SBS 2008 -- Live OneCare and Forefront or ESET
Hi experts,
I am installing SBS 2008 Standard Edition. I have come to the point where I must choose if I want the four month trial of Live OneCare for antivirus protection and/or Forefront for Exchange Server. I have no issues with paying for them if I like them.
I have just installed ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4.0 on my network when I had SBS 2003, and it works great. As you know, you install the ERA on the server, which is a service and can also install an Antivirus application on the server. The application for the server comes with Exchange protection.
To make it even more confusing, I guess I can use OneCare on clients as well.
So, my questions:
1. Am I better using Onecare on the server than ESET (which I would think would be more thorough)?
2. Am I better off using Forefront for Exchange rather than the ESET client? The ESET may be more secure, but Forefront may work more seamlessly.
3. ESET would be my choice for my clients. Would OneCare work as well or can they work together? I wouldn't think so.
I am installing SBS 2008 Standard Edition. I have come to the point where I must choose if I want the four month trial of Live OneCare for antivirus protection and/or Forefront for Exchange Server. I have no issues with paying for them if I like them.
I have just installed ESET NOD32 Antivirus 4.0 on my network when I had SBS 2003, and it works great. As you know, you install the ERA on the server, which is a service and can also install an Antivirus application on the server. The application for the server comes with Exchange protection.
To make it even more confusing, I guess I can use OneCare on clients as well.
So, my questions:
1. Am I better using Onecare on the server than ESET (which I would think would be more thorough)?
2. Am I better off using Forefront for Exchange rather than the ESET client? The ESET may be more secure, but Forefront may work more seamlessly.
3. ESET would be my choice for my clients. Would OneCare work as well or can they work together? I wouldn't think so.
In my opinion OneCare was not any good.. but that has changed and that product is not available anymore.. Forefront is the business end of the AV where not Microsoft Security Essentials is the free home side and it has been very effective in my view.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/172958/independent_tester_security_essentials_very_good.html
Nod32 ranks 9th out of the 10 tested here:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/1986/top_paid_antivirus_2010.html
And when they did they test MSE was just barley released. I plan to move several clients from Webroot /Sophos to the Forefront option when their licenses are due.
http://www.microsoft.com/forefront/en/us/default.aspx
http://www.pcworld.com/article/172958/independent_tester_security_essentials_very_good.html
Nod32 ranks 9th out of the 10 tested here:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/collection/1986/top_paid_antivirus_2010.html
And when they did they test MSE was just barley released. I plan to move several clients from Webroot /Sophos to the Forefront option when their licenses are due.
http://www.microsoft.com/forefront/en/us/default.aspx
Honestly, I don't know if there's any fundamental difference between detection engines in personal and business/corporate editions of protection software. However, from my experience, I never had any problems or any unwanted software that came from outside (web, mail) to any of systems I'm covering that was protected by ESET's business products.
Maybe my users are more IT experienced and don't visit websites or open e-mails that represent possible threats to their machines? Can't answer that.
Still, with not that good personal experience with i.e. Symantec's (de)installation and resource hunger, F-Secure's unneded complexity in management and MacAfee's unbeliveable slowness, I'm stying by ESET.
But, at the end of the day - as I said in my previous post - any protection is much better than no protection.
Maybe my users are more IT experienced and don't visit websites or open e-mails that represent possible threats to their machines? Can't answer that.
Still, with not that good personal experience with i.e. Symantec's (de)installation and resource hunger, F-Secure's unneded complexity in management and MacAfee's unbeliveable slowness, I'm stying by ESET.
But, at the end of the day - as I said in my previous post - any protection is much better than no protection.
ASKER
Thanks to both of you:
DMTechGrooup,
With all due respect because you certainly have more knowledge than I do, but I am not sure where PCWorld's testing of standalone versions is that reliable. I can't believe any review that ranks Symantec ahead of anyone, and I had Trend Micro for three years and hated them. When I go online and listen to literally tens and hundreds of individual reviews ESET gets high reviews each time.
When looking at enterprise versions, it seems that ESET ranks up there all the time. Plus, if one looks at reviews by major computing magazines, they all tend to disagree. I do appreciate your other information, though.
Personally, and this is just my experience, I love NOD32.
DMTechGrooup,
With all due respect because you certainly have more knowledge than I do, but I am not sure where PCWorld's testing of standalone versions is that reliable. I can't believe any review that ranks Symantec ahead of anyone, and I had Trend Micro for three years and hated them. When I go online and listen to literally tens and hundreds of individual reviews ESET gets high reviews each time.
When looking at enterprise versions, it seems that ESET ranks up there all the time. Plus, if one looks at reviews by major computing magazines, they all tend to disagree. I do appreciate your other information, though.
Personally, and this is just my experience, I love NOD32.
PC World did not do the tests.. http://av-test.org/ did the independent tests..
OneCare was crap.. they changed and improved the entire product and Forefront and MSE are now the same engine.
But if Nod32 is what you truly like then you have answered your own question.
OneCare was crap.. they changed and improved the entire product and Forefront and MSE are now the same engine.
But if Nod32 is what you truly like then you have answered your own question.
ASKER
dpohl,
Our posts crossed. I agree that Symantec's removal process can nearly crash your whole system. I have found at least five different methods of removing it including Symantec's own way and still had issues. (having a manual -- remove like a hundred registry keys -- method) seems to be proof enough that Symantec is not a way to go.
But, the key here is the question here is not about which antivirus program is the best, although as you allude to, many reviews are based on whether an antivirus program detects 97% or 100% of known viruses, which isn't the only criteria which should be used.
How about using Forefront for Exchange and ESET on the server instead of OneCare? Also, how difficult is it to remove something like Forefront if you wish to change later?
Our posts crossed. I agree that Symantec's removal process can nearly crash your whole system. I have found at least five different methods of removing it including Symantec's own way and still had issues. (having a manual -- remove like a hundred registry keys -- method) seems to be proof enough that Symantec is not a way to go.
But, the key here is the question here is not about which antivirus program is the best, although as you allude to, many reviews are based on whether an antivirus program detects 97% or 100% of known viruses, which isn't the only criteria which should be used.
How about using Forefront for Exchange and ESET on the server instead of OneCare? Also, how difficult is it to remove something like Forefront if you wish to change later?
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ASKER
Thanks for all the help. I would say, though, that I didn't even come close to answering my own question. I have 10 user licenses, and I am using ESET on my clients. I just wondered when I came to that decision if I should use Microft's Exchange product or not. And, I got my answer from both.
Thanks again.
Thanks again.
2. ESET's Exchange protection works very well and doesn't use much of server's resources. I have few various Exchange installations (including one in VMware environment) with no problems with ESET. It's impact on performance is very, very low.
3. Both solutions are much better than none, agreed? :-)
Both solutions can work together on the same network as long as you don't use them on the same hardware.