Choosing the Right Cloud Antivirus is NOT Simple

Yes, we can all admit that the first thing we do when looking for a new product or solution is simply Google “what is the best ______” and go with the highest reviews, or ask “experts” on the forums. This may suffice for your kids’ Christmas gift, but when the security of your business’ data structure is at stake, this kind of research won’t cut it.

As discussed in our last post introducing the Tech of the Month for December, Cloud Antivirus has a lot of moving parts that really need to work in complete harmony with your system environment. Therefore, it’s really important to consider these three things before deciding on a provider.

Security as a Whole

When looking for a good antivirus (AV), remember that AV is only part of the security setup. Before even browsing various AV’s, you need to make sure that you have good content filtering, AP control/whitelisting, group policies and a decent network firewall – more on these soon.

AV System vs. Product

In addition, AV security should be viewed as a system and not an end-result product. You will be interfacing and working with the AV as your company ebbs and flows during daily operations. Therefore, you will really need to find a solution that fits your exact needs and level of security. For instance, there are many different options in terms of scalability, deciding who manages the cloud AV and where it’s hosted. This kind of decision-making goes far beyond choosing an AV that has the highest reviews.

True Measurement

To evaluate cloud AV, do your own evaluation per your own environment. Each data system is unique and needs to be addressed on an individual basis. Unfortunately, a lot of measurements, such as “detection rate” are thrown around to judge AV without proper meaning or context (i.e. If an AV has too high of a detection rate, that means that it’s unnecessarily flagging things like cookies and old JavaScript files).

Obviously, there is a lot to think about when looking at new cloud antivirus, and really the best way to go about this process is to work with a team who knows the strengths of the providers, able to find you the perfect fit.

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