Features

Maintaining the security of an organization's laptops and desktops is never an easy task, with many a sleepless night worrying if all devices that come into contact with the enterprise are secured against theft and compromised data. Managing all this can be an overwhelming task.
GlobalAdmin is a management application that is used in conjunction with GTGI's other products, CryptCard and CompuSec. Our review kit came ready prepared on a Dell Optiplex GX400 PC running Windows 2000. We just had to plug in the relevant devices for reading smartcards.

Because it can circumvent many existing content-management solutions, instant messaging (IM) is causing security concerns among IT managers, which often leads them to ban its use altogether.
However, IM can have business benefits if used responsibly, because it offers instantaneous communication and immediately indicates whether colleagues are online. What is needed is a way of allowing the use of IM, while controlling it and enforcing rules on employees.

This is one product that has been on the computer security scene for quite some time and Control Break International has continued to develop its solutions over the years, despite many of its earlier competitors falling by the wayside.

Softwin's BitDefender looks and feels rather like an old-school anti-virus product, but its performance belies its exterior. The product integrates with Microsoft's VS-API for Exchange. Installing it required a restart.

For some time now, the problem for security professionals has not been "do I need AV protection" but more specifically "which one is best for my corporate needs." But with so many other danger areas for security administrators to concentrate on, leading to the provision of intrusion detection systems, intrusion prevention systems, firewalls and virtual private networks, to name but a few, it is crucial to make the right decision when they have a large array of other security solutions already running.
Providing all you need for network screening and stability can be a tall order, so whichever anti-virus solution is relied upon - software- or hardware-based, or a mix of both - it has to be dependable, be able to fully integrate with everything else running on the network, and provide 100 per cent system integrity.

This software fared well enough in our tests, although some peculiarities raised a few warning signals. It installs easily, with separate AV and Exchange components, and an optional management interface. A reboot is required, after which mail scanning was switched off by default and had to be enabled.

Aladdin's eSafe did well enough and has some features that would be particularly useful during an outbreak, but performance was nothing special. Although eSafe is up to version 4 now, that version is purely appliance-oriented. The last version to support Exchange was 3.5, which the company still sells and supports (for now) despite its focus on moving away from that side of the business towards its Linux-based appliance version.

In last year's anti-virus management group test, Hauri's product impressed us with a slick interface and strong set of features. In this test, first impressions were similar. Configuration was quick and easy and the interface excellent - limited options compared to other products, but ample for most users. No reboot was required and the software demanded confirmation that the empty admin password required was in fact correct.

Kaspersky has come up trumps with very fast software with some neat features. Queuing the mail was just moments slower than the top runners with 49 minutes, but processing was fastest of the lot at 107, and it nearly tops the efficiency chart too, with 4,055 scanned.

Norman delivered quick and efficient performance, with acceptable, but unexceptional, reporting. Installation required Norman Virus Control to be installed first, for the AV engine. No reboot was required and, if anything, a surprising lack of feedback resulted - the software just quietly went to work with the default server configuration.

This test was a surprise, with performance and default settings letting Symantec down, although the presentation couldn't be better.

Trend Micro offers a product that comes more or less in the middle of the charts throughout this test, doing nothing spectacularly well, but not making any major mistakes either.

Adhaero Doc is not a general-purpose encryption product, but it uses encryption technology to secure Microsoft Office files throughout their lifecycle. It also integrates with Microsoft Outlook to provide the same protection to emails. It is best described as a digital rights management product.

Dekart Security Suite comprises four separate applications that support all 32-bit versions of Windows and share the same two-factor authentication feature, which uses a PIN code and a USB token or smart card. You can use most third-party tokens and smart cards. Additionally, most types of Bio API and HA API compatible biometric verification devices are supported.

DESlock+ is designed to encrypt files, folders, email messages and email attachments. It uses a choice of 112-bit 3DES, 128-bit Blowfish or 128-bit AES encryption algorithms and works with Windows 98/ME/2000/XP.

Encryption Plus Hard Disk encrypts entire hard disks or selected partitions. Encryption of the OS files is optional. It also offers pre-boot authentication whether or not the operating system files are encrypted.

FileAssurity Open PGP is designed to be a low-cost alternative to PGP, while retaining full compatibility with PGP. With it, you can generate, import and export X.509 and PGP keys and it also supports encryption/decryption and digital signing/verifying of standard PGP files. Files or folders may be encrypted for storage or transmission by email. Bulk data encryption is carried out using 256-bit AES, with public-key-based Diffie-Hellman being used for session key exchange. RSA and DSS are used for digital signatures. Another feature is secure deletion according to U.S. government DOD 5220.22M. All 32-bit Windows platforms are supported.

With seven years behind it, Cyber Angel software has developed into a neat little package, which, apart from its tracking capabilities, also offers a CyberAngel Secured Drive. This requires password authentication but, once in, allows the user to keep all confidential data in total privacy in this protected drive. With on-the-fly encryption, the user does not need to worry about any data being revealed if the laptop falls into the wrong hands, using a choice of encryption algorithms to protect it such as Rijndael - AES 128 or 256 bit encryption, Blowfish 128 or 448 bit, Twofish 128 or 256 bit, Triple DES or DES. The virtual drive created by CyberAngel is accessed with the users password and is supported by 32-bit device drivers for fast access with little or no drop in performance.

Although it may not be possible to physically stop a theft from occurring, there are ways to track it if the worst happens.

The thing about carrying data on a small plug-and-play device is that the majority of them are not secure. But, if it comes from the Chrison stable of products, you can be pretty sure it will be.