DoorStop X Firewall for the Mac is Shipping

Open Door Networks Inc. announced that it is shipping version 1.0 of its DoorStop X firewall for Mac OS X 10.3 and later. Previously available as a public beta release, DoorStop X returns Open Door to a market it pioneered seven years ago. The DoorStop X firewall provides important Internet security features beyond those of the firewall built into Mac OS X, while at the same time being easier to use than any firewall on the market according to Open Door Networks.

To secure their machines, Mac users simply download DoorStop X and double-click the application. A built-in setup assistant walks the user through the basics of configuring and activating firewall protection. By default, the setup assistant blocks and logs all service-level access attempts to the user's machine. For users who wish to selectively but securely allow access to certain services on their machine, DoorStop X provides easy-to-use lists of most common Mac services. Other features of DoorStop X include:

• Ability to allow or deny service-by-service access from specific machines, Internet address ranges, or all of a user's home network
• Default settings for any service not specifically configured by the user
• Full logging of allowed and/or denied access attempts
• Optional blocking and logging of low-level "UDP" and other access attempts.

Although Mac OS X has included a basic firewall for some time, even Mac OS 10.4 Tiger's version of that firewall lacks the features required for many consumer and office uses. A free, fully-functional evaluation release of DoorStop X, along with additional details on the product and Macintosh firewalls in general, is available from Open Door Networks' Web site. Through August 15, DoorStop X can be purchased off the site for the special introductory price of $39, or $59 when bundled with Who's There? Volume and site licenses and educational discounts are also available. [Bill Fox]