Symantec AntiVirus Enterprise Edition 8.0 By Jay Munro April 22, 2003

• Product: Symantec AntiVirus Enterprise Edition 8.0
• Price: For 25 users, support included $1,807.50 per year
• Company Info: Symantec Corp., 408-517-8000, www.symantec.com

Editor Rating:

A household name in antivirus, thanks to its Norton line, Symantec protects enterprises with its Enterprise Edition without a lot of configuration headaches. We like the interface and its ease, but its reporting is limited compared with McAfee's, and Trend Micro beats Symantec for outbreak containment.

Enterprise Edition includes Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition (SAVCE), which contains the Symantec System Center (SSC) plus server and client scanners. The separate Symantec Packager lets administrators create and deploy custom installations. Symantec AntiVirus/Filtering for Microsoft Exchange has strong virus, content, and spam control for Exchange 2000 servers. To protect generic or multiple e-mail servers, Symantec AntiVirus for SMTP Gateways stops many e-mail viruses before they get into the system.

SAVCE adds new features for managing desktops and servers. Client software can be managed, unmanaged, or both—suitable for both deskbound and mobile workers. As with earlier versions, heuristics and scanning of all files are active for both on-access and on-demand scanning. A central quarantine tracks new viruses found by heuristics, and the software can deliver automated responses and repairs.

SAVCE's MMC-based System Center can create logical groups of machines under parent servers, allowing for group-based policies. But we still prefer Trend Micro's Web-based management. Real-time protection status now alerts administrators when a user disables AV protection.

You can install both client and server protection directly from the CD, the SSC, or Symantec Packager. With Packager, administrators create custom installations on disks, on the Web, or via its own deployment tool. Packager also lets you create custom stealth installations.

Anyone familiar with Norton AntiVirus will have no problem configuring the client. End users can change some scanner settings, but administrators have very precise control over this; they can even lock every file-system setting separately.

The server antivirus software is password-protected, although the client version isn't. The client has plug-in support for Exchange and Notes e-mail. Improved LiveUpdate support lets managers set clients to update from internal LiveUpdate servers or from Symantec's site directly—useful for mobile workers.

Symantec AntiVirus/Filtering (AVF) for Microsoft Exchange is easy to configure and has nice HTML consoles. The interface lets you manage scheduled and manual scans, policies, configuration, logging, and reports. The main screen summarizes the current state of protection and basic virus stats. Help and documentation are excellent.

The settings and virus-handling options in Symantec AntiVirus for SMTP Gateways includes blocking policies that can be based on subject line, message size, spam lists, and extensions. Administrators can configure alerts for 15 event types, such as dropped connections.

Easy installation, intuitive interfaces, and central alert management make Symantec a good choice for busy administrators. As a bonus, the LiveUpdate architecture and Packager provide the flexibility that mobile workforces need.