The SmoothWall people have announced the final release version of SmoothWall Express 3.0. (Code-name Polar).

SmoothWall Express is a free GPL firewall distribution based on a security-hardened subset of the GNU/Linux operating system (2.6 Kernel). The Express version (which can be installed on anything from an aging old PC in the garage to the latest 64 bit Intel Core2 Duo) allows users to convert a spare computer into a dedicated ‘hardware’ or network firewall that sits at the gateway, providing an extra layer of protection and saving valuable system resources.

Version 3.0 includes many improvements over the previuos verison including POP3 email antivirus proxy – email scanning with market-leading ClamAV, the concept of the ‘Purple’ network interface which keep wireless clients like laptops safely off the main network and bandwidth management to prioritize important traffic & speed up browsing with a new web-caching proxy.

For more information visit the Smooth Wall website: www.smoothwall.org