Cloud SMS FAQ

General

Q: What is it and what can it do?

A: Cloud SMS is a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering that manages the onboard iptables firewall on Linux instances in the cloud through a very easy-to-use UI. It allows you to track all firewall changes over time and provide a high quality detailed report directly to your auditor. It also lets you validate your firewall rules, and track bandwidth usage over time, so you can identify anomalies easily, and close down access on ports that are unused.

Q: How much does it cost?

A: Cloud SMS is a free offering for basic firewall management. StillSecure will offer fee-based premium services beyond the basic firewall management capabilities in the near future.

Q: Does it work in any cloud?

A: Yes, Cloud SMS is platform agnostic and can be used in any cloud, physical server, or hybrid environment that has a public-facing IP address.

Q: Is Cloud SMS secure?

A: Yes, the Cloud SMS agent uses two-way SSL authentication using only U.S. DoD-approved strong ciphers, as well as listening only for traffic from our cloud infrastructure and blocking all other inbound traffic to the agent. That means there are multiple layers of protection against remote compromise and that means peace of mind.

Q: What operating systems are supported?

A: 64-bit Linux distros including Ubuntu (11+), CentOS (5+), Red Hat Enterprise (5+), Fedora Core (15+), ArchLinux (2011.05+), and others.

Q: Do you support Windows?

A: Not at this time, though Windows support is coming: stay tuned!

Q: Does Cloud SMS support IPv6?

A: Yes, Cloud SMS supports IPv6 in all features and functions.

Getting started

What's involved?

There are three main steps:

  1. Sign up for a new account
  2. Install the secure Cloud SMS agent on your cloud instance
  3. Tell Cloud SMS about your cloud instance by logging into the Cloud SMS UI and adding your cloud instance IP.

Q: How do I sign up?

A: Go to https://cloud.stillsecure.com and click "sign up now".

Q: How do I install it?

A: After you have a login, go to the Cloud instances page. Click on the "attach a cloud instance" link and follow the instruction to attach the cloud.

Q: How do I tell Cloud SMS about my cloud instance?

A: Login to the Cloud SMS UI at https://cloud.stillsecure.com/login.php, go to the Cloud instances page, click "attach a cloud instance", and then enter a name and the IP address of your cloud instance. For detailed support information, please visit the Cloud SMS forums at: http://forums.cloudsms.stillsecure.com/discussion/2/cloud-security-monitoring-service-faq