Free Software "made in South Tyrol" conquers the world
Endian is a small IT company based in Appiano/Eppan (near Bolzano in South Tyrol, Italy). Thanks to its revolutionary firewall solution this company is going to have a great success in the world of bits and bytes. The path has already been marked. Four developers at Endian are ready to launch an out-of-the-ordinary firewall. The “Endian Firewall” is different from its competitors, as it features several integrated filter functions. However, its most important characteristic is that it is the only firewall developed on a fully Free Software basis. Endian experts used Red Hat Enterprise Linux and various packages of its Red Hat Package Manager to develop the product. Furthermore, Endian equipped the firewall with a great number of defence tools against virus and spam and, upon request, some filters can also be installed to prevent access to violent and pornographic web contents.
Open source – open minds
Upon request, the firewall developed by Endian can protect not only against external attacks, but also against inconvenient internal connections. In its standard configuration, only the most commonly used services can start an external connection. Among these, are HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, POP, IMAP, FTP and DNS. The firewall is equipped with a number of proxies, which function as a protection against various dangers and spam in case of POP3, SMTP, HTTP and FTP. Wherever you find the Endian brand name, you can be sure to find Free Software. For this reason, for example, Endian uses Postfix as mailserver, ClamAV as antivirus program, SpamAssassin against the unbearable flow of spam or OpenVPN to set up virtual private networks. Consistently, Endian released its product under the free GPL license. The “Endian Firewall” is available in two versions: one community version, which can be freely downloaded from the Internet, and one “enterprise” version, which is optimized for companies and can be purchased only. In the latter version, further security functions are guaranteed, together with a relevant contract for assistance, including update guarantees and related hardware. This firewall is the result of three years of intense development work. The first release was obtained in June 2005, already as Free Software. Some weeks ago the 2.1 version was released. This includes additional features. Now Endian is selling its “Endian-Firewall” (EFW) brand product as a Linux-Security-Appliance modular solution, based on Open Source through resellers. Its clients are mostly small and medium enterprises, which appreciate this firewall, above all because it is easy to use and it is flexible. Flexibility is possible thanks to the available modules, which can be added and adjusted according to individual needs.
Strong thanks to cooperation
The above mentioned advantages did not go unseen by a young company based in Bolzano called Dexea srl. As CEO Alexander Kiesswetter clearly said «Clients seek solutions to their problems» and that is why Dexea adopted the strategy to use Free Software wherever it is economically and conceptually sensible. Obviously, such strategy includes free solutions for firewall or antivirus programs as well. «The “Endian Firewall” fits very well in our vision. We also play a role as Open-Source-broker, i.e. a kind of intermediary between Free Software developers and potential users. About a dozen South Tyrolean companies are already using the “Endian Firewall” and the related assistance provided by Dexea. This is surely something to be proud of» and at Dexea they can feel positive about it. After all, Endian implemented a unique integration of its kind, putting together all the functions and the fundamental programs that make IT users feel protected and secure.
Developers:
Endian Srl
Contact: Raphael Vallazza
Pillhof 47
I-39010 Frangarto, Italy
Tel: +39 0471 631763
Fax: +39 0471 631764
Reseller:
Dexea Srl
Contact: Alexander Kiesswetter
CEO
Piazza Fiera 1
I – 39100 Bolzano (BZ)
ITALY
Tel. +39 0471 500 403
Fax +39 0471 203 251
