Kerio Control

2019: Kerio Control 9.3: functions of high availability and protection against failures

On April 9, 2019 the  GFI Software company announced that the Kerio Control company added function of high availability (high availability) and protection against failures to the device of the network firewall for the small and medium enterprises.

According to GFI Software for April, 2019 more than 25,000 organizations depend on Kerio Control devices for connection to the Internet and protection against Internet threats, such as viruses, malware and hacker attacks. According to the declaration these organizations will be able to eliminate risk of loss of connection to network and idle time of protection against threats.

To provide high availability, the new and existing clients will be able to install the second Kerio Control device or the virtual machine. The uniform software license will extend to both items of equipment. The second device is installed as a clone (copy) acting, at the same time simple setup will take only several minutes. After setup both devices are connected through port of synchronization, both all rules and routing are replicated and updated between them, reported in GFI Software.

Without high availability failure of the main device because of voltage surge or for other reason often leads to the fact that network administrators install the simple router for connection recovery. Waiting of this solution can lead to performance penalty and idle time of a company performance. The network is vulnerable to security risks until the safe gateway Kerio Control is not repaired or replaced. At inclusion of function of high availability if there is a failure or fault, the second copy of a product immediately intercepts work for itself. Users do not see decline in quality of service and that is more important, the organization remains under protection of Kerio Control, claim in GFI Software.

"The latest version of Kerio Control emphasizes the obligation of GFI to continue to expand the product portfolio for security of network and communications for the market of small and medium business. Clients of such companies as Yachtcomputing can be in the sea for hundreds of miles from technical support service, and they should know that their network always works and is in security". Dan Bir, CEO of GFI Software

As of April, 2019 Kerio Control is included into GFI Unlimited subscription.

2013

Kerio Control 8.21

(Data are relevant for November, 2013)

• The new feature of the content filter allowing administrators to save time and to block categories Kerio Control of the web filter and separate types of traffic, such as "instant messaging", "P2P network", "e-mail", regardless of what network port uses the similar application;
• Now Kerio Control 8.2 includes the strengthened protection and control due to inspection of HTTP connections, an anti-virus system, the Kerio Control Web Filter web filter and content filtering for IPv6 protocol.

Kerio Control 8.1

Settings which you so long optimized can be saved automatically on Samepage.io, a cloud platform of Kerio for joint work now. As of July, 2013 Kerio Control 8.1 allows to get remotely access to important information using standard administrative tools on the SNMP protocol that will save time and will allow to manage networks at any time and where you were.

Kerio Control 8

In March, 2013 it became known that in a single system of security management (UTM) of Kerio Control 8 IPSec VPN support appeared. IPSec is the industry standard of the protocol for VPN providing interaction of different external devices and a network gateway. Kerio Control 8 includes VPN with support of IPsec for the existing mobile clients under iOS and Android. Also are supported VPN configuration option "network network" for the organization of communication with different solutions of suppliers of UTM. At the same time such Kerio Control functions as politicians of traffic, inspection of protocols, anti-virus scanning and the QoS settings, it is possible to apply to the IPsec VPN tunnels.

2012: Kerio Control 7.3

The Kerio Technologies company announced in February, 2012 release of the next version of the flagship product — Kerio Control 7.3. One of key innovations in this version — support of IPv6 protocol which will allow the organizations to hold safe testing of traffic of IPv6 in the corporate networks.

According to developers, automatic support of IPv6 protocol in Kerio Control 7.3 allows to turn for several mouse clicks this product into the IPv6 router for corporate network. So far he acts as the firewall and controls a status of connections for IPv6 traffic, but shortly is going to add IPS technology, an antivirus, functions of web filtering, management of bandwidth and creations of reports of Kerio StaR for IPv6 traffic to it. Thus, the organizations will be ready to switch to IPv6 together with Internet service providers, emphasized in Kerio Technologies.

"Time to use IPv6 came. Such phenomenon as the continuing growth of the Internet, created a problem of shortage of the IP addresses therefore it will be to begin with the best solution in a similar situation testing of technology which, eventually, will need to be maintained — James Gudeli, the vice president for business development of Kerio Technologies company considers. — As for products of Kerio company, support of IPv6 protocol will only amplify, and Kerio Control 7.3 will allow all who are interested in testing and use of IPv6 protocol, it is safe to perform it".

Kerio Control 7.3 optimum is suitable for the organizations needing network protection, tools of the analysis of traffic and tools for reports on network activity of users, says Kerio Technologies. Except support of IPv6 protocol, the new functionality of a product includes: support of the full-function web console of the administrator in iPad, sending by e-mail of reports Kerio StaR and daily updating of "black lists" for the IPS system.

The server license on Kerio Control 7.3 (including licenses for five users) stands up from €250, the cost of additional licenses — from €124 for the license for 5 users. The Kerio company does not charge additional a fee for delivery VPN- clients for all users, their price is included solutions in the price. VPN clients of Kerio company can work in operating systems Windows, Linux and Mac.

Trial version of Kerio Control can be downloaded on the website of the company and to use free of charge within 30 days without any limit.

2011: Kerio Control 7.2

In August, 2011 Kerio Technologies released the next version of the firewall of the UTM level intended for protection of corporate network of the companies of small and medium business. Solution designers consider that innovations of the latest version are critical for all specialists working on optimization and control of network.

The Kerio Technologies company announced an exit of Kerio Control 7.2, the new version of the firewall of the UTM level designed to protect small and medium business from cracking and penetrations into corporate network. Kerio Control 7.2 allows to simplify a configuration and setup of service quality (QoS, Quality of Service) and bandwidth. According to solution designers, the innovation is critical for all IT managers working on optimization and control of network for increase in its performance. Especially it concerns the loaded networks and networks with a considerable share of voice traffic.

Simplicity of changes and improvements the politician and rules is key for any successful organization, consider in Kerio. Security policies become a bottleneck for the company aiming to implement changes according to constantly evolving network and user base. For simplification of this process, Kerio Control 7.2 allows to manage service quality using the simple web interface.

The latest version of KerioControl gives to the IT administrator the chance to reserve bandwidth for critical applications, such as VoIP or video conferences. Administrators can act as "network police officers" now, prioritizing important packets and preventing deceleration of network functioning because of low-priority applications, such as, for example, watching video with YouTube. All management just comes down to several cliques in the web interface of the program for preserving, restriction or a prioritezirovaniye of bandwidth, whether it be for the separate application or for the certain user.

According to the company, the solution Kerio Control 7.2 is ideal for the small and medium enterprises needing modern network protection, tools of the analysis of traffic and tools for reports on users.

Among the new features which appeared in the solution it should be noted Open Directory Apple — an option of centralized operation by users in Kerio Control which supplements the existing options of management of users, the including integration into Microsoft Active Directory for networks based on the Windows servers. Now administrators can support uniform user base for the network in a working environment of Mac or in the mixed working environment (Windows and Mac).

New tools for tracking of traffic and creation of special reports about use of the Internet on each specific net surfer are also added. This information allows to be convinced that time spent on the Internet was not spent for nothing and that during this work of security of the organization there is nothing did not threaten.

According to developers, SIP traffic is the most priority for most small enterprises therefore the solution Kerio Control 7.2 is optimized on work in pair with Kerio Operator 1.1. The factory default model of this solution allows to reserve sufficient bandwidth for transfer of voice traffic without loss of quality.

UTM the solution Kerio Control are available in different executions, including in the form of the hardware firewall (temporarily it is not delivered to Russia), the loaded software in the ISO format, the virtual module to VMware or Parallels or the software application for Windows OS. It provides ample opportunities of type selection of deployment and allows each administrator to pick up the most suitable option for implementation of the solution in the network.

The license for the product Kerio Control for five users costs from $255. The cost of additional licenses — $24 for each user. Kerio does not take additional resources for use of VPN clients, their price is included solutions in the price. VPN clients of Kerio can work on the Windows, Linux and Mac operating systems.

2010

Kerio Control 7

(Data are relevant on avgust2010 years)

• Detection and intrusion prevention: Transparent check of all traffic between the Internet and corporate network on existence of suspicious actions. On the basis of the severity level of messages about possible threats, there is an opportunity to reset connection, to register an event or to ignore the message. Support of the database of the black IP addresses connected with suspicious activity. Black lists of the addresses and base of signatures of the signed Kerio are updated each hour.
• MAC filtering: This function allows the administrator to limit or permit access to the network Kerio Control interface on the basis of the device MAC address (a unique network identifier). For any network interface, including Ethernet and WiFi, access to both the separate device, and group of devices can be permitted or limited. You can select what computers / devices can get access to the Internet or be connected through WiFi.
• New License Policy: The IP address of the network device is not considered as the user any more. One client license allows the user to connect to five devices with one account. The license for the server includes 5 users; additional licenses are purchased by packets on 5, 20, 100 and 250 users.
• The new anti-virus engine from Sophos: The new high-performance mechanism of scanning from Sophos includes technology of detection of a virus genotype, caching of the made decisions, dynamic analysis of the code and the heuristic analysis.
• Automatic DHCP configurator: Automatic creation of ranges of the IP addresses, osnovyvanny on given to a configuration of the entrusted interfaces. Changes of the IP addresses in the entrusted interfaces automatically are reflected with the address ranges of DHCP. New elements in the web administration consoles Server DHCP Configuration, additional settings of a configuration, security setting and magazines are available in the web administration console Kerio Control now.
• Several IP addresses on one network adapter in versions of Sofware Applience: Now in Kerio Control Software Appliance and Vmware Virtual Appliance it is possible to appropriate more than one IP address for each network adapter.
• The strategy of program deployment instead of hardware UTM solutions: Kerio Control 7 for program and virtual deployment provide flexibility of implementing solutions on network security.

Kerio Control 7 is released in two options:

• Software Appliance
• VMware Virtual Appliance.

Description of Kerio Control

Inheriting 13 years' experience of development of Kerio WinRoute Firewall, the new UTM server and its implementation in the form of Software Appliance provide to network administrators the full solution for security and also tool kit for access control of users and optimization of performance of their work. IDS/IPS equipped with an intrusion prevention system, Kerio Control provides a comprehensive protection from quickly extending security risks.

According to information for June, 2010, the main feature of a product is existence of an intrusion detection and prevention system (IDS/IPS) based on the industry standard Snort. A system classifies and stops attacks on servers, applications and components of infrastructure. A built-in three-level system of rating assessment of threats provides proper response to an event depending on gravity of threat. The database of signatures used for the analysis of traffic is supplemented with "black lists" of the IP addresses.

Kerio Control includes the new console for web administration. The console looks as the full user application; it is much more convenient to set network politicians of any complexity in it, than in other UTM solutions.

Key component for data analysis in Kerio Control is the module of statistics Kerio StaR. It interprets and displays data on network activity by different methods that helps with determination of security risks, traffic patterns and potential reasons of falling of performance. As well as web administration, the module Kerio StaR can be started from any browser, thus, there is an opportunity to analyze behavior of each net surfer. Kerio StaR works by the principle of the database that allows to create evident reports for any period. It helps to take quickly measures at emergence of any security risk.

Kerio Technologies develops cooperation with Sophos company — the new partner in anti-virus technologies. Kerio Control 7 is the first product Kerio delivered with the built-in high-performance anti-virus module Sophos which allows to scan all entering and outgoing Internet traffic on availability of malware. For Kerio Control there is a set of additional plug-ins for connection of other commercial and open anti-virus products, but when installing new UTM it is recommended to use Sophos: no other module ensures such convenience of setup and functioning.

Having the certificate of Corporate Firewall from ICSA labs, Kerio Control ensures safety both at the network layer, and at the level of applications. In Kerio Control special attention is paid to client-server access to VPN. A large number of VPN clients on all main platforms is maintained: Mac, Windows and Linux. Kerio VPN Client works practically with any version of these operating systems, providing to the modern organizations the unsurpassed level of flexibility at deployment of VPN.

Kerio Control can be unrolled either on the Windows platform, or on the Linux platform as Software Appliance — for both options work on the 32-or 64-bit server or the workstation is supported. Kerio Control 7 Software Appliance allows to make a hardware UTM system of any PC. Besides, it is possible to import Virtual Appliance for the VMware platform to the existing virtual environment for ensuring the maximum return of investments into the available equipment.

The cost of the server license Kerio Control on 5 users is 211 euros, including the VAT, at the same time additional licenses for 5 users can be purchased for 99 euros. Unlike most of competitors, Kerio does not levy the mezzanine board for VPN clients.