Using a variety of tools to track network security is a good way to stay sane on the job. Of particular value are products that help monitor network probes inside your protected network.
I just looked at Visualware Inc.s VisualLookout 2.0, a TCP port monitoring and alerting tool, and found that it can indeed be a sanity saver for network managers. I installed VisualLookout on my lab machines and got a good picture of the incoming and outgoing traffic patterns, with almost no effort and very little expense.
The product costs just $39.95 to monitor up to 100 systems running a variety of OSes. This is a good tool to use inside the firewall to monitor for internal network probes. I was easily able to set up alerts that told me when ports were being probed.
VisualLookout 2.0 can also monitor external traffic and uses a world map to locate traffics likely origin. Although skillful crackers can circumvent this technique with no problem, it is a handy tool to have just in case one of them gets sloppy. And it will bust the newbie attackers without much effort at all.
VisualLookout 2.0 started shipping last week and is available via download from www.visualware.com for a 15-day free trial.
Senior Analyst Cameron Sturdevant can be contacted at cameron_sturdevant@ziffdavis.com.