Next Gen Anti Virus

When I started in I.T. the only names in anti virus where Norton and McAfee, every computer didn’t have antivirus software on it, every computer wasn’t connected to the internet, and the good guys outnumbered the bad guys. Now, none of those things are true. There are around 50 antivirus venders, every PC comes with a bare minimal anti virus program, every computer is connected to the internet, and the good guys can’t keep up with the bad guys.

Protecting our computers has changed drastically in the last 20 years. 20 years ago the bad guys seemed to be out for vandalism, now they are out for your bank account, literally and figuratively. It is a profitable occupation, backed up with metrics, policy and procedure, and a can-do attitude. So what is a micro-business to do?

Choose a Next Gen Anti Virus Program

Next generation anti virus programs (NGAV for short) monitor behavior as opposed to comparing programs signatures to an every increasing database of know malicious programs. Very applicable is what James Whitcomb Riley once wrote, “When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.” For example, when an NGAV sees a program start encrypting your file system, it assumes that it is a not a good program and shuts is down. First gen AV programs can’t keep up, because they are looking for the equivalent of a fingerprint. Can you imagine a retail store checking everybody’s finger print to know if a customer is trustworthy or not. They can’t do that, but they can monitor suspicious behavior.

Our favorite NGAV is Sentinel One, but there are few. However, don’t be deceived, all the old school AV’s are jumping on the bandwagon. If they are still updating virus definitions everyday, then they are not next gen. Pluto Micro includes Sentinel One in all but one of support subscriptions; we refer to it as Advanced Anti-Virus. Have a look.