Newbie question : antivirus informations.

[Schlum]

Hello antivirus master,

I have to make a paper for my boss, he wants me to compare different
antivirus solutions in order to *maybe* change our old system. But when
googling I could only find some really junk comparatives made by general
web site (you should choose norton, is new interface is sooooo cute
.....) or others made by antivirus compagnies themselves (We are the
best, no lies ...).
I am quite new in the antivirus field and I really would like to have
your advice about it.

Here are our specification :

About 25 windows 2000 boxes for users (Office work/mails/few specific
applications...)
We host our own mail server using a windows 2000 box with navieg for an
antivirus (we are quite unhappy of it)
We really would like to use a linux based antivirus to check the
incoming and outgoing mails.
Our server are unix based systems, but for the moment we do not use any
antivirus for them, do you think it is mandatory ?
Finally the cost is for us a big issue as we are a poooooooor compagnie
(snif sniff

Any advice/link/ressource you could point me will be greatly appreciate !
Thank you very much

Jerome

 

[Jibefan]

Well, I would have said you are a prime canidate for Sophos, until I read
the last line.

Sophos has excellent centralized updates, e-mail scanning at the server and
protection for your Unix based systems. It also has excellent detection
rates and is not a resource hog. Unfortunately it is not cheap. Then again,
neither is shutting down your network to clean a virus that slips through.

 

[Schlum]

Thank you for your advice, I am checking Sophos web site for more
informations.

I have another question : What about free AV like AVG (I mean for the
users computer). I saw, it got the VB100% label lately, is it a good
hint to rank a AV or just another bullshit label ?

I am turning AVG now on my PC to try it, but I don't want to get some
virus in my network just for "test"

Any comment ?

Thanks all,

Schlum

 

[Jibefan]

Well, here is my full 2 cents worth.

First let me tell you my credentials. I am a consultant/reseller with 15
yrs. experience. I currently have ~150 clients that range in size from
single systems up to a $6 billion dollar/yr. corporation. Basically I tell
these people what to do with their PC dollar.

As for AVG, I have no experience with it. I am about to uninstall Sophos
from my home system and install AVG for testing. I have heard great things
about it here and there seem to be some very knowledgeable people here. I
think it would be a wonderful thing for home users, provided it works as
well as everyone says.

For a company, who relies on their pc's (more than they think), I would
prefer to have something that has support behind it. When you are in the
situation that I am, supporting the nuimber of users I do, you need to have
some sort of support system behind you.

I currently recommend 2 virus packages, depending on the situation. For
small networks or single users, I usually recommend Norman. (www.norman.com)
It is a good virus software that has a small footprint (in terms of system
resources) and is rock solid. It is reasonably priced ($40/yr.) and has
solid automatic updating. I have it installed at ~20 or so sites with no
problems.

I recommend Sophos for anyone who needs centralized updates, mail server
protection, or Linux protection. I feel that Sophos is the Rolls Royce of AV
software. Out of all the packages I have ever worked with it has the best
centralized updates, excellent centralized monitoring, and world class
technical support. They also include a product called Remote Update that
will allow updating to remote sites via a web interface. Their one drawback
is that they are a little expensive, but you should also consider that the
license includes protection for all of your employees home systems. So for
25 users you would be looking at around $1250.00 per year including your
server and mail monitor protection. At $50.00 per user (including servers
and the users home systems) that is really not a bad deal.

If you are interested in Sophos, call me @ 214.850.5469. I can put you in
touch with a company who is a Sophos reseller that can process your order.
They have their own Technical Support staff who are top notch and that gives
you an additional layer of support.

OK. So maybe that was more like $2 worth. I am off to start my eval of AVG!

 

[Schlum]

Jibefan,

Thank you very much for the time you spent to answer me. I actually did
need this kind of answer. I continue to do my report and will let you
know what decision we take as soon as God (little name for the guy in
charge here) made up his mind.

By the way, I would be really interested in your comment about AVG when
you finish your tests.

All the best,

Schlum

 

[Paul]

Well, here is my full 2 cents worth.

First let me tell you my credentials. I am a consultant/reseller with 15
yrs. experience. I currently have ~150 clients that range in size from
single systems up to a $6 billion dollar/yr. corporation. Basically I tell
these people what to do with their PC dollar.

As for AVG, I have no experience with it. I am about to uninstall Sophos
from my home system and install AVG for testing. I have heard great things
about it here and there seem to be some very knowledgeable people here. I
think it would be a wonderful thing for home users, provided it works as
well as everyone says.

AVG scores very badly against most of the others. NOD32 by Eset is a
terrific product which outscores most of the other virus checkers.

Read about it here: http://www.virusbtn.com/vb100/archives/products.xml

 

[Jibefan]

Well, I couldn't even get AVG to download. I got some error message in a
foreign language when I tried to go to the download page. For me, the test
is over.