Question

Business Anti-Virus / Firewall (Eset vs. Kaspersky vs. AVG, or other)

Asked by: PlazaProp

My company currently uses Mcafee Total Protection for Small Business and we a constantly having issues with it.  Updating freezing computer, firewall configuration on web console randomly denies applications that I have already authorized.  The only advantage that Mcafee has is that the management server/console is hosted by them therefore we don't have to maintain any servers.  However,  I am starting to believe that I spend more time fixing Mcafee issues than it's worth.  

We have about 50 computers at our corporate office and about 50 out in the field that are not part of the LAN and they don't connect back to the LAN at all.  We would like to be able to manage the firewall and Anti-virus settings from one location.

I have looked at Norton (Symantec) and TrendMicro but they require a server class OS for the management database side of it. And Norton seems to be a resource hog also.   Eset, Kaspersky, AVG all allow the management database to be installed on Windows 2000, XP, or Server OS.  AVG even supports Linux.  I have read that ESET has a very good light resource engine. I use AVG Free version at home, but that is a whole different ballgame especially when I am then one using the computer.  Here at the office I don't have total control of what the employee does, where they go on the web and what emails they get.  

So my question is: has anyone used ESET, Kaspersky or AVG in a business environment?  And has anyone done this in an environment similar to ours (lan and non-lan computers)?
How easy or hard is it to manage the policies in these products?  Any other suggestions for a Mcafee replacement (EPO is to expensive and so far I am not happy with Mcafee)?

(Web content filtering would also be a nice feature to have but not necessary.)

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Asked On
2009-08-07 at 09:56:23ID24635338
Tags

anti-virus

,

firewall

,

eset

,

kaspersky

,

avg

,

spyware

Topics

Enterprise Anti-Virus

,

Proxy/Firewall Anti-Virus

,

Anti-Virus Applications

Participating Experts
5
Points
500
Comments
14

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Answers

 

by: efg-uaePosted on 2009-08-07 at 09:59:43ID: 25044825

Hi

We are using Kaspersky in Enterpise Envirnoment having more than 100 Computers. It is working very nice without any issues.

We never spend any time in fixing its issues.

Thanks

Malik Asif Joyia

 

by: notacomputergeekPosted on 2009-08-07 at 10:43:39ID: 25045233

I have a client using Kaspersky Enterprise Edition and have been very happy. We pulled Symantec 10.2 Corp Edition out of that office last year, because it was unable to identify and defend againt certain viruses (yes, it was up to date). They also use the Exchange component of Kaspersky. A good Firewall  appliance with A/V capability can also go a long way in defending against bad stuff. As for the laptops in the field, they are in an unmanaged mode and retrieve their own updates.

I've learned to have many layers of defense, including a good network applicance, Corporate A/V, disabling OS features, firewalls, Hosts file modifications, and company policies. Every company operates differently and each comany's needs will dictate what you need to implement for your overall solution.

 

by: PlazaPropPosted on 2009-08-07 at 11:16:47ID: 25045515

notacomputergeek,

We do use Windows AD GPO to lockdown the windows firewall and some other windows features, users have limited rights and we have Endian as our firewall / a/v on the WAN connection.  We don' t modify the Hosts table and I haven't had a need to, yet.  

What I am curious about Kaspersky, ESET and AVG is how easy or hard is it to manage 50+ computers and can they manage computers not part of the LAN?

 

by: MesthaPosted on 2009-08-07 at 11:20:27ID: 25045554

I have AVG on most of the sites I manage. Once it is setup, it just gets on with it.
The management console is a little quirky, but I have seen worse. It can push out the installer, but as with all push applications the success rate can be hit and miss. Therefore it can also create an installation batch file with your initial settings which you can run on each workstation.

With some care over the DNS configuration, it is even possible to have remote machines calling back to your internal server for updates, so that you can see the definition status.

Simon.

 

by: PlazaPropPosted on 2009-08-07 at 11:25:33ID: 25045606

Mestha,

On the AV side of things most of the products seem to update automatically and that probably will not be my issue.  My issue will probably be the firewall configuration.  Is that pretty straight forward with AVG? and is updating the clients pretty straight forward?  Do they contact the management server or does the management server push out the updates?  Can you define different intervals for the AV updates and the firewall updates or do they both happen together?

 

by: MesthaPosted on 2009-08-07 at 11:28:30ID: 25045637

I don't use the firewall functionality of AVG at all, so cannot comment on that. For the firewall I just use the Windows firewall. The Antivirus pulls the updates. However I have found that AVG will setup the Windows firewall correctly. The update time can be specified, I usually have it set to call in every 20 minutes to an hour, depending on the site.

Simon.

 

by: notacomputergeekPosted on 2009-08-07 at 11:36:36ID: 25045711

Once set up, I don't spend much time with Kaspersky other than looking at the management console to see if anything was detected. Basically, you create groups (one group for the whole company will suffice), create Policies, such as Install Kaspersky, add the computer to the group (this is easy becasue it integrates with AD), then right-click on a computer and run the Deployment Wizard using the Install Policy that was created. After pushing the client software, the computer will need to reboot. Updates with this product can be set to every hour, instead of daily, if necessary.

As far as computers that are not part of the LAN, the Kaspersky client is installed manually and unmanaged.

 

by: notacomputergeekPosted on 2009-08-07 at 11:38:19ID: 25045721

Oops, sorry, Group Tasks are created to do the install - not Policies.

 

by: PlazaPropPosted on 2009-08-07 at 13:57:55ID: 25046897

Mestha,

I am curious, how many computers are you managing with just the AVG anti-virus and only the windows firewall?  Are you using a firewall on the wan connection and if so are you using an appliance like Endian, SonicWall or just a simple device like a linksys?

 I have found the Windows firewall to be unreliable, sometime even disabled for no apparent reason.  I am sure there is a reason but I haven't found the answer on those boxes, maybe spyware.  My users cannot turn off the windows firewall but I have still found it to be only minimally effective.  Microsoft actually recommends that you turn off the windows firewall if using another product.  I like to think of it as the screen door and my non-ms firewall as the steel door on the network connection.  Yes I have to manage both, but with GPO the windows firewall is pretty easy, as long as the other firewall doesn't prevent GPO's from being applied, which is what happen a while ago with Mcafee.  That is another reason why I want to replace Mcafee.  If GPO's can't be applied then security settings could be improperly applied, software installation via GPO will not happen, auto printer installs will not happen, etc.

 

by: MesthaPosted on 2009-08-07 at 14:28:16ID: 25047105

The Windows firewall is used internally only - most machines have it enabled - so over the various sites it is probably 100 or more. SBS looks after in many cases.

A firewall isn't going to stop spyware, but if something can get on to the machine then that is game over. The firewall and AV configuration is just part of the strategy, the main one being the users not having admin rights.

The network is protected from the internet by various devices. A couple of sites with Cisco kit, a couple with Linksys/Netgear type devices.

I haven't used McAfee for many years, I gave up with the big four AV vendors and haven't looked back since.

Simon.

 

by: Alberto_SuarezPosted on 2009-08-09 at 08:49:12ID: 25054571

Take a look at this product called "CA Threat Manager Total Defense"

http://home3.ca.com/PartnerPortal/Business/BusinessProducts/totaldefense.aspx


Before buying you can talk with a specialist in CA and request a demo.
In addition, you can try for 30 days, with access to the support of CA.

At my company we use, and although we had some other problem (and who has not), we are happy.
You see that does not consume all the resources of the machines, you can create a centralized policy, you have a bunch of different operating systems. And the price is also very well especially in the annual maintenance renewals, much lower than other products.

 

by: techdcPosted on 2009-08-27 at 12:39:35ID: 25201823

I have to say that I have studied the applications and put together charts. Sophos is the best. It has low system resources and works great. It is easy to install. I would recommend Sophos.

Try going here http://www.sophos.com. They also have a trail and if you want a person to ask questions, I have someone that I spoke to that is great!


Steve

 

by: techdcPosted on 2009-08-27 at 12:45:54ID: 25201886

WE just moved to this software. The policies are really easy to use. If they are out of the office (like laptops) they can install updates and use the same policies.

 

by: PlazaPropPosted on 2009-08-28 at 09:45:04ID: 31612999

no comments.

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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