an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . april 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message esoft inc. type web filtering spam filtering firewall and information leak prevention industry security founded 1984 founder philip l. becker headquarters broomfield colorado key people bud michael ceo products instagate threatwall website www.esoft.com esoft was a colorado based company that ceased operations in december 2013 and specializing in integrated security solutions including secure content management and unified threat management appliances . privately held esoft based in the foothills of broomfield colorado has developed the award winning instagate and threatwall security appliances as well as modular software bundles called threatpaks that provide email and web security . esoft ceased operations in december 2013 . some assets were acquired by untangle inc. contents 1 products 2 history 3 references 4 external links products edit esoft develops network security appliances such as firewall vpn gateways unified threat management utm devices secure content management scm devices virtual appliances and other network security appliances . these appliances can be combined with software subscriptions to serve business purposes such as email or web filtering and security . history edit esoft was founded by philip l. becker in 1984 and started out making and selling the tbbs bulletin board system initially targeted at radioshack trs 80 cp m machines but later ported to ibm pc computers . software companies like microsoft relied on tbbs for their online technical support before the advent of the internet . in 1993 esoft created a product called the ipad internet protocol adapter in an effort to adapt to the internet . the ipad started as a gateway to tbbs using internet protocols like ftp and dns . this evolved into an internet in a box solution giving isps and companies a point of presence on the internet with a single appliance purchase . in march 1998 esoft went public on the nasdaq stock exchange with the ticker symbol esft and by 1999 was trading at 40 per share riding the dot com era enthusiasm with linux based companies . 1 in january 1999 esoft acquired apexx technology inc. makers of a competing all in one appliance . esoft rebranded its ipad appliance as team internet . 2 following that acquisition in july 1999 esoft purchased technologic a maker of firewall security appliances as a way to branch out into the security space . 3 in november of that year esoft s stock more than doubled after a 3 million investment from intel . 4 in february 2000 gateway inc. announced a plan to invest 25 million in esoft at a price of 19.51 per share but after the first installment of 12.5 million esoft s falling share price caused gateway to attempt renegotiate its investment . in september 2000 esoft signed a deal that licensed its redphish linux based security platform to 3com . 5 by january 2002 the dot com bubble s burst had brought esoft s stock down to levels that resulted in its delisting from the nasdaq smallcap market and the stock moved to over the counter exchanges . 6 in the meantime esoft announced new lines of products including the instagate all in one appliance which today is called a unified threat management utm appliance but at the time was one of the first turnkey solutions of its kind . esoft also introduced its instagate secure content management line of appliances which didn t include firewall and vpn functionality and was later rebranded as threatwall . esoft s all in one approach was provided a la carte to the appliance as subscription based softpaks for different bits of functionality . functionality included technologies like gateway anti virus which at the time was licensed from sophos . the software subscription model was fairly new when esoft started that approach and esoft was able to patent the concept of managing software subscriptions that include a la carte options and 3rd party technologies u.s. patent no. 6 961 773 b2 . in 2006 esoft stirred up controversy on the web after bringing patent infringement suits against competitors astaro corporation barracuda networks blue coat fortinet and sonicwall . 7 esoft s appliances are targeted at small businesses and claim to make complex security easy to manage for small and medium businesses with small or non existent it staffs . it has consistently won a number of best buy and around 2005 esoft started bringing various technologies in house rather than reselling other products . the culmination of this strategy resulted in march 2008 when esoft announced its oem program for its sitefilter secure web filtering technology . a year later in april 2009 esoft announced the signing of its 15th partner . 8 in september 2010 the sitefilter web filtering technology of esoft was spun out as a separate company zvelo and esoft was taken private . references edit forbes do diligence day trader business wire esoft executes definitive agreement to acquire apexx technology inc pr newswire esoft executes letter of intent to acquire technologic inc. cnet linux server firm esoft rockets on intel stake cnet gateway esoft resolve funding spat daily camera esoft delisted from nasdaq smallcap market pr newswire esoft inc. files patent infringement lawsuits against five companies seeking damages related to software management system esoft s sitefilter web filtering solution secures 15th oem partner external links edit esoft webpage esoft s evolution broomfield company is finding growth in network security space alicia wallace daily camera retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title esoft & oldid 726883775 categories companies based in coloradohidden categories articles with a promotional tone from april 2009all articles with a promotional tone navigation menu personal tools 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