Too many vendors and too little differentiation, we observed. We were half right. In fact, the number of players has grown, although the names of the players have changed. Our i nteractive Buyer's Guide contains product specifications for 52 products from 33 vendors. Meanwhile, vendors have worked hard to differentiate themselves and their products by aiming at every conceivable niche.
Configuration continues to get easier and more error-proof.
New virus and content-scanning features are showing up in firewall feature sets. One of the most tangible changes is the move from firewall hosts to firewall appliances. Originally, the only acceptable firewall was a Unix workstation or server with two or more LAN connections straddling the secure and insecure networks. This advice comes from a combination of hard-learned lessons and common sense. Firewall managers have learned that the more software on the firewall, the greater the likelihood of an exploitable security flaw.