nod32 for Exchange - opinions?

[hutchingsp]

We're currently using Trend Scanmail 8.

Today I've had a bunch of "UPS Invoice" attachments delivered to users, and not be detected/recognized using Trend with the latest definition files.

An online scan of the file(s) at jotti (I think?) clearly shows they are a virus/trojan/malware.

Also a sweep with Spysweeper on a couple of PCs where people did run the executable has detected various spyware which Trend seems to have simply ignored.

If I do move from Trend I would prefer to keep our exchange and desktop/server A/V with one vendor because there are usually significant financial benefits in doing so.

NOD32 always pops up and I always found reasons not to look too closely or take the plunge. The last time was around 9 months back.

What's the Exchange product currently like in terms of effectiveness, and above all stability i.e. I think there used to be a few horror stories about resource usage/bad updates/crashing the store etc.

Appreciate any feedback, as we have a front end Exchange server with no mailboxes on it I may install the NOD32 trial on it.

[SoCal_Sparrow]

NOD32 for Exchange (AKA: XMON) is great. I've used it reliably for close to 3 years now with Exchange 2003; never had it crash or cause any problems. This module is currently only available in the NOD32 version 2.7 release, but Eset should be upgrading it to 3.0 (soon?). Not a huge deal, but the fewer software versions I have to handle the better IMHO. The desktop version is at 3.0, which seems to require a bit more tuning than the 2.7 version did. I see this as good thing, I like fine-grain control, but it does appear that the default settings tend to be conservatively high (again, not a bad thing) which utilize a lot of processor time. There have been a few steps adapting to the new 3.0, after being used to 2.7, but it WAS a major revision and was something I expected. The newest version of the Remote Administrator (Management Console) is able to handle/update both versions reliably too.

NOD32 is my A/V of choice, I've used it since the 2.5 days and don't plan to change. Expect a bit of a learning curve, I came from Symantec and NOD32 seemed very different at first.

[hutchingsp]

Thanks for the reply. Sounds worthy of a demo then.

The one potential spanner in the works is that I only need to license something for Exchange initially.

Now if Eset can cut me a deal where I save money overall then that might be an option, but presumably they will just license the Exchange product, it doesn't have to be part of a suite or anything?

[SoCal_Sparrow]

I believe the XMON product is licensed seperately, per user/mailbox, and can be purchased alone. But I purchased everything bundled.

To really get the best deal, contact your local reseller. THey'll know the ins-and-outs of licensing, and help you better than I can.

http://www.eset.com/partners/napartner.php

[duijv023]

I had a few customers that were using TrendMicro products first. After switching to us, at the moments their TRend licenses expired, we moved them to NOD32 Xmon, and Nod32 Enterprise (now: business) Edition.
The overall performance of the Microsoft Smallbusiness of Exchange servers improved significantly (as we expected ;D ). Each migration was a success, ending in a (more than) happy customer.

The one thing besides a little learning curve you must count with, is that some Trend products contain a spamfilter, an NOD32/XMON does NOT!
So that might be a little point of attention!

Greetings from Holland

[hutchingsp]

That's quite encouraging.

So far it still seems the two main candidates are NOD32 and Kaspersky, I'm not sure if etiquette discussing those in this forum so I shall post in the general A/V forum about those.

[Bubba]

{QUOTE-> I'm not sure if etiquette discussing those in this forum so I shall post in the general A/V forum about those. <-QUOTE}It is appreciated.