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ThreatTrack Security VIPRE Business Premium

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VIPRE Business Premium is one of the endpoint products that focuses on malware and it does it well. This is a combination on-premises and cloud-based offering. The VIPRE server is on-prem and when a machine is off the network and cannot communicate with the server, it communicates with the ThreatTrack server as roaming is enabled. That server, in the cloud, takes care of the endpoint as long as the user is off-network. When the user returns, ThreatTrack communicates with the site server and syncs up the user.

In addition to fighting malware, VIPRE supports third-party patch management and takes advantage of firewalls and known bad URL lists. It supports Windows, Mac iOS and Android as well as HyperV virtual environments. When you start the VIPRE installation it checks all machines scheduled for deployment for competitive products and prior installations of Vipre. It then removes competitive products and installs, updating the pre-installed VIPRE if necessary. By default it installs its own database, but SQL also is supported.

Alerting via email has an interesting approach. If the customer has no email or if the email cannot be used for alerting for some reason, VIPRE provides its own email alerting service. VIPRE watches all sources of malware including known bad URLs. In addition to its own list, updated regularly, users can add whitelisting. So, for organizations that wish to control user browsing, a whitelist of allowed sites works.

The firewall is Vipre's own and it is based on Snort and Snort-like rules. There is some IDS capability built in but this is not one of its strengths. In addition to what one would expect in terms of looking for Windows threats in the Windows environments only, VIPRE also checks Macs in the enterprise for Windows threats. While that might seem odd at first, remember that a non-Windows environment can act as a sort of "Typhoid Mary" carrying and passing on malware. As soon as the infected device connects to the network it transfers its malware load to the network and any Windows machines it finds.

VIPRE supports mobile devices and, while Android is straightforward, iOS behaves like the roaming service. A neat feature of VIPRE is that it can locate a device geographically using Google Maps. VIPRE keeps a complete audit trail, including an ongoing record of patched devices. The Patch Management Summary report shows patched versus unpatched and - an important feature - the impact of unapplied patches. This allows the administrator to plan patching so as not to interfere with ongoing operations while still maintaining security.

In addition to - but largely based on - Vipre's anti-malware capability, the tool provides anti-phishing and email security, mobile device management, incompatible software removal and unprotected computer identification. Deployment of the server component is a Windows Server 2008 R2 with 2B of available RAM supplied by the user. Basic support - eight-hours-a-day/five-days-a-week - is included and for $4.56 per computer you can get premium support. The website is complete and has a good support section including a knowledge base and FAQ, as well as being a portal into support.

VIPRE Business Premium is a product of a company that has been in the market space for a long time. They certainly know the malware threat space as well or better than any. This product leverages cloud resources but not to the extent some other cloud-based approaches do. That's both good and bad. Bad because it may be limiting, especially in identifying zero-day threats - although VIPRE does a lot of functions - in the cloud. Good because it is not limiting when it comes to availability and performance on the network for those users who do not roam. Providing the option of roaming or not is a very positive feature.

Price for this product is excellent, especially for smaller organizations.

Product title
ThreatTrack Security VIPRE Business Premium
Product info
Name: ThreatTrack Security VIPRE Business Premium Description: VIPRE Business Premium is one of the endpoint products that focuses on malware and it does it well. This is a combination on-premises and cloud-based offering. Price: Starts at $19.80 per computer for five computers, scaling to $12.30 per computer for 250-499 computers.
Strength
The roaming option, mobile device management and strong anti-malware capability are standouts.
Weakness
Some features are not as strong as they could be. Even so, it is better to have them than not.
Verdict
This is a capable enterprise-grade anti-malware tool with some additional features. It is perfect for small- and mid-sized businesses, especially with its attractive pricing.

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