[REQUEST] Charter Spectrum Internet Security

[Appletax]

I recommend to my clients who have Charter Internet to install their free antivirus program, which is made by F-Secure.

Do you guys think the program is in line with paid programs and better than free programs?

The most important thing to me is that it does not have advertisement or other useless popups.


"F-Secure Client Security received AV-TEST Best Protection award for the fifth time in 2016."

security-suite

 

[GTP]

I don't believe or trust those tests on AV-Test et al as they only test the "engine" not the behavioural, heuristic or other "in-house" signatures that are added to the actual product.

F-Secure uses Bitdefender's scanning engine - the same as about 30 of the other top Antimalware programs out there. (From memory they did use KAV at one time?)
It's what's added to the actual program that defines what is and isn't a "good" antimalware program.

F-Secure use their own in house technology like DeepGuard, Gemini etc...

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

I don't know about this particular product, but one of the main reasons our company was started is that myself and business partner both worked at a small AV company in Iowa, and it was absolute garbage. They relied on the call center to fix the issues that they knew their AV couldn't do, like oh, you know, block or remove malware. It was horrible. Right before we quit they were working to integrate the Bitdefender engine, but even with that you don't get all of the up to the minute definitions from Bitdefender, so it still required the onsite team to add definitions and maintain the overall product. The efficiency of the scanner was much better, but I still couldn't stand behind the rest of the BS piled on top of it. Unfortunately that company is partnered with many ISP's across the US. The product is called SecureIT. If you see it in the wild do your customers a favor and nuke it from orbit.

Just before we started working there they pushed out an update that caused mass BSOD's and they just blamed it on Microsoft and unfortunately their customers had no idea, or any reason to think otherwise.

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

To follow up on my last post, if it is the actual full package from F-Secure then it's probably fine, but if it's re-branded and provided by someone else I would be very skeptical, because the engine is just one piece of the puzzle.

 

[GTP]

if it is the actual full package from F-Secure then it's probably fine

Thanks @Slaters Kustum Machines this is what I meant to say but didn't.

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

Thanks @Slaters Kustum Machines this is what I meant to say but didn't.

LOL, had I taken the time to read your post rather than jumping straight to mine I would have just said "what he said".

 

[Mytechid]

I wouldn't take any AV Test at face value.

In my experience, most of them are getting paid somehow to run those tests, and they're not always 100% conclusive. So why bother looking at them unless they're 100% accurate? Is anyone 100% accurate? I don't think so.

Here are two topics on the F-Secure forums. They apparently have a whole lot of engines that they're working off of. I couldn't find anything posted recently that shows they're still using Bitdefender's engine. Even if they were that doesn't make it a good AV.
2017 post
2015 post

I have the belief that AV in and of itself is dead and utterly useless. Because of how rampant threats are now, and how easy it is to deploy threats via socially engineered methods.

What people need is a Trifecta approach.
Training + Hardware Security + Software Security

Managed AV and a Managed AM (Anti-Malware) are probably going to be your best solutions by far for most clients. The SMB market in the USA is really behind the power-curve on having appropriate hardware security in place to defeat most serious threats these days, and I still hear constantly about MSP's average client base, during the onboarding process, having some junk AV installed (often times freeware).

So is F-Secure any good?
I certainly don't think so. If it's not managed by a Pro, it isn't worth its salt, and if you're involved with it on a clients machine, you may have just accepted liability you wish you didn't have.

 

[Appletax]

The main thing I like about it is that it does not have unwanted ad popups.

I installed the program today and while doing a full virus scan it caused a BSOD.

Back to Windows Defender, which causes no issues and no popups.

 

[JoeTech]

Unfortunately that company is partnered with many ISP's across the US. The product is called SecureIT. If you see it in the wild do your customers a favor and nuke it from orbit.

I haven't seen any pc's here with secureIT in awhile. I remember it being a pretty bad program and the worst part was that people said they were paying around $10/month for it. So the ISP's were making $120/yr when an actual real av program we sell would cost them only 1/4th the cost. It usually didn't take much convincing for them to switch over after explaining that.

 

[Slaters Kustum Machines]

I haven't seen any pc's here with secureIT in awhile. I remember it being a pretty bad program and the worst part was that people said they were paying around $10/month for it. So the ISP's were making $120/yr when an actual real av program we sell would cost them only 1/4th the cost. It usually didn't take much convincing for them to switch over after explaining that.

The ISP's weren't actually making very much on it after their cost, but yeah, it's complete garbage. They highest price I saw for it was $14.95/month.