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The LuciGate firewall appliance

Hackerproof, cheap, economical, hardware Ethernet IP Firewall, Network Security. Packet Types, Ports, Sockets Filters, Address Translation, Independent, Transparent, Maintenance Free Free installation within 100 miles of Cambridge

Hackerproof, low cost, economical, dedicated hardware Ethernet IP Firewall Appliance, Network Security. Packet Types, Ports, Sockets Filters, Address Translation, Independent

Features
Hacker Proof
Transparent to Users
Independent Appliance
Low Cost
No Maintenance Costs
No Licensing Costs
Easy to Setup - Easy to Understand
Purpose Designed

Hackerproof, low cost, economical, dedicated hardware Ethernet IP Firewall Appliance, Network Security. Packet Types, Ports, Sockets Filters, Address Translation, Independent Click for the big picture(66K)
Hackerproof, low cost, economical, hardware Ethernet IP Firewall, Network Security. Packet Types, Ports, Sockets Filters, Address Translation, Independent, Transparent, Maintenance Free

Download a demo version of the KeyCutter Program (1932 KBytes)

Hackerproof
The LuciGate Firewall is a piece of dedicated hardware (sometimes referred to as a Firewall Appliance) that sits between your network and the outside world. Without its smartcard key, it will not allow ANY data to pass through it. It is not based on a PC and it cannot be configured remotely. This is a deliberate design feature - THE LUCIGATE FIREWALL WILL NOT RESPOND TO ANYTHING. In fact users of the network will not know that it is there. Because it will not respond to network messages, it cannot be interfered with. Only the smartcard key holds the setup information, and the outside world has no access to it.

Low Cost
Contrary to popular belief, there is no reason for a Firewall to be expensive. The LuciGate Firewall Appliance is the low-cost solution for IP Network Security. The LuciGate is a dedicated piece of hardware - specially designed to be a Firewall. It is not a general purpose computer, so there is no display, disc drives, interfaces, operating system etc. It simply acts as a filter passing on allowed data. This keeps the price low and the running costs zero. No maintenance is needed and there are no licence fees. A large organisation that wants to effectively separate different user groups, can install several LuciGate Firewall Appliances without breaking the bank.

ADSL Broadband
Now that broadband connections appear to be steadily rolling out, the need to consider the security of your network has never been so critical. While many quality ADSL routers provide features that give a good measure of protection, they themselves are in the front line and are totally exposed to the Internet. They are usually managed by an ISP which means they are potentially vulnerable to attacks from anywhere. Placing a LuciGate firewall between the broadband router and your network gives you complete control over the traffic entering your network, even if the router is compromised.

Easy Setup
Installing a LuciGate Firewall is simplicity itself. Plug the network cables from the "Inner World" and "Outer World" into the 10BASE-T or 10BASE-2 sockets, connect the power cable and switch on! Of course, nothing will pass through until the smartcard has been programmed and loaded into its slot. Programming the smartcard key will require a few more minutes!

Hackerproof, low cost, economical, dedicated hardware Ethernet IP Firewall Appliance, Network Security. Packet Types, Ports, Sockets Filters, Address Translation, Independent

The smartcard key is programmed using a special programming unit called a "Smart Mouse". It is about the size of a computer mouse and plugs into the COM port of a standard PC. It is supplied with a "KeyCutter" program that runs under Windows or NT and enables you to select the packet types, protocols, filters, ports and services that you want to allow. The smartcard key can also be programmed for address translation to enable the "Inner World" addresses to be hidden from the "Outer World".

Obviously, the person responsible for cutting the smartcard key will need to know what the security policy is, what the structure of the network is and have a clear idea of which parts he wants to protect and from what. It may take more than a few minutes, but it should not be a problem for any competent Network Manager. And if there are any problems then technical advice is always available from Lucidata. We will even program the key for you for the first time for free.

Hackerproof, low cost, economical, dedicated hardware Ethernet IP Firewall Appliance, Network Security. Packet Types, Ports, Sockets Filters, Address Translation, Independent Examples

Auto Logging
The LuciGate is supplied with a program called LuciGuard. This optional program will run on any Windows system that supports Windows Sockets. You would normally run the program on a PC in the “Inner World“ that you are protecting. LuciGuard keeps a time-stamped Log of activities and triggers an alarm if anything suspicious happens. Even if someone rearranged the cables and physically bypassed the LuciGate Firewall, LuciGuard would know and raise the alarm.

Hackerproof, low cost, economical, dedicated hardware Ethernet IP Firewall Appliance, Network Security. Packet Types, Ports, Sockets Filters, Address Translation, Independent Frequently Asked Questions

Independent
LuciGate is a dedicated stand alone piece of hardware. Its only function is to be a firewall which is why it is sometimes referred to as a Firewall Appliance. It does not do anything else, so there is no need for an operating system or layers of software which can make computer based systems less than 100% reliable. Once installed, legitimate users of the network will not even know that it is there.

In a well designed system total power failure would be extremely unlikely. But if the unexpected did happen, you can rest assured that the LuciGate will be protecting your network long before the servers have re-booted. The Lucigate will recover from total power failure in less than two seconds.

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These pages were last updated January 2008