Virus Scanner Review Complete - Interesting Discoveries

Nathan Johanson nathan at TCPNETWORKS.NET
Wed Sep 24 18:07:01 IST 2003


Hello all,

I have completed the first phase of my virus scanner review. I have
research pricing and licensing models for all virus scanners currently
supported by MailScanner. This involves numerous visits to the vendor
web sites, discussions with sales representatives, executives, technical
support, resellers, and so on. I tried to leave no stone unturned. My
review does have a United States bias in terms of pricing (and in at
least one case I didn't call the vendor as there wasn't a US phone
number available). While the licensing models are constant, the prices
will differ (depending on who you talk to and which reseller you use). I
will try to point this out where appropriate.

In short, there are some affordable, viable alternatives (and a few
surprises). I also found some of the vendors to be surprisingly
receptive to inquiries and genuinely interested in working out a
solution. See the Notes for each vendor below for my personal
experiences with each vendor.

I have managed to obtain evaluation versions of most scanners and will
start the testing phase of my review this week (using the most current
version of MailScanner, obviously).

F-Secure
http://www.f-secure.com


F-Secure Anti-Virus for Servers for Linux
http://www.f-secure.com/estore/fsavlinuxserver.shtml
$328.71 per server (as quoted on web site)
Evaluation version available upon request.

Quote from product description:


The command line scanner provides a versatile and powerful tool that
works both as a user-invoken command and as a platform for automated
antivirus systems. Detailed reporting and return codes ensure easy
integration with third party mail scanners such as AMaViS (A Mail Virus
Scanner). 

Notes: F-Secure was very receptive to my inquiries. Oddly enough, when I
first started investigating their product, they used a per-user
licensing model (which was prohibitively expensive for us). I called to
see if they would consider licensing alternatives (and explained how we
would use the product in conjunction with MailScanner). I ended up
talking to a very reception sales directory in San Jose, California.
Within a week, they were offering a version of their scanner at $328.71
per server intended for exactly our purposes. It is unclear if my
discussions with them had anything to do with this recent offering, but
it's good news nonetheless.


--

Command Software (per user)
Bob Anthes
Email: ranthes at authentium.com
800-423-9147 x4195

$500.00 per server/year.
$399.00/year gold support - includes unlimited support and software
upgrades.

--

CA eTrust (per server)
813-612-7504 (EJ Harding)
David Watts
Tel +1 813 612-7383 
Fax +1 631 232-8419
Email David.watts at ca.com

eTrust AntiVirus 7.0 Competitive Upgrade

2 years maintenance
ETRAVE7001CMPE2C
Cost: $14.00 per user per node

3 years maintenance
ETRAVE7001CMPE3C
Cost: $24.95 per user/node.

Media Kit
MPL3MEDGLP400TG
Cost: $20.80

Boxed Product
ETRAVE7005BPME
Cost (5 users, include media, no support): $109.75

Brian Dolan
Channel Partner Manager
800-832-6827 x75521
Email: brian.dolan at ca.com

Order a eTrust trial CD-ROM from the web site at http://www.ca.com,

--

Nod32
sales at nod32.com
(619) 437-7037
Larry McJannet
mcjannet at eset.com
< $500 for three servers

Download software:
username: XNOD0903
password: bg35jkd7ta

Evaluation available upon request.

--

Kaspersky
$375.95 per server/year

Evalution not available.

--

TrendMicro
+1 (877) 268-4847
sales at trendmicro.com
Technical Support: 888.608.1009

Free FileScan for Linux (non-commercial use) -- NO LONGER AVAILABLE
ftp://ftp.antivirus.com/products/freetools
Note: The scanner is still available on the ftp site, but not available
from the web site (as far as I can tell). A representative at Trend
Micro said that the corresponding promotion is over.

09/17/03: Called and left another message for Bob in the sales
department.
09/18/03: Talked to Bob and requested pricing for Interscan VirusWall
and ServerProtect for Linux. Talked to technical support and apparently
neither product incorporates a command line scanner. 

Interscan Viruswall $19.80/user for 501-1000 users 
ServerProtect for Linux $14.08/user for 501-1000 users.
In both cases, cost per user is less as the number of users increases.


--

McAfee

McAfee Sales: 888-722-2232
NAI Sales: 800-338-8754

McAfee Command Line Scanner (for Unix)
1-25 Computers
2 year subscription w/ 1yr connect support
Part #: VCLABE-AA-A
Cost: $9.13 per node
Perpetual License w/ no phone support
Part #: VCLCAE-AA-A
Cost #: $11.60 per node

Softchoice - preferred reseller
1-800-268-7638

Evaluation available online at http://www.nai.com/us/downloads/evals/

--

Antivir
per Mailbox (pricing listed on web site)
Didn't call, as they don't have a presence in the United States.

---

Panda
Phone number: 1 818 543 6901
E-mail:usa at pandasoftware.com 
Annie Dillard
Corporate Sales Representative
818-543-6917 Direct
Email: adillard at pandasecurity.com

They offer a free command line scanner for Linux, but it cannot be
updated without purchase.

Command Line Scanner for Linux (6 seats minimum)
w/ 1 year support: $47.70
w/ 2 year support: $66.66
w/ 3 year support: $81.12

---

RAv
Sold to Microsoft.

---

Sophos
(781) 973 0110 
salesus at sophos.com 

$671.00 per server/year
$5500.00 350 Users per 2 years

---

Bitdefender
Jeff Monion
valley technology consultants
530-345-1284
Email: jeff at chicotech.com

09/18/03: Talked to Jeff from Valley Technology COnsultants in Chico. He
was going to call and discuss with Bitdefender in Romania and get back
to me with me my options and pricing.
09/23/03: Called and left a message for Jeff Monion.




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