Untangle today announced Re-Router, a free open source download that lets any Windows desktop become a security gateway. The program can handle policies on viruses, spam, spyware, and censorship, said CTO Dirk Morris.

Re-Router™ Technology is a breakthrough from Untangle that provides network-wide protection and filters from any Windows XP desktop. Running transparently in the background without sacrificing any desktop functionality (word processing, spreadsheets, web browsing, etc.), Re-Router™ Technology enables users to:

Provide network gateway security & filters without buying new hardware

Protect the entire network from just 1 PC (Unlike Norton or McAfee)

Get started in minutes… No network reconfiguration, recabling or extra NICs to install

Leverage the best open source networking apps on the familiar Windows platform

“What it does behind the machine is run Untangle on a virtual machine, and using a re-routing protocol, to run traffic through it. You get all the benefits of Untangle but you don’t need dedicated hardware, or the need to reconfigure the network.”

Morris expects the biggest impact to lie in helping small businesses prevent use of IM, peer-to-peer, and improper Web pages. Anyone can become China, and for free.

There are sound and honest reasons for you to do this, Morris said.

“The Web is overtaking e-mail as the chief vector for malware. You can stop people from going to sites that have malware. You need to block phishing and malware sites even if you’re not blocking other things.”