Netgear targets small businesses with ProSecure UTM9S gateway appliance

Latest product allows security monitoring and screening

Netgear has unveiled the ProSecure Unified Threat Management (UTM) 9S gateway designed to provide improved network security and malware prevention for small firms.

The gateway allows companies to use network attached storage (NAS) hardware to provide additional room for logs and signature resources without slowing network performance.

Jason Leung, senior security product marketing manager for Netgear, told V3 that the addition of NAS support lets smaller firms store information such as monitoring records and malware signatures.

"Part of the problem with small business UTMs is you don't have a lot of storage space, so traditionally all the information gets thrown away, intentionally or unintentionally," he said.

"The UTM9S sees the NAS box as a limitless form of storage, and you can go back and do all the forensics you want."

The appliance also ships with two hardware modules to support ADSL and Wi-Fi connections.

Netgear is targeting the entire SMB market, but Leung said that early interest in the gateway has been highest at government agencies, medical offices and manufacturing plants.

"There is a sweet spot in the market for small businesses looking to roll out security into small offices and home offices," he said. "If there is one common thread it is that they are not flush with cash. We are in tough economic times."

The ProSecure UTM9S costs $535 including a year of web and email security services.