Cisco and 3Com kit offers better malware protection

Both firms aim at simplifying security management

Cisco and 3Com have both improved their network security offerings.

Cisco's new Content Security and Control security service modules (CSC-SSMs) plug into its Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) 5500, developed in partnership with Trend Micro. The idea is to ease security management by unifying antivirus, anti-spyware, file blocking, anti-spam and anti-phishing on one firewall/VPN device.

Priced from $4,500 (£2,600) to $10,500 (£6,000), the CSC-SSM module appears expensive compared with other content filtering systems. But consulting systems engineer Craig Sanderson said Cisco's integrated hardware system offers better performance.

"Others have taken things like anti-spyware and anti-phishing and added them to existing platforms using software, so performance drops as soon as you turn it on," said Sanderson.

The modules will be available in April and ship with a year's free subscription to Trend Micro's security update service.

The 3Com TippingPoint Quarantine Protection Intruder Prevention System blocks malicious traffic and isolates infected devices to prevent malware spreading through the network.