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VIPRE VS. SYMANTEC FEATURES COMPARISON PAGE 1

VIPRE vs. Symantec Features

Comparison

The following report was conducted by the Tech Writers Bureau staff of technology reviewers, editors and writers during October of 2017. It compares features between VIPRE Cloud and Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud. Features present in both products were directly compared, with emphasis on the user interface. For this test, a group of three average computer users were brought in to help test usability features for the targeted SMB market.

For more information about The Tech Writers Bureau: www.techwritersbureau.com


Initial Setup

The Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud product places the onboarding process in a ribbon above the dashboard until the initial setup has been completed. It breaks down the process into four steps including evaluating your security needs, confirming mobile device management, creating users and enrolling devices.

Clicking on any of the groups brings up a help window, and some of them have videos that show how to work the program. The first group regarding evaluating security needs additionally gives


helpful tips about how to create good security policies which will be deployed later. They include several tips along the lines of:

• Do not turn off the device protection settings without first understanding the implications to your overall security posture.

• Do not turn off the network protection settings in order to protect user devices from hacker intrusions or other network-based attacks.

• Enforce strong password protection so that passwords are complex and are not repeated often. A strong password is more difficult to crack and helps to prevent or limit damage when a device is compromised.

Unfortunately for Symantec, there are no hyperlinks from the help pages back to the area within the program where the steps would be completed. Users must take notes by hand and then go back to the main dashboard, find where to implement the features, and then try to do it. This renders much of the early help files far less useful than if they were more integrated. A seasoned user who knows how to deploy cloud security probably would not mind, but within the target market of SMBs and newcomers to the security space, this is overly confusing.

Moving on to the group and user setup, we find Symantec faring a little better. Here the elements of the program are tied closely to the help ribbon, so learning what to do in the help area can be practiced just below.


By contrast, the VIPRE program puts the three tasks needed to set up the system at the top of the program in the initial dashboard shown to new users. A link questions if this is the first time the user is working with the program, and when clicked, a new window appears pointing to the deploy agent and policy areas. There are no direct links (other than the help button on the control ribbon to the left) to tutorials. The logic seems to be that such help guides are unnecessary given the easy-to-use interface.

To test this, TWB brought in three users with average computer experience, who were not experts in cybersecurity or cloud. We asked them to try and set up the VIPRE program. Two of them could begin setting up policies and deploying agents with no further help needed. The third person eventually made their way to the help site and read some of the materials there, before returning and completing setup. When questioned why he went to the help site, he said that he thought he was doing everything correctly, but wanted to check to make sure.

Incidentally, only one user of the three could complete the Symantec setup, even using the help features included there.

Advantage: VIPRE


Quick Start

The Symantec main page makes no initial accommodation for new users, simply opening up into a blank dashboard. There is a small, somewhat easy to miss button on the top corner of the screen that invites users to setup the program.

Assuming users find that button, clicking on it opens the help ribbon that sits overtop the rest of the program.


By contrast, VIPRE realizes that a user is new, and directs them to the startup screen where tasks for new users are highlighted in blue. These beginner task options take up at least a third of the screen and are impossible to miss. None of our inexperienced testers had trouble getting started with the VIPRE program. It would almost be impossible to get lost at this phase. However, with Symantec, only one tester could find the link to begin setting up the program within one minute. The other two scrolled down to look at the blank dashboard and were lost for a very long time.

Advantage: VIPRE


Dashboard Usability

The Symantec dashboard is sufficiently visual, though its interactive hover points are less robust than one might expect. You need to scan around to find information about specific threats and warnings. It’s also not completely clear what threats are the most critical that require a response. It seems to assume that users will have an understanding of cybersecurity practices, or perhaps undergo formal training with the program.

The test user group could all read the dashboard easily enough, but were initially somewhat confused by how Symantec breaks down different elements of the interface. For example, it separates alerts and events into a separate tab, even though both are represented on the main dashboard, nearer to the bottom. This added some confusion for the test group, who questioned whether the main dashboard was showing them everything they needed to know, or if they needed to go to other tabs to find that information.

There were also noticeable loading times when using the Symantec dashboard, sometimes as much as three seconds when switching tabs, making it look unoptimized, and annoying our test group.


By comparison, all users in the test group took to the VIPRE dashboard immediately. They were impressed with the fact that every single element in the dashboard was interactive, allowing them to drill down into lower levels to get more information about threats. For example, when clicking on the Severe Threat tab, each one was listed, causing one user to grimace and comment that there were 845 threats found so far. She later relaxed upon seeing that each one had been quarantined.

In addition to the pleasing graphical interface, all drill-down tasks were completed instantly by the program, with no loading screens or waiting.

Advantage: VIPRE


Mastering Mobility

Mobility is an essential element for any program today, and cybersecurity is no exception to this rule. Every modern smartphone and tablet has the capability to become a network client with equal or more computing power than desktop computers a few years ago. People also love the freedom that mobile computing offers. This trend has forced almost every type of business to deploy mobile gear. In fact, as reported in the IDC whitepaper The Business Case for Rugged Devices, a survey of U.S. IT decision makers showed that 86 percent of businesses questioned were buying, deploying and managing smartphones for their employees. As such, it stands to reason that users would want to manage their cloud-based security programs from their smartphones. Both VIPRE and Symantec were tested based on functionality, as well as usability with the test group of average computer users. Starting with the Symantec interface, the test group could log into the testbed without any problems on both an android and iOS device. However, once there, it was clear that the interface was not very robust, and lost most of the visually pleasing elements that the program enjoyed in the non-mobile version. Many of the pictures and charts were grayed out, or displayed default type images that made the whole thing look like a work in progress. Much of the interactivity was absent as well, which could lead to confusion from users who are already familiar with how to use Symantec Cloud on the desktop. At one point, a test user arrived at a page that simply displayed the Symantec logo and a note that read, “Coming Soon.” While it was possible to work with the mobile version of Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud, it’s clear that it’s not quite ready for the mainstream. Even once complete, the interface is not very user-friendly. All three sample users said they would only use the program at their desktop computers given the choice.


The mobile version of VIPRE by contrast seemed much more like the desktop version of the main program, including all the functionality, simply optimized for smaller screens and a touch-based interface. The first thing that users noticed when going into the VIPRE dashboard was how much the mobile version of VIPRE Cloud resembled the desktop interface. The second thing was the speed of the interface, which was nearly instantaneous when switching tabs. One user remarked that when using the main desktop interface, she learned to click on any spike within the threat reporting page to see what was happening in her network. She was shocked and surprised when she could use her finger to do the same thing on the Android-based test phone, something that didn’t always work with the Symantec product. Every user breezed through the VIPRE mobile interface with no problems and no training needed. All said they would feel comfortable managing their devices using the mobile interface. All of them also agreed that having the mobile interface would allow them to monitor their SMB while they were away from their offices. They ranked this feature extremely high in terms of desirability in a product like this, and clearly favored the VIPRE mobile version over Symantec’s offering. Advantage: VIPRE


Protection Efficiency TWB referenced the AV Comparatives report as the basis for the protection efficiency comparison. AV Comparatives has a deep history in conducting robust and accurate anti-virus testing and should be considered one of the top labs in that field. TWB fully accepts the results of AV Comparatives as valid. The specific report referenced here is located at https://www.av-comparatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/avc_prot_2017a_en.pdf and is based on testing that was conducted over several months in 2017.

In the anti-virus catching test, both Symantec and VIPRE performed extremely well, stopping all kinds of new and advanced threats sent through them by AV Comparatives. In fact, both stopped 1,950 of the threats out of 1,955 sent. Of the five threats that got through the Symantec protection, one was listed as User Dependent, meaning the program had to ask the user if the threat should be blocked. It was likely part of a potentially unwanted program with malicious tendencies. Technically, the blocking of that program might or might not have happened based on the user response, but Symantec was given a very slight advantage on this test because of that one gray area. As such, it beat VIPRE with a score of 99.8% versus 99.7%. However, even if the unwanted program in question was a straight virus, a .1% difference in detection rates is statistically insignificant. The next regular update for either program could change that score. As it stands, with the one extra program that Symantec caught being User Dependent, the .1 difference means even less. VIPRE did much better than Symantec when AV Comparatives tested both programs for false positives. In this case, both programs were asked to look at and evaluate websites that their users were attempting to access. This is a perfect test for the SMB market because users are generally less restricted in what they can do with their systems. While some might want to check a news site during the day or something of that nature, some may also need to conduct research on potential clients, suppliers, partners or other business-related tasks. Many SMBs are also embracing social media, so unrestricted access to those types of sites may be necessary in order to update a company’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other sites. Having that activity blocked unnecessarily by an overly-sensitive program is frustrating and damaging to morale.


In this test, VIPRE not only tested far higher than Symantec, but was near the top of the entire pack. In fact, when both the extremely high detection rate and the low false positives are considered, VIPRE did better in terms of performance than almost any other competitor. Only Kaspersky Lab did slightly better overall, though it is aimed more at trained, enterprise users, so may not be a direct competitor for VIPRE in the SMB space. In this test, VIPRE wrongly blocked four websites out of the 2,000 that were tested, for a false positive rate of .002%. That is about as close to zero as you can get. Symantec by comparison outright blocked 20 completely innocent, non-threating websites, and sent an additional 13 up to administrators for them to make the call. Not only would this potentially anger users, but could serve to steal an administrator’s time away from responding to real events and actual threats. With nearly identical threat response rates and a clear victory regarding false positives, VIPRE is the better choice for SMBs. Advantage: VIPRE


Policy Deployment

Test users had an extremely tough time working with Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud when setting new policies. Symantec divides its top-level policy creation into System Policies, Security Polices and Access Policies. Instead of having default policies that could, for example, address any of these areas, Symantec requires users to create an overview policy within the correct area. So, if a user wants to address system and access policies, they can’t do that from the same top-level policy creation. This requires users to know, or even memorize, what each main grouping contains. Test users were frustrated because they wanted to add something, but were working within the wrong group. One thing that Symantec does well is evaluate security policies as they are being set. If a user accidentally disabled real-time file scanning for example, then the policy evaluation score dropped from Strong to Average or Weak. That could be helpful for users who don’t really know much about good security policies, but it took quite a lot of prodding (with the file scanning being an extreme example akin to disabling protection) to cause the overall protection evaluation score to move in any direction. Users are also not allowed to modify the default Symantec Security policy, and there seems to be no easy way to replicate it in case a user wants to apply the default, but change a few elements based on their particular enterprise needs. In general, it seems overly complex, implies that everyone should use the Symantec default policy with no modifications, and makes no attempt to help inexperienced users configure their protection.


Compared with the Symantec product, the VIPRE policy deployment engine is much more advanced and user friendly. After wrestling with Symantec’s interface, test users didn’t want to continue. After a lunch break, they were all pleasantly surprised at how easy VIPRE was to use by comparison. Users had no trouble creating a new policy with VIPRE that included everything they would need to protect their enterprise including scanning, AP, browser, e-mail, firewall and even IDS policies. Unlike the Symantec offering, VIPRE allowed test users to decide which of those areas would be included within any new policy. Once the new policy is named and in place, a second ribbon appears on the left side of the screen that breaks down the policy into groups. Check boxes and radio buttons make configuration of the policies even easier, and gives a lot of power to users when configuring VIPRE for their organization and best practices. Because the interface is so well constructed, in a way it elevated the skill levels of the test users. Each was surprised at their ability to craft good security policies using the main interface. Advantage: VIPRE


Deploying Agents to Endpoints

Unlike other areas of the Symantec program, deploying agents is fairly straightforward. Users are given two options for creating a downloadable enrollment package:

• Client package: A client package is intended for desktops and laptops, where maximum protection is the highest priority.

• Server package: A server package is intended for servers, which require high

performance. The server package includes only real-time file scanning and scan exclusions. It does not include intrusion prevention or the firewall.

The only configuration beyond that involves the group policies set elsewhere in the interface. The agent is really more of a connector application that enrolls machines and applies the appropriate group policy. Test users were extremely confused by this. After downloading several Client packages onto a portable drive, they were then confused as to which ones applied to which policies. Also, unless you have each group policy memorized, the program gives no indication as to what is configured in the deployable agent, or that tweaking those policies is done elsewhere.


The VIPRE interface for generating agents is much more user-friendly. The process is somewhat the same, but VIPRE can show users what elements each policy contains before generating and downloading them. For example, if a user had one group of systems that did not require IDS protection, it would be easy enough to look on the policy installer list to see if the box was checked or not. Also, users liked to be able to confirm that they were downloading the fully-configured agents for the policies that they set earlier in the evaluation process. This could be confirmed with a long set of green checkmarks, which was great visual confirmation. Advantage: VIPRE


Adding New Users or Administrators

Symantec breaks down the new user process into two steps. First, a new user’s information is added to the fields, including whether they will be an Administrator, Account Administrator or User. If they are an administrator and not an account administrator, you can specify which group they will have administrative power over. Testing this after the fact, we found that our new user was unable to set policies or change settings for groups other than the one assigned. This is a good policy which would prevent an administrator from snooping into areas not under their authority, and minimize the damage in the event of a trusted insider turncoat.


VIPRE breaks down the additional user process into a single step, which is very easy to use and requires no explanation.

There are two choices for what kind of user is being created: an administrator or analyst. The admin option gives the new user full control over the system so they can set policies, invite new users and create new administrators. An analyst role can see most everything including the threat reports, but is unable to set new policies or otherwise make global changes to the system. Advantage: Symantec


End User Support

Symantec has a relatively deep help site, divided up into both logical groups and content types. There is also a self-help search engine which could reliably steer us towards relevant results most of the time in response to queries like Agents, New Users, IDS policy, etc. Symantec Endpoint Protection Cloud’s help site opens up in a new browser window when prompted, and is relatively easy to find. In addition to typical text-based content, there are several videos explaining common features like user onboarding, though not nearly enough to cover every possible question.


VIPRE Cloud includes links to both a support site and a documentation site. Separating these two sites is a good move because some users will simply want to read the documentation to figure something out before trying to get actual help. This also declutters the support site.

The VIPRE support site includes helpful articles explaining how to perform common tasks, plus several that focus on advanced topics. Given the friendlier user interface for the VIPRE program, it’s understandable that the VIPRE support site is a little less packed than the Symantec one.


A terrific addition to the VIPRE site is the chat window which is easy to spot in orange at the bottom of the screen when launching the support page, and can be expanded to enter information and summon help. Being able to get technical support from a real person through the web interface is a perfect lifeline for an already easy to use product. Both company’s support sites are extremely easy to use, and both have advantages. For example, Symantec has its videos while VIPRE has chat support. There is also the fact that throughout the testing that accompanied this report, users listed VIPRE as the easier to use program, so having an overly complex help site may not be necessary for VIPRE Cloud. For all these reasons, we are going to call this one a tie. However, VIPRE could very easily consider this a win. This is a brand-new product and Symantec has been around for decades, yet the VIPRE support sites for users are just as good. Advantage: Tied


Victories by Section

FEATURE ADVANTAGE Initial Setup VIPRE

Quick Start VIPRE

Dashboard Usability VIPRE

Mastering Mobility VIPRE

Protection Efficiency

VIPRE

Policy Deployment VIPRE

Deploying Agents to Endpoints

VIPRE

Adding New Users or Administrators

Symantec

End User Support

Tied

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