Check Point Software on Thursday announced software and an accompanying service that gives its firewall users more real time, centralized control over network attacks and enables them to receive automated software updates, to respond more quickly to new forms of Internet attacks.

Check Point SmartDefense gives users a centralized window from which they can view and respond to all network attacks. "We've always had the ability to detect some attacks and respond to them at the firewall," says Raphael Reich, product marketing manager for Check Point. "This provides a more comprehensive, centralized location for prioritizing and detecting those attacks."

SmartDefense gives users a number of options for how to respond to any attack, whether it's to sound an alert, log information or deny access. The tool also provides links to other sources of information about various attacks, such as the CERT Coordination Center, and provides a window into forensic evidence gathered about attacks.

A new online update feature enables Check Point to push software updates out to SmartDefense users as they become available. That will help users defend themselves more quickly when a new form of attack is loose in the wild, Reich says. Once downloaded to SmartDefense, the updates can be automatically deployed to Check Point firewalls via the company's existing management server.

Previously, Check Point posted information about new attacks on its Web site, along with relevant software updates, and alerted users via email. It was up to users to download the updates. "Speed is everything here," says Steve Schick, a marketing director at Check Point. "If you can make changes more quickly, it may mean avoiding a loss of millions of dollars."

SmartDefense will be available in the third quarter and will be included at no additional cost with all Check Point security products. The real-time updates will be offered on a subscription basis, priced at $1,000 per firewall or gateway, or $10,000 for up to 100 firewalls and gateways.