Agnitum History

Agnitum was founded by Mikhail Zakhryapin and Alexei Elagin in St Petersburg, Russia, in February 1999 with the goal of delivering security software for PC users that is effective yet easy to use – not an easy balance to achieve. The first products, Jammer and Tauscan, were focused on detecting and blocking attacks from hackers; Tauscan was successful enough to be awarded an Editor’s Choice rating by PC Magazine US in May 2000 – quite a feat for a small Russian developer with no US operations.

As Internet-borne threats became more complex and diverse, the Jammer code evolved to become the first version of the Outpost Personal Firewall, launched simultaneously in “free” and “Pro” versions in March 2002. Shortly after this, Agnitum began to formally implement an international distribution strategy, putting in place agreements with partners for the major European markets as well as Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and Poland.

Outpost Firewall Pro began to pick up awards very soon after its launch, and has continued to this day to be one of the most highly acclaimed personal firewall products on the market, largely because it has continually adhered to the company’s goal of combining ease of use with high levels of protection. Users and reviewers alike commend the company for offering a range of optional extras in the way of third-party plug-ins that enable users to customize Outpost protection to their particular needs.

In 2005, the company launched its first networked product, Outpost Office Firewall, which adds network support and central management controls to the Outpost Firewall Pro technology. At the same time, Agnitum opened its first office in the United States, and is moving forward with its plans to make powerful, easy to use protection available to home and business users the world over.