged for boxes with these features.
However, unless you have good network experience you may find yourself out of your depth in the set-up process, which could have been made friendlier and more accessible. Nonetheless, once you're into the system, you'll find a wealth of options. On the network side you can configure different sub-networks with various security features connected to each of the eight sockets as well as an internet/WAN input.
Although there's a wizard to help with this, it's not a simple process, especially if you've never done it before, and it would have been helpful had the Panda GateDefender Integra 300 offered more in the way of default configuration options, or even just some examples to get beginners started with minimal fuss.
