With Microsoft getting in the antimalware game--behind free antivirus and antispyware in Vista and its Forefront Client Security business software--standalone antimalware vendors have had to adjust their strategies and improve centralized management, spyware and rootkit protection.
Readers deemed McAfee VirusScan Enterprise and AntiSpyware Enter- prise ahead of the pack, praising the speed of signature updates to the product as well as its ability to detect, block and remove malware. Administration and configuration also scored well with readers.
McAfee AntiSpyware Enterprise satisfies concerns over administration by pushing its protection onto systems where McAfee's VirusScan Enterprise is installed, providing both defenses with the same engine, DAT files and management interface.
VirusScan Enterprise, like many antimalware products, moves beyond a strictly signature-based design. McAfee's tool also uses heuristics and genetic detection to provide protection from malicious code.
Another feature of the antimalware combination is its access protection rules, where customers can define how a system is used. "With [these] rules, we can lock down folders, files and processes," says Ed Metcalf, senior product marketing manger for McAfee. Metcalf suggests a user could configure VirusScan, for example, to block the execution of any non-Windows executables, close ports or prevent the alteration of any file extensions.
Users are also able to customize the update process for remote systems, and tailor updates to physical locations and connection speeds.
In addition to the management capabilities, readers praised McAfee VirusScan Enterprise and AntiSpyware Enterprise's reliability and ease of use. McAfee's focus on integration and management put it over the top. Both VirusScan and AntiSpyware Enterprise are essential parts of McAfee's Total Protection product, released a year ago.
SILVER | Websense Enterprise
Websense
Price: $19/seat, 1,000 users
Reporting and alerting features, as well as service and support, earned Websense Enterprise high marks and a share of the silver medal. The tool allows organizations to establish flexible Internet use policies and control Web access. The Web filtering tool categorizes sites, scanning the Internet for malicious code or potential attacks.
Websense Enterprise's policy interface enables users to organize their employees into groups and provision access accordingly. Policies can be set based on users/groups defined in Microsoft Windows Active Directory, Sun Java System Directory Server and Novell eDirectory accessed via LDAP, RADIUS and Citrix environments.
SILVER | Trend Micro AntiVirus, AntiSpyware
Trend Micro
Price: $39.95/user
Trend Micro's AntiVirus and AntiSpyware earned a share of the silver medal with high scores for its reporting and alert capabilities, as well as for its signature update features.
Trend Micro AntiVirus and AntiSpyware do real-time monitoring, automatically checking email attachments for known and unknown attacks, and issue alerts when an abnormality is detected. Scans can also be scheduled or customized. Trend Micro has trimmed false positives, the company says. It also offers deleted file recovery features, which can help users recover any quarantined files that may have been cleared out accidentally.
