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Sleep at Night with the AltaVista Firewall A firewall is a computer that monitors what comes into the network from the outside. This computer uses special firewall software to scan the information packets and allow only authorized users into the internal network. This protects the network from unwanted visitors and dangerous files from being passed through the firewall. Why use an internal firewall? A firewall can be used to secure a connection to a public network, or a connection to another private network within your organization (an intranet connection). The firewall performs the same functions in both cases. You may wish to deploy a firewall within a firewall, in which one firewall controls the connection to the Internet, and a second firewall controls connections between internal networks. Any network connection involves a balance between security and availability of services. A firewall lets you control your network connection in three ways: Secure the internal network by preventing or restricting access to it Enforce security policies for your site Manage services that are available to internal users by controlling which hosts can access each service and what individuals can use them through the firewall AltaVista Firewall 97 Price (US$) For 25 nodes $2,495 For 50 nodes $3,995 For 200 nodes $7,995 For an unlimited number of nodes $14,995

Onyx Computer, Vital Integration Solution and the Finnish Parliament choose OnSite Protection.

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"As Digital's largest Canadian reseller and customer, we firmly believe that we must use and understand the products we sell before we can endorse them to our customers." stated Phillip De Leon, President. "At Onyx, we have found that AltaVista's firewall and tunnel technology is light years ahead of the competition." For Onyx this means using AltaVista Firewall and AltaVista Tunnel technology throughout its organization.

Onyx operates an electronic commerce site called "Onyx Interactive," which allows customers to select from over 80,000 hardware and software products for sale. Orders are placed daily through this site, and Onyx uses AltaVista Firewall to ensure its internal database of ordering information, as well as other confidential materials on its intranet, are protected from outside access.

The company has also networked its Toronto head office and Ottawa branch office with AltaVista Tunnel software, thereby allowing the company to use the Internet in a safe, cost-efficient manner without limiting the high throughput required for confidential and critical data.

"Both AltaVista Firewall and AltaVista Tunnel are highly cost-effective tools that allow us to secure our own internal operations from outsiders," said De Leon. "At the same time, the software helps us control the flow of information into the company. With AltaVista Firewall, for example, we can ensure that employees don't import certain types of information, such as video and sound, that we feel would be inappropriate or unnecessary for conducting business."

According to De Leon, Onyx's focus on security extends to its customers who are also looking for reliable, cost-effective ways to secure their Internet/intranet sites. "Customers today view the Internet as a way to add value to their own customers and differentiate themselves from the competition," he stated. "At the same time, companies are wary of installing technology that may in any way be insecure.

"As Onyx's customers migrate to the Internet, we urge each and every one of them to pay special attention to the most critical aspect of their implementation, the firewall and tunnel technology. We believe Digital's products outperform all of its competition in terms of ease of use and security features, as well as built-in flexibility for growth within the organization."

Based upon Onyx's positive experience with Digital's firewall and tunnel products, the company has also installed AltaVista Forum software on its intranet to improve communication and increase collaboration among its employees.

Vital Integration Solutions offers a secure future for their customers

Vital Integration Solutions, Inc., a networking and systems integration company located in Des Moines, Iowa, understands both the opportunities and risks associated with the Internet. The company, a Digital Value-added Reseller (VAR), markets and sells a host of Internet products and services to companies large and small.

"We work with a wide range of clients, from Fortune 50 companies to local manufacturers, that know about the Internet and want to be a part of it," stated David Backstrom, President and CEO.

Problem Solving
"Our job is to listen to the problem the customer hopes to solve with this technology and then offer them a solution that meets those needs. "For Vital, this means more than just selling hardware, software, and integration products. It also entails helping companies build their own home pages, learn how to market their products on the Internet, and explore the resource issues involved in setting up and maintaining a Web site."

According to Backstrom, the key customer concern is security. Vital's solution is to offer a range of firewall and security products designed to protect a company's assets. And the product Vital recommends for most of its customers is AltaVista's Firewall.

Firewalls Needed
"The security needs of our customers require us to integrate a firewall into their current security environments or to help them develop disciplines from scratch," said Backstrom.

"Digital's AltaVista Firewall product fits well into both scenarios. It meets the needs of our midrange customers and is flexible enough to work in the stringent multi-gate firewall environments of financial institutions. This, plus the tremendous reputation the product has in the industry, allows our customers to sleep at night."

Vital also uses AltaVista Firewall to protect its own company-confidential materials. "We have 31 different intranet home pages on our site, but only two or three of them are outside the firewall," said Backstrom. "With AltaVista Firewall, we know that our own important company data is secure."

"We won't recommend a Digital product if we don't think it's the right one for our customers. We use and sell AltaVista Firewall because we honestly think its the best product available. It offers customers an easy-to-use, cost-effective, scalable solution that can grow with their needs."

Tunnels Easy to Use
In addition, Vital recently began using Digital's AltaVista Tunnel software, which allows companies to "open up" their private network to allow customers, partners, suppliers, and remote workers to access and share information. "We really like AltaVista Tunnel because it is easy to set up and use," commented Backstrom. "It also offers an affordable solution to companies that want to extend their internal networks while still maintaining a secure environment."

According to Backstrom, the company is equally impressed with the capabilities of the AltaVista Search Public Service. "We honestly don't use any other Internet search engine," he said. "It is an amazing tool that allows anyone to complete a complex search incredibly fast."

"The bottom line is that although many of us at Vital have worked with Digital for years, we have built our reputation on providing customers with the right products and services they need for their specific problems," concluded Backstrom.

Internet solution helps Finnish Parliament open lines of communication with its citizens

As the legislative body representing Finland's 5 million citizens, the Finnish Parliament has made a unique commitment to communicate with its constituency about matters of state. To meet this commitment, the Parliament has developed a comprehensive Internet/intranet information system that allows both its members and the Finnish population to access the latest governmental information.

With this high rate of interconnectivity, however, comes a need for a network that will be secure from outside intruders. To solve this problem, the Finnish Parliament has selected a solution that includes AlphaServer systems and the AltaVista Firewall product, which ensures that any citizen can browse the Web site without accessing inappropriate information or damaging the systems.

According to Olli Mustajarvi, IT manager of the Finnish Parliament, the move to this advanced technological solution began in the late 1980s when the first PCs were installed in the Parliament.

"From those early beginnings, we have extended the service we provide to members of Parliament to include electronic mail; access to the Internet; and a robust intranet capability, called Facta-system, that includes text archives of bills, committee reports, parliamentary decisions, an affairs calendar of parliamentary sessions, records of the state of parliamentary issues, and preliminary debate information," stated Mustajarvi.

With the success of the intranet, the Finnish Parliament made the decision to open its text archives to its citizens in 1995. Today, the public Web server is available to all citizens, who can access it from their own personal PCs or from the hundreds of workstations that have been installed in Finland's public libraries.

By using AltaVista Firewall, Mustajarvi and his staff have ensured that citizens have access to only those portions of Parliament's Facta-system that are appropriate for external use. This information includes background data on Parliamentary members, transcripts of speeches, attendance and voting records of each member, listings of legislation in process, and committee activity. Approximately 5,000 users access the Web site per week, which currently holds over 50,000 documents. The Web site is available in Finnish but will soon be available in Swedish, Finland's other official language.

According to Mustajarvi, the addition of Digital's Firewall product means that the Finnish Parliament has a secure, reliable, highly scalable system that can be customized to suit any developments in security policy.

"For our users, this solution provides a user-friendly interface that is easy to use, easy to learn, and modern," explained Mustajarvi. "In addition, it also provides a single interface to users no matter whether they are accessing information from inside or outside the Finnish Parliament. From an IT department perspective, this is an economical solution that allows us to utilize our old databases in a new way, and it gives us time to modernize our old systems."

According to Mustajarvi, the Finnish Parliament is so pleased with the results of their Internet/intranet work that they are currently looking at other technology, including newsgroups, forums, and additional workstations and databases, to support their growing needs.