What is Untangle?

Untangle can be described as an "Unified Threat Management System" or "UTM" for short. A unified threat management system is the evolution of the traditional firewall into an all-inclusive security product that has the ability to perform multiple security functions in one single network appliance. Untangle by definition is a unified threat management system, however to simply call Untangle a "UTM" is not fair. Untangle is a UTM, but it is also so much more than that.

Untangle's core services, which are referred to as "Untangle Lite" are the base of the system. Untangle "Lite" is free for both home and commercial use and include:

Web Filter
Virus Blocker
Spam Blocker
Attack Blocker

Phish Blocker
Spyware Blocker
Protocol Control
Captive Portal

Firewall
Intrusion Prevention
OpenVPN
Reports

As you can see, Untangle "Lite" is an amazing product that gives you plenty of value and services with no recurring licensing costs.

Untangle augments its "Lite" package with two additional packages that both improve and add additional functionality to the system. Those packages are "Standard" and "Premium". Untangle "Standard" and "premium" are licensed by the amount of computers the Untangle "Appliance" is protecting. Printers, IP Phones, and other network devices do not count against the Untangle license.

Untangle "Standard" includes the following modules:

eSoft Web Filter	Robust web content filtering, of over 100 million sites in 53 categories
Directory Connector	Uses your RADIUS or Microsoft Active Directory server to simplify policy management and enrich reporting
Policy Manager	Create unlimited user- and time-based policies for web and remote access
Virus Blocker	removes viruses at the gateway from email, websites, and downloads before they reach the desktop
Spam Blocker	Cut down on unwanted email, junk mail, solicitations and spam
Live Support	Call our Tech Support team for help over the phone
Branding Manager	Use your own logo and content on user-facing pages from Untangle
Configuration Backup	Automatically saves your Untangle server's settings to our datacenter every night
Attack Blocker	Prevent denial-of-service attacks
Captive Portal	Allow internet access only on certain conditions, e.g after accepting terms of service
Phish Blocker	Protect users from identity theft attempts and credit card capture scams
Spyware Blocker	Defend against spyware inflitrating your network and compromising your systems
Protocol Control	Manage usage of peer-to-peer and instant messaging protocols
Firewall	Separate your internal network from the internet, to safeguard your network
Intrusion Prevention	Stop outsiders from penetrating and infiltrating your network
OpenVPN	Provider secure network access from outside the office to authorized remote workers
Reports	See who's doing what, when, to better manage your network and its usage