Owned by Network Associates, McAfee is one of the oldest and most trusted brand names in anti-virus software. The Small Business Edition is a relatively new addition to the McAfee line up, but it is essentially a version of the existing Active VirusScan Suite tweaked for the SME market. The package features various bits of software designed to do different jobs. The core system is of course the basic VirusScan programme which sits on your Windows desktops and any servers you may have, and a version designed for Novell NetWare servers is also supplied. VirusScan is one of the most widely used desktop AV products around because, quite simply, it works.
What makes this package interesting is the addition of McAfee’s new ProtectionPilot tool. This application has been created specifically for the SME environment and allows a network administrator to manage the anti-virus system across the entire network from a single point. The software allows you to automatically ensure that all of your desktops are running up-to-date versions of VirusScan and impose your choice of settings on them so that the end users cannot alter them.
This kind of thing is old-hat for corporate IT people but ProtectionPilot is designed to be simple enough for use by organisations which do not have a lot of IT expertise. All of the important management tasks can be performed via easy to understand wizards, so pretty much anybody with basic Windows know-how should be able to manage the entire network’s anti-virus protection.
www.mcafee.co.uk
Price £299 (10 users, ex. VAT)