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Award-Winning Barracuda Spyware Firewall Officially Becomes Barracuda Web Filter; Name Change Reflects Customer Demand for Affordable URL and Content Filtering Solution

Posted on: Tuesday, 15 August 2006, 12:00 CDT

Barracuda Networks, Inc., the leading provider of enterprise-class application security appliances, today announced plans to rename the Barracuda Spyware Firewall to Barracuda Web Filter in response to the growing demand from customers for a complete content filtering and spyware protection solution.

The Barracuda Web Filter is designed to enforce acceptable Internet usage policies by blocking access to objectionable content and unauthorized Internet applications while at the same time providing the same award-winning spyware and virus protection that customers have come to rely on.

"The original intent of the Barracuda Spyware Firewall was to address the focused problem of spyware and virus protection at the gateway, yet thousands of customers have purchased and deployed the product for broader content filtering applications," said Stephen Pao, vice president of product management for Barracuda Networks. "We chose to rename the Barracuda Spyware Firewall to Barracuda Web Filter to better reflect the product's robust and customizable content filtering functionalities as well as its powerful spyware and virus protection."

The product name change is a reflection of both new product capabilities being launched in version 3.0 of the Barracuda Spyware Firewall, and the growing demand for an economical option in the Web content filtering marketplace. Version 3.0 extends upon the global policies in prior releases with the ability to customize policies for specific users, groups, and IP address ranges in the organization. Administrators can also establish effective time ranges for those policies.

Sample uses for these capabilities include:

-- Restricting access to job board Web sites to the Human Resources department only

-- Defining separate policies for teachers and students at schools

-- Enabling compliance officers unrestricted access to the Web for investigation

-- Providing external instant messaging (e.g., AIM) access only to specific users or groups

-- Restricting personal Web browsing to non-working hours

The new capabilities help organizations ensure compliance with various internal and federal regulations. For instance, using the Barracuda Web Filter's comprehensive URL filtering techniques, schools and libraries can enforce policies required to comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), a federal law enacted by Congress to address concerns about access to offensive content over the Internet on school and library computers.

Additionally, version 3.0 works with popular LDAP compatible directory servers, such as Active Directory, for user and group membership information as well as integrates with Windows domain controllers to facilitate transparent user authentication.

Pricing and Availability

The name change goes into effect this week with version 3.0 planned for roll out to all current Barracuda Spyware Firewall customers as part of their Energize Update service. The Barracuda Web Filter will be available to new customers in five models and pricing will remain the same. Like all Barracuda Networks products, there are no per user licensing fees and pricing in the U.S. ranges from $1,599 to $24,999 depending on model. More information on the Barracuda Web Filter can be found at www.barracudanetworks.com/webfilter.

About Barracuda Networks, Inc.

Barracuda Networks is the leading provider of enterprise-class application security appliances for comprehensive email, Internet and IM protection. Its products protect over 35,000 customers around the world, including Adaptec, Caltrans, CBS, Georgia Institute of Technology, IBM, NASA, Pizza Hut, Union Pacific Railroad Company, and the U.S. Treasury Department. The Barracuda Spam Firewall and Barracuda Spam Firewall - Outbound protect organizations against spam, viruses, and violations to e-mail security policy. The Barracuda Web Filter, formerly known as the Barracuda Spyware Firewall, offers comprehensive content filtering and complete network protection against spyware, malware and viruses. The Barracuda IM Firewall is the only all in one gateway solution for IM traffic management and security. Barracuda Networks is a privately held company with headquarters in Mountain View, California. Barracuda Networks has offices in eight international locations and distributors in over 43 countries. More information is available at www.barracudanetworks.com.

Source: Business Wire

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