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Virus Prevention in the Small/Medium Business?

Posted by Cliff on from the keeping-out-the-nasties dept.

Morti asks: "I've been asked to select a virus scanner to be installed on the network at work. It's only a small office with six Windows XP PCs, two Linux servers and any number of Windows XP laptops that random people bring in. And I'm wondering, not just in this case but generally, what is the virus scanning / Internet security solution of choice for the small business these days? Costs need to be kept at a minimum, particularly because this business is a registered charity (a church, no less). We used to have Norton Internet Security but I'm not really keen to keep it. Besides Linux (which I've been pushing but nobody's interested), what is the most cost-effective and generally 'best' virus prevention and Internet security solution for the small/medium business?"

2 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. Nod32 by Dante333 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I've heard a lot of good things about NOD32 http://www.nod32.com/. Its a product you gotta pay for, and it runs on windows. It doesn't seem to have the bloat that Symantec or Mcafee has. They have a free trial, so it may be worth looking at. Another good one is Panda http://www.pandasoftware.com/. You will definately want to check out what they have for management options.

    Now someone mod me down cause I didn't tell them to switch to linux.

  2. Re:not sure what you want by wumingzi · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'll close with a short on-topic rant. I can't stand antivirus subscriptions. Having to track, budget for, and renew subscriptions is a huge PITA. It's not a service - it's software. I'm sort of bummed that so many people have accepted this subscription BS, enabling the vendors to keep pulling it.

    Use any anti-virus software with year-old definitions. Tell me how that works out for you.

    I get annoyed with the cost of maintaining desktops in my office, but AV software pays for itself the first time it keeps a virus from infecting our network. In terms of Software Stuff That Cheeses Me, it is the least of our problems.