Centralized anti-virus protection

Get rid of viruses in a flash – a centrally administered network virus scanner protects servers and workstations. And most importantly, administrators are always informed about the security status of the entire network.

Wolfgang Nefzger

A virus scanner installed on a server is not enough to protect a network. Every networked computer needs an anti-virus program. If a network has only two or three nodes, it is still worth installing a personal version of an anti-virus program on each workstation. Vendors such as Trend Micro and Symantec offer 2- user licenses, but these solutions have administration costs which rise with every additional workstation. One alternative is a network virus scanner with a centralized management console. PC Professionell tested 15 such solutions currently available on the market.

The main benefitofnetworksolutionsisthat administrators can ensure the program is functioning correctly. Employees can be prevented from configuringsoftwareincorrectly, or from missing online updates. Users are unable to change default scanner settings. Network virus scanners keep administrators informed about every virus which is detected, ensuring that no malicious code is overlooked. Another benefitofnetwork scanners is centrally downloaded engine updates, which are distributed via the LAN; this reduces the amount of on-line trafficincomparisontoanti-virussolutionsinstalled on individual machines.

All the network solutions tested have a centralized management console which manages the solution on workstations and automatically distributes on-line updates. The console includes predefinedsettings for every networked machine. Virus notificationsaresavedinlogfiles.The management console is also used for centralized installation of the solution on workstations.

The 15 virus scanners tested are designed expressly for small and medium businesses, and all offer support in German. The results are positive: almost all the programs detect malware successfully. Products incorporating the Kaspersky anti-virus engine – such as F-secure and Antivirenkit, which license Kaspersky anti-virus technology and use it in combination with other virus scanners – are especially effective. Kaspersky Anti-Virus detects over 98% of malware, including rare zoo viruses. However, none of the programs tested performed as well as Kaspersky Anti-Virus. Only McAfee, Symantec and Bitdefender come close to Kaspersky’s outstanding detection rates, but fail to detect malware in alternate data streams in NTFS systems.

Virus scanners running in background mode on workstations affect solution speed. When opening Officedocuments,the time lag varies from insignificant(E-Trust Antivirus) to 90% (Panda). The virus scanners of some solutions also have a noticeable effect when copying files–withActivir,E-TrustandTrendMicro there is hardly any effect, but solutions from F-secure, McAfee and Panda slow the system by three to fivetimes.