Corporate AV Solution

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mic_y

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Good day all,

I am looking for a solution to a current problem, being that the companies AV solution has expired and I have been tasked with . The company uses the following:

2 x W2k8 servers (DC and Exchange)
1 x W2k3 server (DB)
2 x Linux based NAS
50+ Windows PC's
5 Mac OS PC's

Currently the organisation is using Symantec Endpoint Protection. Some of the machines used in the organisation are not the most speedy, and therefore one of the major points of the consideration to change is how much the AV slows down the system by.

Centralised management and reporting of the AV solution is also considered a "must-have".

Any experience with the multitude of vendors would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Michael
 
I've been using ESET for the last three years in my network (similar to yours) and i'm quite happy with it.

One of my main issues was performance and the amount of memory used (so far around 50 to 80 MB). I used before symantec and I wouldn't go there again. I used also Trend Micro and it slowed down the machines to the point that the only option was to remove the antivirus.

ESET has a centralized management platform with reporting as well. I made use of it at the beginning, then I just get tired looking at the reports. Too many viruses cleaned that require no action from my side.

Since I'm using ESET, only two virus disasters so far, and both from Laptop users when working out-of-office. One required full formatting as it put the complete file structure to "hidden" (no documentation missing) and the other one a full scanning and a registry tweak fixed the problem.

You can get ESET directly through your preferred supplier or you can get it directly from them as well (they have office in SA and they will invoice in Rand).

Also Kaspersky is a very good option, but I cannot comment about it (I haven't really use it).

Check AV Comparatives http://www.av-comparatives.org/ for full testing reports.
 
I prefer Kaspersky. Good Security Console (Security Center). Easy administration, realtime policy changes and applying those policies to machines is close to instant. One repository for updates and program specific updates. All in all a great well rounded security solution. I have used it successfully for almost 4 years now.
 
My vote is for ESET.

A two year license => R110 per client, has remote administration, real time policies etc. etc. Install & forget.
 
thanks for the suggestions, and feel free to keep them rolling in. So far it looks like its a toss-up between ESET, Kaspersky and Sophos. I am currently estimating pricing and features of both, and will provide some updates on what was chosen...
 
Last edited:
+1 for Eset for reasons mentioned above.
If I recall correctly you can get a discount if you're switching to them from a different vendor...
 
I'v worked with all the above mentioned software and Kaspersky is years ahead of all the others. Granted to manage it properly you will have to go for some training but once you know the product you will not change to anything else.

Kaspersky actually offers more then just Anti-virus.
 
TheGuy said:
I'v worked with all the above mentioned software and Kaspersky is years ahead of all the others. Granted to manage it properly you will have to go for some training but once you know the product you will not change to anything else.

Kaspersky actually offers more then just Anti-virus.
Click to expand...

I don't want to sound vain, but I never went for training and it was a piece of cake to learn the software and the different policy related settings that accompany it. If you know how to use a basic console it's really easy to understand how everything works. :)
 
we use symantec someone demonstrated Sophos to me and was impressed.
 
I'm not very clued up on enterprise level AntiVirus solutions but is Microsoft's Forefront software any good? I used Forefront on my Windows Home server because it was just about the only AV I could find at the time that was compatible. Really can't say if it was good or bad.
 
We've used McAfee, BitDefender, Trend Micro, Kaspersky, and now Eset. Kaspersky was great, until a particular power surge corrupted its database. We did a full un install and reinstall to try and get it working. Had to format and reinstall 14 servers, and 150 workstations, just to remove Kaspersky so we could get it working again. Then the final straw when the engine just caused random blue screens on all our Windows workstations at random times, often when connecting a USB drive. Plus it often just dropped clients off the console. Then policy didn't always role out. Unpredictable. Onto Eset, and touch wood, no issues so far.
 
thanks for all the awesome, detailed feedback... it is greatly appreciated :D
 
graviti said:
We've used McAfee, BitDefender, Trend Micro, Kaspersky, and now Eset. Kaspersky was great, until a particular power surge corrupted its database. We did a full un install and reinstall to try and get it working. Had to format and reinstall 14 servers, and 150 workstations, just to remove Kaspersky so we could get it working again. Then the final straw when the engine just caused random blue screens on all our Windows workstations at random times, often when connecting a USB drive. Plus it often just dropped clients off the console. Then policy didn't always role out. Unpredictable. Onto Eset, and touch wood, no issues so far.
Click to expand...

I can in no way believe that anyone in their right mind would format and reload 14 server and 150 workstation to remove an antivirus. Absolute worst case scenario would be to write a script that removes all the Kaspersky related registry keys and run it on all the devices.
 
graviti said:
We've used McAfee, BitDefender, Trend Micro, Kaspersky, and now Eset. Kaspersky was great, until a particular power surge corrupted its database. We did a full un install and reinstall to try and get it working. Had to format and reinstall 14 servers, and 150 workstations, just to remove Kaspersky so we could get it working again. Then the final straw when the engine just caused random blue screens on all our Windows workstations at random times, often when connecting a USB drive. Plus it often just dropped clients off the console. Then policy didn't always role out. Unpredictable. Onto Eset, and touch wood, no issues so far.
Click to expand...

The lesson here is always have backups.
 
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