PreparedPC

The skinny: Untangle for Windows is a free way to protect your home/small office network (up to 10 computers). It leverages open source software to give you advanced control of your network that until recently was only affordable to larger corporations. Its features are impressive, especially for a free download.

Unified Threat Management (UTM) software is a fancy name for a collection of dedicated software (or a hardware appliance) that work together to protect a network by providing for example, virus protection and web filtering.

Years ago, UTMs were only available as hardware appliances which were installed in a server rack in a data center. More recently, software UTMs were released by companies like Endian and Astaro and Untangle that can run on PCs. These software UTMs require a dedicated computer. You load the vendor-provided .ISO, which typically bundles the UTM software with a version of Linux, onto that dedicated computer, which then protects your network.

Untangle for Windows is different, as it runs on Windows XP SP3 and Vista 32-bit computers and doesn’t require a dedicated computer, and runs in the background. The computer where Untangle for Windows is installed must be connected to the network using a cable. Untangle for Windows then protects networks of up to 10 computers (either connected by wire or wirelessly) using its “Re-router” technology.

Untangle for Windows includes several free applications, including:

Web Filter – Block or allow web sites by category (i.e. Adult, Gambling, etc.)
Spam Blocker – Block email spam at the gateway
Virus Blocker – Scan all web traffic for viruses, and block them.
Spyware Blocker – Protects you from websites and files that install spyware
Ad Blocker – Block ads centrally, eliminating the need to install ad-blocking software on every computer (and browser) on the network.
Protocol Control – Block access to potentially dangerous file-sharing sites
Firewall – Hides your network from the outside world and controls all external access points (also known as ports). It lets you block unwanted activity and protect your network.
Open VPN – Provides secure remote access to your network
Reports – Gives you a daily “snapshot” of how and what your network users are accessing the internet. For example, one report lists the most frequently-accessed websites.

In an upcoming post, we’ll detail how we set up Untangle for Windows and how it has worked for us.