First, we had to change our management PC’s subnet address 255.0.0.0 and its IP to 10.0.5.x before we could access the web-based management interface. However, we then found we had to ditch Firefox in favor of IE6, the only browser that is supported.
We then set the appliance’s role to be an all-in-one device with all available security options running, including antivirus from both Sophos and McAfee and URL filtering options from SurfControl and Secure Computing.
Application-level behavior blocking and its Vulnerability Anti.dote were also left on, as was its anti-spyware function.
The network interface to be used as a primary policy server was set to FE0 and we reset the IP to the IP address range of our local network. Setting up the routing and gateways was then straightforward, with the device set to find the default gateway via the network DHCP server.
We then set the name service DNS client options and system time zone and reset the password to a simple word. This was a black mark against the unit, as it should be configured to demand a more complex password with an alpha numeric string to prevent against dictionary attacks.
When we applied these changes the device warned it may take up to ten minutes – an unusually long time. The operation then timed out and the LCD displays gave no clues to what was going on.
We then did a hard reset from the unit and eventually found that we could log onto Finjan’s website for application upgrades. At this stage, there was still no indication from the console screen or the web-based management interface that our configuration changes had been made.
Finjan’s Vital Security Appliance does offer a good range of features, but both the setup and the management was a frustrating experience.
