Abstract: A multi-application transparent platform intercepts an incoming application file communicated from a source across a first TCP connection by terminating the first TCP connection on the multi-application transparent platform and supplying the application file to an application program. The application file is received onto the platform in the form of multiple incoming Ethernet frames. The application layer program analyzes the application file and identifies characteristics of the application file, such as virus content, that are not apparent in the individual Ethernet frames that carried the application file over the first TCP connection. The platform resends the application file over a second TCP connection in outgoing frames having the same IP addresses and Ethernet MAC addresses as the incoming frames. The platform can be inserted into a running network without reconfiguring devices on the network.