Complete Virus Scanner Review

Wed Sep 24 20:43:42 IST 2003

Nathan,

Sheesh!  Great Job!

This is good information.  In reading the section on Sophos, I agree they
are an open book and one of the few...

however...I believe the pricing they gave you is exceedingly variable.
provided you are willing to pay on a per user basis, their licensing can be
much more attractive.

THX
CT

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nathan Johanson" <nathan at TCPNETWORKS.NET>
To: <MAILSCANNER at JISCMAIL.AC.UK>
Sent: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 2:56 PM
Subject: Complete Virus Scanner Review

Hello all,

Here is my final summary (sorry about the earlier mis-post). Let me know
if you have any questions or additions.

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 each one.

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).

Note: I did not include Frisk's F-Prot in this review as their licensing
model is well documented online and in this mailing list.

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

F-Secure Anti-Virus for Servers for Linux
http://www.f-secure.com/estore/fsavlinuxserver.shtml

Licensing Model: Per Server
Cost: $328.71 per server (as quoted on web site)

Evaluation version available upon request.

Quote from product description:

F-Secure Anti-Virus 4.51 for Linux uses multiple scanning engines
(F-Prot, AVP, Orion) to ensure flawless protection against viruses in
the wild.

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 director 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.

========

McAfee (NetworK Associates)

McAfee VirusScan for Unix
http://www.nai.com/us/products/mcafee/antivirus/desktop/vs_unix.htm
(aka McAfee Command Line)

McAfee VirusScan Unix (or VirusScan Command Line)

Licensing Model: Per Server
Cost: 1-25 servers (pricing scales down per node as the number of
servers increases)
--

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

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

Notes: There was some confusion between McAfee Command Line and the
McAfee VirusScan Unix products. Apparently, they're the same product. As
you might expect, some of the larger AntiVirus vendors have an obvious
Windows-based bias, so many of the representatives are not well educated
or familiar with the Unix-based products. However, this scanner is
*very* competitely priced. I confirmed with them several times that this
is in fact priced per machine, and that these part numbers are in fact
correct. You will need to contact a reseller to purchase the software (a
reseller list is available on the Network Associates web site).

=========

CA eTrust
eTrust AntiVirus 7.0
Main Product Site:
http://www3.ca.com/Solutions/Overview.asp?ID=156&TYPE=S
Support Site: http://support.ca.com/inocitsupp.html

Licensing Model: Per Server
You need to order the product through a reseller such as CDW
(http://www.cdw.com). If you have an existing AntiVirus solution
(f-prot, Sophos, etc.), you are elligible for the competitive upgrade
pricing quoted below.

Competitive Upgrade w/ 2 years maintenance (includes upgrades)
Part Number: ETRAVE7001CMPE2C
Cost: $14.00 per user per node

Competive Upgrade w/ 3 years maintenance (includes upgrades)
Part Number: ETRAVE7001CMPE3C
Cost: $24.95 per user/node.

Media Kit (necessary if you purchase open licenses)
Part Number: MPL3MEDGLP400TG
Cost: $20.80

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

Evaluation version availalbe upon request:
Order a eTrust trial CD-ROM from the web site at
http://www3.ca.com/Solutions/Collateral.asp?CID=39914&ID=156

======

Nod32
http://www.nod32.com

Licensing Model: Per User (Mailbox)
Cost: <unknown>

Evaluation available upon request.

Notes: This is a small vendor (and their level of customer service is
excellent). They were very receptive to my inquiries and actually
forwarded me to one of the higher-level executives. Despite their per
user licensing model, they offered me a very competitive price  for my
three servers (< $500/year for all three), as well as a link to download
the software. Once I've had a chance to test the software and followed
up with them, I will try to get a committed cost that can be used by
everyone. For the time being, you should contact the sales department by
phone or email if you're interested.

======

Panda Software
http://www.pandasoftware.com/

They offer a free command line scanner for Linux, but apparently you
cannot update the virus signatures withough purchasing the product.

Licensing Model: Per Server
Cost: 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

Evaluation version available on the web site at
http://www.pandasoftware.com/download/ (you  can download the freeware
version, but you may need to purchase or contact them for login
credentials in order to download the signature updates). I haven't
tested the scanner yet, so I don't know for sure if login credentials
are necessary.

Notes: I thought about avoiding this vendor, due to numerous reports on
the MailScanner list  involving poor customer service. I called their
sales department and was surprised to get a return call by the end of
the day. I did tell this sales representative that many felt that their
customer service was lacking. She said (in so many words) that they're
focused on the Windows environment (obviously) and support for the
Linux-based products probably suffers as a result of that. However, she
did inform me that their Linux offering is a recent development and they
do not have any plans to discontinue it. Chances are that this
environment will start to get equal treatment from their support and
customer service  departments. We'll see. Personally, I'm still a little
leary of these guys (if only because their web site drives me crazy).

=======

Command Software
http://www.commandsoftware.com

Command AntiVirus for Linux
http://www.authentium.com/solutions/products/csavlinux.cfm

Licensing Model: Per Server
Cost (unclear if this is a static cost for all customers):
$500.00 per server/year
$399.00/year gold support - includes unlimited support and software
upgrades.

Evaluation version available on web site or by request.

Notes: I called and they were very receptive to my inquiries. If you're
interested, you should call or email their sales department.

======

Kaspersky
http://www.kaspersky.com

Licensing Model: Per Server
Cost: $375.95 per server/year

Evalution is available by request. You need to register and fill out a
form on the web site.

Notes: Since the pricing is competitive and immediately available, I did
not bother to contact them.

=======

TrendMicro
http://www.trendmicro.com
InterScan VirusWall for Linux
http://www.trendmicro.com/en/products/gateway/isvw/evaluate/features.htm

Licensing Model: Per User
Cost: Interscan Viruswall $19.80/user for 501-1000 users
The cost per user is less as the number of users increases. These costs
will vary depending on the reseller and who you talk to.

Evaluation version available online.

Notes:  FileScan for Linux (free for non-commercial use) used to be
available at  ftp://ftp.antivirus.com/products/freetools, but a
technical support representative informed  me that this promotion was
over. I called their support department to confirm whether any of  their
Linux-based products includes a command line scanner--they informed me
that they  didn't. However, one of the MailScanner users assured me that
this wasn't the case. The  InterScan Viruswall product does in fact
include a command line scanner:

>From the Trend Micro knowledge base.
http://kb.trendmicro.com/solutions/solutionDetail.asp?solutionID=7353

However, you will need to purchase and install a lot of cruft just to
get the scanner  itselft. They're licensing model is prohibitely
expensive for us, but might make sense for  some of you (especially if
you're already using their Windows-based products).

========

Antivir
http://www.antivir.de
http://www.hbedv.com (US Site)

Licensing: Per Mailbox (or per mailbox)
Cost: Listed on web site.

Note: I didn't call this vendor, as pricing and licensing information is
listed clearly on  the web site and they don't appear to have a US
presence. All prices are listed in euros. They offer Antivir Linux
Server and several mail server products (Sendmail, Postfix, Qmail,
etc.). If you're interested, you'll need to clarify which product you
should license. I've  found that vendors (such as f-prot) who offer mail
server-based products do not want to sell you a command line scanner (as
they're competing with themselves). You'll usually need to  purchase or
pay the mailbox-based pricing. I haven't confirmed this with Antivir,
however. If someone does call and talk with them, please let me know so
that I can update my notes.

========

Sophos
http://www.sophos.com

Licensing Model: Per User (W/ exceptions)
$671.00 per server/year
$5500.00 350 Users per 2 years

Notes: I did contact Sophos, but didn't spend a lot of time researching
their product for a couple reasons: (1) Sophos is not really a mystery
to MailScanner users as it's the product that Julian himself uses.
Sophos is also familiar with MailScanner (the representative I talked to
knew exactly what I was talking about when I started to explain my use
for the  product). (2) Also, the pricing above is not etched in stone
and highly variable on who you  talk to at Sophos and when you talk to
them. For example, I got the impression that the per  server cost quoted
above was a deviation from their standard licensing model and will not
always be available, Nevertheless, (compared to other producst on this
list), they're prohibitively expensive for our purposes.

========

Bitdefender
http://www.bitdefender.com/

Licensing Model: Per User (or Per Mailbox)
Cost: Listed on web site.

Notes: Bitdefender offers a Linux mail server product that integrates
with the MTA, but it's unclear whether it includes a command line
scanner or if the integration features can be  bypassed in favor of
MailScanner. One MailScanner user did inform me that there is a command
line scanner free for non-commercial use available at:

http://www.bitdefender.com/bd/site/products.php?p_id=16

I did try to contact Bitdefender for more information (and to find out
if the command line scanner could be licensed for commercial use). I
obtained a phone number for a local Bitdefener partner. He assured me
that he would contact the company in Romania and get the answers to my
questions. I followed up a second time and left a message. I still have
heard nothing. If I get the time, I may try to email or contact them
again (but one poor instance of customer service is usually enough to
turn me away, in light of all the other alternatives that are available
to me). If anyone knows the answers to these questions, please let me
know so that I can update my notes.

========

RAv AntiVirus
http://www.ravantivirus.com/

Notes: Sold to Microsoft. Enough said.