[nycbug-talk] windows anti-virus suggestions

[George Bourozikas]

On Tuesday 24 January 2006 12:55, Isaac Levy wrote:
> Hey All,
>
> With some recent fun in an office I'm working at, I'm shopping around
> for a good anti-virus software to use on a fistfull of windows
> machines.
>
> Does anyone on this list have any good recommendations for products/
> services?
>
> Thanks!
> .ike

Others have mentioned AVG (www.grisoft.com) and I second that.  It has 
several good points:

-  Uses a Firebird database, which can reside anywhere (i.e. no need for 
a dedicated Windows administrative workstation

-  Fairly lightweight.  Updates are small and if bandwith is an issue it 
is trivial to set up a local update repository.

-  Catches most bugs, which is as good as anything these days.

-  Intel just invested in AVG, so it will probably be around for a 
while.

-  Scriptable

-  Fairly cheap

And one bad point:

-  Tech support is by e-mail only, at least for us plebes.  Having said 
that, they always got back to me within a minute or two of contacting 
them.  In a way it may even be better that way, as you are left with a 
written record of the whole exchange.

I have used AVG in a smallish environment (around 25 PC users with Linux 
servers) and was happy with it.

Sophos was also very good.  Nowdays, however, they are going the 
Windows/Active Directory route pretty heavily.  I have a successful 
installation on a W2K3 server using a Samba server as a PDC and it 
manages its WinXP workstations just fine, but gone are the days when 
everything in Sophos could be scripted, including signature downloads 
and deployment (that product still exists, but is in maintenance mode 
and due to expire in Feb. 2007).  Also, I am quite sure that the "Small 
Business" edition does not include anything but Windows products.  Oh 
yes, and you pay through the nose (3-5 times over AVG).  Having said 
that, their tech support for the "Enterprise" product is excellent.

Clamav is not really an option for windows because it does not support 
on-access scanning, which is key for critters spreading through e-mail.

Oh yes, keep in mind that most antivirus products have a less than 
stellar record with malware.

--george

P.S. If you need more details, feel free to ping me off-list.

-- 
George Bourozikas