December 23, 2008 (Wilmington, MA) [PR2WEB]– Astaro (www.astaro.com), leading vendor of security appliances, today announced the “Raise Your Nokia’s IQ” promotion, allowing owners of Nokia hardware appliances to easily upgrade from Check Point’s security software to Astaro’s full-featured unified threat management (UTM) solution, Astaro Security Gateway (ASG), for free.

The Astaro Security Gateway provides complete network, web and email security and is fully compatible with most Nokia hardware appliances. A Check Point software solution including only firewall and VPN capabilities is typically installed on the Nokia platform. Through the “Raise Your Nokia’s IQ” promotion, customers that wish to upgrade from Check Point’s basic security solution to Astaro Security Gateway can now receive free software and a free, one-year unlimited license package, including all subscriptions.

“We have heard from several partners that are concerned with the recently announced acquisition of Nokia by Check Point,” explains Alex Quinonez, VP of Sales at Astaro. “In an economy like we’re seeing today, mergers and acquisitions of large companies can be risky and can jeopardize the vendor’s ability to service its end users. This promotion allows customers on a Nokia platform that are concerned with Check Point’s costs and current state of affairs an easy and inexpensive way to switch to a stable vendor.”

Astaro Security Gateway includes a stateful firewall, unlimited VPNs and intrusion protection. The email subscription includes encryption, anti-virus, spam blocking and protection against phishing. Astaro’s web subscription features anti-virus, advanced content filtering, protection against spyware, and monitoring and management of web applications, such as Skype and Bittorrent. All features can integrate with Active Directory or E-directory to create policy-based routing and are included for free in the current promotion—upgrading from the Nokia hardware from a point solution to a full UTM appliance.

The “Raise Your Nokia’s IQ” promotion is available only to those customers replacing a Check Point solution, and customers must be willing to terminate their current Check Point license. For multiple site deployments, the Astaro Command Center, used for monitoring and management, is also included for free.

For more information, visit www.astaro.com. To participate in the promotion, visit http://tinyurl.com/NokiaIQ.

History of the Nokia Sale

Several Check Point security solutions have been provided on Nokia hardware appliances for years. Although Nokia appliances support a range of security software, these Check Point point solutions are only available on the Nokia hardware. In September of 2008, Nokia announced the sale of the company to an unnamed financial investor. However, the sale fell through and Check Point stepped in to make the purchase, which will be finalized in early 2009.

About Astaro
Astaro offers the most complete and easy to use Internet security appliances available. Combining best of breed applications, the proven quality of Linux and enterprise level performance, Astaro’s award-winning products provide the latest protection with the best total cost of ownership. Software, hardware and virtual appliance offerings provide users the flexibility to meet a wide variety of deployment scenarios. Distributed by a growing worldwide network of more than 2,500 resellers, Astaro products protect over 100,000 networks for 47,000 customers across 60 countries. Astaro, headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts, USA and Karlsruhe, Germany, offers free downloads of its products at www.astaro.com.