“SmoothWall is a highly configurable product that does not require a detailed level of networking knowledge or expertise to use,” said Andrew Little, Deputy Chief Executive at the Royal Aeronautical Society. “As our security needs continue to grow, the ability to introduce additional functionality, in this modular fashion, to our existing system makes SmoothWall an even more attractive product to have.”
Due to limited availability of financial resources and through the expert advice and guidance provided by systems integrator Cybergate Ltd, the Royal Aeronautical Society chose SmoothWall’s Corporate Server 3 firewall and VPN solution. This provided the Society with the ability to quickly develop the appropriate in-house expertise to undertake routine administration without outside assistance, so allowing the society to respond rapidly to changing security and VPN requirements.
“At the Royal Aeronautical Society’s headquarters in London, a high priority has been placed on Internet security. The Society has seven Windows 2000 servers supporting a wide range of activities for its staff and members including website hosting, email, database, and server based anti-virus protection. The Society also has 40 PCs for head office staff with several laptops used off-site,†commented George Lungley, Managing Director of SmoothWall Ltd. “We are pleased to be able to offer the Society a product that will grow with their developing system requirements and security needs.â€
Initial installation of the Corporate Server 3.0 was achieved with a matter of minutes and was then introduced into the network with no disruption to the end-users. The ease of installation and configuration of the product meant that staff with only basic networking knowledge could quickly learn how administer the system, so removing the Society’s previous reliance upon a single specialist member of staff and external consultants to manage the network.
SmoothWall’s modular approach to security has allowed the Society to refine its security requirements and add modules for additional functionality as and when it has been required. Using this approach, the Society introduced the SmoothTunnel VPN facility to allow its employees to securely access the systems at the London HQ.
“SmoothWall performs the role that it was purchased to do,†added Little. “The attractive cost of Corporate Server and the additional modules has allowed the Society to implement a more comprehensive firewall and VPN setup than was previously thought possible.â€
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About Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society is the global focal point for the entire aerospace community. It ensures the highest professional standards in all aerospace disciplines, is a unique source of specialist information and plays a leading role in influencing opinion on aviation matters. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world and today has over 19,000 members in 100 locations.
About SmoothWall Limited
SmoothWall Ltd. is an internet security software provider founded in 2001 to address the void in the security market between simple feature and user limited “black boxes” and “big iron” solutions from the major security vendors. With its specialist development team, SmoothWall has harnessed the technical expertise of the Open Source arena to develop a suite of firewall, virtual private network (VPN) and content filtering security solutions for education, SME and large corporate organisations.
Based in the United Kingdom, with offices in Leeds and Southampton, SmoothWall delivers global security solutions through a worldwide support network, with representation in the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, South America, South Africa, Malaysia, Australia, Germany and across Europe. With a user base spanning home users, small business and non-profit organisations through schools and universities to major corporations, hundreds of thousands of networks rely upon SmoothWall protection. For more information visit: www.smoothwall.net.
About the SmoothWall Open Source Project
The SmoothWall Open Source Project was formed in the summer of 2000 to create a simple to use firewall. Based on GNU/Linux, the team created a lightweight, hardened system that was quick to download and easy to install and administer. Almost immediately became extremely popular and the SmoothWall Project grew to become one of the major Open Source projects. For more information visit: www.smoothwall.org.
For further information please contact:
Sarah-Anne Bray or James Delves
Wildfire PR
Tel: 020 8339 4420
Email: Sarah-Anne or Jamesd@wildfirepr.co.uk”
Link: smoothwall.net
