Total Defense, an Internet threat management solutions specialist, has sold its consumer business line to network software and appliance company Untangle. Untangle will retain the Total Defense brand name but continue to operate under the company name Untangle.

The commercial business of Total Defense will continue as a standalone corporate cloud business called iSheriff, dropping the Total Defense name. A spokesman confirmed that there is no ongoing equity arrangement between the two companies.

According to a Total Defense Totalstatement, iSheriff will develop and market cloud security solutions for managed service providers (MSPs) and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Total Defense noted iSheriff delivers a cloud-based, end-to-end security solution with single pane of glass visibility and control.

Larry Guerin, General Manager of Total Defense, commented on the announcement in a prepared statement:

“Total Defense and Untangle both see an opportunity in the future of the consumer market as the home becomes a more complicated and diverse network of Internet-enabled devices. Both gateway and endpoint software solutions will be required to address the security needs of this new environment. Combined, the companies will be able to leverage each others’ technologies to develop innovative solutions that protect these new smart homes, bringing enterprise-grade solutions to the modern digital family.”

Total Defense provides malware detection and anti-crimeware solutions for thousands of businesses worldwide, while Untangle claims its network software solutions protect more than 2 million people and their computers. With iSheriff, both of these companies hope to extend their reach.

“This transaction is a win-win for both our consumer and corporate partners and customers. Consumer partners and customers will benefit from access to a broader range of products, and from the resources that Untangle will invest in the research and development. Corporate customers and partners will benefit from the increased investment levels that iSheriff will be putting behind product and channel development, and from other key changes,” iSheriff CEO Paul Lipman said, according to a press release.

iSheriff has operations in New York, California, Ireland and Asia and is the only content security solution that gives SMEs complete visibility into, and control over, the security of their data and devices, Total Defense claims.