Untangle announces availability of Untangle 7.1

Untangle Unveils Enhancements to Superior Web Filtering Technology

Providing Education and Small Business with the Easiest Way to Filter Web Traffic at the Lowest Cost

San Mateo, Calif., Dec 17, 2009 – Untangle, Inc., a provider of Internet management applications, today announced enhancements to its suite of best-of-breed products that make it dramatically easier and more affordable for education and small to midsized businesses to manage and customize Web filtering policies. With its new release, Untangle 7.1, organizations can now strike the right balance of acceptable Internet usage policy and online safety.

For small to midsized businesses and education, the proliferation of Web 2.0 technologies, such as social networking, is raising concern over Internet usage both in terms of harmful content consumption and productivity. At the same time, organizations are struggling to manage the diverse Internet needs of its constituents while simultaneously ensuring protection against emerging online threats. For example, within elementary schools, limiting access to social networking sites like Facebook, and controlling how children inter-communicate, such as through instant messenger, ensures a learning-centric environment. Equally, in high schools, allowing access to the Internet for learning while blocking undesirable Web sites that compromise Web usage policies is critical. The enhancements in Untangle 7.1 address this need and include a Web Policy Management application and an eSoft Web filter application.

Enhanced Policy Manager

  • More easily manages and automates multiple Internet usage policies across organizations
  • Automated sessions within Policy Manager allow organizations to “time-out” certain policy changes, for example allowing IM or Facebook access only during lunch hours

Enhanced eSoft Web Filter

  • Enforces Safe Search, which removes inappropriate or harmful listings from search term results, while allowing administrators to set organization permission levels depending on policies in place
  • Password override within eSoft Web Filter enables temporary or permanent overriding of blocked sites, such as by a teacher in a classroom setting

Bob Walters, CEO, Untangle, said: “Most small to midsized businesses or education institutes require robust Web filtering capabilities but have limited time or resources. We have made it easy, more affordable and more effective for organizations to manage their Internet connections, while enforcing protective and flexible Internet policies. Untangle’s software-based approach also provides a superior defense to evolving Internet threats as it avoids obsolesce typically associated with hardware.”

Product Webinar:

Dirk Morris, CTO and Co-Founder of Untangle, demonstrates what’s new in Untangle 7.1 at 10:00a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) on Thursday December 17, 2009.

Availability and Pricing:

  • Untangle 7.1 is available to download.
  • The entry-level suite is available for free.
  • Premium package offerings are available via low-cost subscription plans to meet individual small business or education needs.
  • The Untangle suite also includes spam/virus blocker, Web content control, a remote access portal, a VPN, an intrusion prevention system (IPS), an attack shield, an ad blocker and more.

About Untangle

Untangle, a network software company, provides a new breed of multi-function firewall and Internet management applications that are optimized for the unique needs of smaller organizations. With a free multi-function firewall at its core and a suite of Internet management applications, Untangle’s superior solutions are available at the Industry’s lowest cost, and are easy-to-deploy and manage. Untangle’s proven network software solutions are installed across 20,000 organizations, protecting more than one million people and their computers. The company’s innovative open source approach takes the cost out of Internet management and with its try-before-you-buy approach organizations can now take control of their network within minutes and at no risk.