The firewall is the most important security product a company can buy. It can keep the corporate network safe from hackers and pests in cyberspace, but choose the wrong one, and devastation can ensue.

Global Technology Associates' GnatBox is an easy choice. The latest appliance, the GB-1000, set inside a black featureless case, is a 1U-high appliance that offers a significant improvement over past incarnations.

Updates have been made in both the software and hardware.

The device is a standard PC squeezed into a slimline case and is capable of dealing with 32,000 concurrent connections. In addition, four network interfaces have been built onto the motherboard.

But however good the hardware, it's software that makes a firewall.

GnatBox hasn't disappointed with version 3.1.0 of its stateful inspection engine. New to this are a DHCP Server and a DNS server.

Even more interesting is a content-filtering server, based on two utilities: CyberNot, and Websense. These filter web requests, and can prevent users from accessing sites that fall outside company policy.

The GBAdmin software that comes with the machine also allows system configurations and hardware changes to be made offline, which is a significant benefit.

Overall, Global Technology has done a good job of ironing out the bugs.