SpyCatcher Enterprise
Tenebril's SpyCatcher Enterprise consists of a Remote Management Console (RMC), an RMC Satellite, and a SpyCatcher client. When you install the RMC, a wizard walks you through the setup of distributed client communications. A PDF-format Quick Start Guide can also guide you through setup and configuration. You must first choose one of three options for client/server communications: direct network communication, networked through an FTP server, or a folder on a networked drive. The direct network communication option requires the RMC to be running for clients to connect, and the FTP option requires an intermediary FTP server, so I opted for the simple shared-folder option. After I created and tested the shared folder, the software prompted me to configure the RMC Satellite, which coordinates communication between the clients and the server. To prevent user tampering, you can password-protect the RMC satellite and hide its system tray icon.
After the wizard completed, the SpyCatcher RMC opened, as Figure 5 shows. The Quick Start Guide informed me that a SpyCatcher installer package would appear on the desktop following completion of the wizard—sure enough, it was there. I entered the license information, per the guide's instructions, and proceeded to the client installation.
The client package consists of two MSI packages, one for the application and one for settings, that you can deploy via Active Directory (AD) or a third-party deployment tool. Currently, no automated deployment mechanism is available for the client within the RMC. And to initiate communication, you must run an executable on the client either manually or via a script. I installed the clients manually and ran the executable.
After I refreshed the RMC, the clients appeared and I scheduled an immediate spyware sweep from the Clients menu. Within the interface, you can add clients to logical groups and apply various scanning, scheduling, and protection options at the group level. You can use the default groups or add and rename groups to suit your environment. I performed multiple scheduled and manual sweeps on the test clients and although the software found some spyware, SpyCatcher Enterprise didn't find a number of threats that other products identified.
The SpyCatcher RMC's base functionality boasts the centralized management capabilities of an enterprise product. However, a combination of limited deployment capabilities, kludged client/server communications, and missed threats detract from this product's effectiveness as a corporate antispyware solution.
Look to the Future
The enterprise antispyware product space is still relatively young, and that youth shows in one way or another in most of these products. Nonetheless, we're seeing an ever-increasing and immediate need for antispyware products, so you might need to choose a product today that resolves as many spyware problems as possible while keeping an eye on the future potential of the tool. Ongoing research and consistent product improvements are essential to any vendor that wants to attain and maintain an advantage over competitors. As with many products, larger vendors are better equipped to invest in the necessary research. The wild card, however, will probably be the sense of commitment a given vendor puts toward improving its product. A huge company with many products might direct only a fraction of its attention toward its antispyware tool, whereas a small company might stake its livelihood on the success of its product.
Of course, making these determinations—future potential, R&D dedication, overall company investment in a given product—isn't easy, and getting a straight story from a company's sales representative can be a feat in itself. Of the products reviewed, the offerings from CA and Sunbelt Software are best equipped to tackle today's spyware challenge. These two products also boasted the most impressive centralized management functionality, offering easy scanning, scheduling, alerting, and client-software deployment. Although DynaComm i:scan has a lot of flexibility for discovering and handling threats, its out-of-the-box functionality missed much of the spyware loaded on my test systems. Also lacking in the detection department are Omniquad AntiSpy Enterprise Edition and SpyCatcher Enterprise. These products have enticing qualities, but their primary functions of detecting and removing spyware—their most important feature, in the context of this comparative review—don't quite live up to those of their competitors.
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