BixFix AntiThreat is a module of the powerful BigFix platform. The platform can manage a multitude of areas in the environment, such as policy reinforcement and software management. The AntiThreat piece of the pie deals with managing viruses and spyware. This product provides preemptive defense against malicious virus, worm, trojan and spyware attacks by using a centralized management console and deploying agents onto all machines in the environment.
While this product is extremely powerful, we found it difficult to use. Installation is fairly easy as it is guided by a series of helpful wizards, and agent deployment can be used via Active Directory. However, the console itself is cluttered and awkward. We found the console to contain so much granularity that it was a bit overwhelming to navigate. While we realize that granularity adds to the power of the product, we had a lot of trouble finding our way around the console initially and understanding exactly how to make the product work best for our environment.
Even considering the difficulties with the console, we cannot deny the amazing amount of flexibility provided by AntiThreat and the BixFix platform as a whole. This product integrates lots of features, both in malware management and network security. This product provides one central place to find real-time information on the entire environment and solve or remedy almost any security risk.
Several PDF manuals make up the documentation for this product. All documentation is available via the vendor website and can be accessed by going to the support area. The PDF files include an administrator’s guide, console operator’s guide, web reports guide and an upload manager guide. All documentation is clear, easy to understand and includes many screen shots and diagrams.
BigFix AntiThreat comes with standard support, as well as providing a good support area on the vendor website. The website support area includes many downloads, demos and documentation, as well as contact information.
With prices starting at $10 per device per year, the cost may appear a little steep. However, there is a lot of functionality and flexibility in the BigFix platform and we find this product to be a good value. It provides almost total security management within a single product.
