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Rory
Asked: 2011-10-18 06:55:56 +0800 CST

Do we need both Eset and SuperAntiSpyware?

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Our company had a bad virus experience several years ago. Probably as a result, every pc has Eset Nod & SuperAntiSpyware installed. I think this is excessive and that Eset should allow sufficient protection by itself. Is there any good reason to have both installed on all pcs?

anti-virus malware security

3 Answers

  1. I'm going to go against the grain here and say that it depends.

    What you don't tell us is if both of these products are running real-time scans or not? There can sometimes be incompatibility issues with running two different types of AV software, real-time. However, if ESET is running real-time protection and you have SAS running on-demand only, I see nothing wrong with this configuration.

    In fact, have used the same exact configuration before. I currently use Emsisoft Anti-malware (real-time), MBAM (od) and Hitman Pro (od). I've also occasionally thrown SAS into that mix with no compatibility issues on Windows 7 Pro...

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  2. No there is no good reason, in fact, it is never wise to install multiple antivirus software on your computer, because they can break eachother.

    They see that some program is accessing amlmost any file and checking the code, this is quite suspicious to the program and it will see the other AV as a spyware product or other virus.

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  3. Best Answer

    Just as the others said, I would advise against the installation of two AV's. That said, AV should be thought of as "insurance". Something that's there if you need it, but the thing you never want to have to rely on.

    Good security takes more than just an AV.

    1. Educate your users on threats on the internet. Teach them what as suspicious e-mail looks like, how to spot them and what to do if they receive them.
    2. Pay close attention to common attack vectors such as PDF's, flash, java etc. Keep your programs and computers up to date with WSUS / GPO, etc.
    3. Disable users ability to install any software.
    4. Pay careful attention to your firewall. Block ports that don't need to be open, watch for P2P / Torrent sharing, etc.
    5. Block any computer on your subnet(s) from sending mail from port 25 that aren't mailservers
    6. Keep your anti-spam up to date, audit logs regularly and block e-mails with attachments that have tell-tale extensions (.vbs, .exe, .bat, etc)

    Good security is not a "set it and forget it" approach. It needs to be regularly monitored - Use ONE AV as insurance, but following a few simple steps will greatly increase your ability to avoid malware.

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