from SECURITY ZERO:

Virtualization crosses security once again (in this blog it happens often), this time about firewalling.

As you probably know VMware released a free product for desktop virtualization called VMware Player and created a special site called Community Virtual Appliances (formerly Community Virtual Machines) where vendors from different market segments and communities can advertise their pre-installed virtuali machines.

A pre-installed virtual machine ready to be downloaded and launched on every computer where a VMware Player is installed, provides a huge boost for almost any company, able to reach a wider audience without limits imposed by complex installations.

Security applications are usually very complex to be installer and/or configured, so finding a bunch of pre-made firewall virtual machines is a great evaluation opportunity for security professionals and customers.

The first commercial vendor embracing this solution is Check Point, which provided a ready-to-go SecurePlatform NGX [R60] virtual appliance.
But beside it you’ll find several other firewalls:

* IPCop
* m0n0wall
* pfSense
* Smoothwall