D-Link to ship antivirus appliance for home office

Is security software gumming up your PC? D-Link believes it has a solution for this problem. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, the networking vendor launched its SecureSpot DI-103 Internet security device, which it is billing as an easier way to protect PCs from viruses, spam and spywere.

The 1-inch thick appliance takes up about 16 square inches of desk space, and is essentially a custom version of the company's DI-102 VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) accelerator, according to Michael Scott, technical media manager with D-Link.

The device serves as a firewall and pop-up blocker, as well as a spam and spyware filter. It also comes with licenses for the Sophos PLC Anti-Virus service, Scott said. "These types of devices, up to now, have only been available to the enterprise," he said.

LAN users can install the device between their broadband modem and router, but it can also be taken on the road and used with a laptop, D-Link said. The DI-103 works with Windows and Mac OS X clients, and D-Link expects to also support Linux PCs within the next few months, Scott said.

Users must install the antivirus and antispywere software on their PCs, and the DI-103 itself does pop-up blocking and spam filtering. The security device can also be configured as a firewall and used to control which Web sites can be viewed by computers on the network.

Expected to ship by the end of the month, the appliance will cost US$99.95. Included in that price will be a one-year software license for up to four computers. Users with more than four PCs must pay an additional US$19.95 per computer. After the first year, licensing will cost US$79.95 per year.