Anti - Spyware software solution for corporate use 1

[bhogaj31]

Hi,

I need some information regarding anti-spyware software solutions for use in an corporate organisation.

Is there an industry standard that is widely used in corporations?

Is it liked by clients and the support teams?

Is it effective?

I am testing McAfee Anti-spyware 8.5, which I don't think is very good because I am making up all the rules my self for controlling it's behaviour an that doesn't look right to me.

I would like to find a software solution that -

- I could deploy to Windows XP sp2/vista clients
- automatically updates from a central machine "unix or windows"

I wish that the configuration of the client software could be accordingly changed to reflect the vulnerabilities around at present, so that we don't need to -

- have a human decide what configuration to use
- go around and change configuration every time a new vulnerability emerges

Does this make sense?

Any help much appreciated.

Bhogaj31

 

[bhogaj31]

Oh I forgot to mention, I need a solution for Mac also.

Many thanks

Bhogaj31

 

[2ffat]

AFAIK, there is no industry standard. Most corp spyware programs are being rolled into antivirus programs, such as McAfee, Sophos, Trend-Micro, etc.

Have you looked at the corp offerings from some of the free antispyware programs like Spybot and Spyware Terminator? Yes, they co$t but they might do what you want as far as deployable solutions to multiple OS and centralized config.



James P. Cottingham
-----------------------------------------
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[pechenegs]

you could also look at These two also, AVG antispyware formely ewido and Superantispyware!

Member of ASAP Alliance of Security Analysis Professionals

under the name khazars

 

[Glenn9999]

AVG antispyware formely ewido

Which has been rolled into AVG Anti-Virus like 2ffat has mentioned for the others. I'm sure support for this one as well as AVG Anti-Rootkit will go away soon. (You can still get the free version of AVG Anti-Spyware but I'm sure that will end soon.)

But since the question involves a corporate organization, this suggestion is moot anyway. OP: If you want to go with this company you will want to seek AVG Anti-Virus.

 

[pechenegs]

I wouldn't go with AVG anti virus, Avast is just as good and Avira has better detection and heuristics.

If anyone is serious about anti virus for a business then you have to ho with either Kaspersky, Nod32, and possibly Trend or maybe even Dr web!

I would also eschew using suites as they are too bloated and instead get a good anti virus, and a good firewall router with a desktop firewall for handling outgoing, but in a corporate area a good configured firewall router with group policy would keep users under control!

A good desktop firewall is Jetico and Comodo, which was a bit bulky on resources, Jetico is probably the best as a pro paid firewall.

Member of ASAP Alliance of Security Analysis Professionals

under the name khazars

 

[reduct101]

It's got to be ESET's Nod32 if you're really serious. And there was me thinking that Macs were impervious to viruses and spyware? ;-)

 

[Glenn9999]

I wouldn't go with AVG anti virus, Avast is just as good and Avira has better detection and heuristics.

Neither of which indicate to have any kind of anti-spyware capability. The newest version of AVG anti-virus does, however.

Since AVG Anti-Spyware is effectively a unsupported and moot proposition in the corporate arena now, do you have any other suggestions for anti-spyware software or is SuperAntiSpyware it?

 

[kjv1611]

Re: AVG Antispyware and Antivirus: I had no clue that the Antispyware part had been rolled into the AntiVirus part. So, is this just for the paid version, or the free version of the AV program as well? I've got to look into this. I would assume that having both installed would be overkill if that is the case.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[Glenn9999]

So, is this just for the paid version, or the free version of the AV program as well?

The way I read it, it's for the paid version only at the moment.

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/download-free-anti-spyware/us/frt/0

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/us/frt/0

The current paid version is AVG Anti-Virus 8.0 which they sell for $34.99 a license, they add anti-spam and firewall for $20 more. They offer the previous versions (7.5) of both AVG Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware in the free option.

I would presume if there is an interest in payment to satisfy the EULA in a non-private corporate situation, that it would entail the 8.0 version only. I don't see any option to purchase previous versions on the site.

 

[kjv1611]

Thanks for that info.

--

"If to err is human, then I must be some kind of human!" -Me

 

[bhogaj31]

Thanks all, lots of information, I'm gonna be evaluating a few products, but the brief has also changed to just a good anti-virus product without anti-spyware capability.

Thanks

 

[snootalope]

bhogaj31 - we went through the same process you are about three years ago. I got sick and tired of working till 1am removing malware and junk crap from pc's and servers.

Rather than installing something on multiple machines, we purchased a Trend Micro product called IWSS (Interscan Web Security Suite) - this is a service that acts as a proxy server and scans every bit of internet traffic that flows through it. If it finds something, it can delete, quarantine, etc. All kinds of good stuff. We just used a group policy to force our end users to use this proxy and lock down the options in IE.

In three years now we haven't had another single bit of spyware, grayware, viruses, etc. Nothing. I love the thing. Sure it's got its small quirks like anything else, but the good outway the bad by so far..

It runs on Windows 2003 server (probably runs on alot others too) and runs great. It has LDAP authentication that tells you exactly what user did what and when. It updates itself regularly. Overall it's at least an 8 out of 10 on my list.

Linkage:

http://us.trendmicro.com/us/products/enterprise/interscan-web-security-suite/

 

[ArizonaGeek]

I just tested a bunch of anti-virus (antispyware, firewall etc) and Sophos came out on top when it came to features and ease of use. However they were also the most expensive and I run the IT shop for a small company where cost is always in question. I wound up going with Kaspersky. They gave us a fantastic deal on an upgrade from our Syamantec license. We got a three year license for the cost of one year and it was still less than half what Sophos wanted and 25% cheaper than our upgrade from our then current provider, Symantec. On top of that Kaspersky gave us a matching number of 1 year home licenses for free.

The admin interface for Kaspersky isnt the easiest to figure out, it really isnt the type where you can just walk up and figure it out. But as I am finding out, the reason is because it can do just about anything you want it to do. It really took a few days of trial and error to get it set up the first time. On the up side of that, Kaspersky support have been fantastic! I've called them a few times and only once sat on hold and then only for a few minutes. I've gotten every question answered by an intelligent person who, even they didn't know the answer right off, found someone who did know it.

I've been very impressed with Kaspersky. I was so angry with Symantec I couldn't wait to get rid of them. After I tested several other companies (Sophos, McAffee, TrendMicro) it came down to price and features - Kaspersky fit the bill perfect.

Good luck in your search!

Cheers
Rob

The answer is always "PEBKAC!