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Corporate Anti-Spyware Solutions

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by nuskool 1 view

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Hi,

I am fairly new to Tech Republic and the IT feild (6 mo.) I came to work for a mortgage company and their network was a disaster. No patches, many machines missing anti-virus or had outdated copies, no group policy, things stopped working all of a sudden (printers, shares etc.)

The network is pretty stable now and I was looking into an anti-spyware solution. We are currently using Symantec Corporate Edition v. 10, and have a 2003 SBS. All clients are running XP. I have tried Webroots spysweeper and it is o.k. but I was wondering what other members of Tech Republic are using. Does anyone have any recommendations or experiences they would like to share? I would greatly appreciate any input.

Also being new to the IT field, I would also appreciate any input as to what I should look for to make sure the network is secure and resources remain available.

Thanks in advance.

7 replies

by absolutely

and not a single incident in just over a year, including 2 months trolling the web for crackz, researching patterns of copyright infringement, which of course took me to the worst places in cyberspace. With current antivirus definitions and windows updates (corporate policy), you probably don't need Lavasoft AdAware SE or Spybot Search & Destroy, but since you asked for recommendations, those are mine.

by nuskool

but, I thought that it was a good idea to have an anti-spyware solution also. Spysweeper caught alot of spyware that norton missed during the trial.Norton does catch some spyware but I wanted to go with a dedicated solution because all of our employees have internet action and I haven't sold my boss on restricting websites yet.

by faradhi

Then Counter Spy is the way to go. I have tried WebRoot Enterprise, CA's offering (i cannot remember the name but it was not good) and Lavasoft's Management console.

As for success in catching threats. All performed well. None of the offerings I tested caught everything. So our decision was decided on usability and manageability. CounterSpy won hands down.
----Adding---
CounterSpy was more aggressive than Webroot and did tend to flag programs as spyware that were not in the context we were using them (VNC for example). However It was real easy to set exclusions.

by nuskool

I had seen this before but was unsure about the company. I am going to give it a try. Usability and management are what I am looking for but conserving system resources is a factor also.

by briggch

I worked in a PC repair mill (no, not Geek Squad), and we used a plethora of anti-spyware software. Spybot, Ad-aware, Microsoft Anti-Spyware, Webroot Spysweeper.... and NO single program found and removed all instances of spyware. We usually ended up using all these listed and STILL sometimes the PC wouldn't be cured. The only real way to eliminate spyware is to limit the sites your people are granted access to.

by cpoled

Sunbelt Software, located in Florida, will no longer update it's Counter Spy anti-spyware program as of December, 2011. It wil,l instead, incorporate it in it's Vipre Anti-Virus software.

by rockinra

It only makes sense to start with web filtering. Then you will have a much easier time keeping people from getting spyware. Use the Anti-Spyware program to clean up what people get on the pages you allow. My employer uses WebSense for web filtering. It is a little pricey but very effective. You can also setup Dans-Guardian on Linux for free. Its a good thing. You're keeping them from going places you wouldn't want them to go anyway. And that is proactive. I managed a school lab and until I put on filtering there was noway to stop all the junk.
Thanks Good Discussion.

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