How has it helped my organization?
We use patch management from Bitdefender, as well. It has a feature that has patch management for all the critical updates or protection of the system. It keeps the computer and the server up to date automatically with the details for the reports. It also has a new risk analytics feature. This risk analysis is a vulnerability scan of the workstation and the server endpoint, and it will tell you all the security misconfigurations on the system and provide you the solution to fix it. It also has automatic fixes to protect some of those misconfigurations.
For example. We all know the protocol SMB v1 is dangerous because it's old, and at the same time, it's vulnerable to the WannaCry ransomware. So with Bitdefender's risk analysis, it automatically fixes that for you, as well as a bunch of other things. I like that.
What is most valuable?
The best feature for our customers is the ransomware feature. It is very fresh and powerful. Bitdefender also has a feature called Ransomware Vaccine. With this feature, when a file from the ransomware is encrypted Bitdefender can revert it back to the original file. It automatically decrypts the file and puts the ransom in quarantine. This is like SentinelOne. This is a very impressive feature.
The second Bitdefender feature that I consider very important is its anti-phishing filter. The workstations get a straight content filter to protect from web pages. I like Bitdefender's anti-phishing so much because it doesn't need to install to any browser. It's captured directly from the network traffic in the computer, and it stopped a lot of phishing or phishing pages. It a very powerful anti-phisher. It sends email reports in real-time. I'm very happy with that.
What needs improvement?
Bitdefender could improve their modules on the server. For example, Bitdefender doesn't have content filters or firewall modules on the server. It would be great if it had a networking module and a content filter module at the workstations. Because when you install it on a workstation and a server is totally different, the workstation has all the modules, firewalls, content filters, antivirus, anti-exploit, etc. But then the server has fewer features than the workstation. It has the anti-malware and the EDR, which is good because you can see the logs. It also has the device control so you can block USB's and whatever you need. But it doesn't have the content filter to see the anti-phishing, and it doesn't have the firewall inside to stop network attacks. This is something that could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Bitdefender GravityZone for our customers for about three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable. The endpoint doesn't give me any errors. It doesn't require a lot of communication ports or protocols. It just needs to go to an HTTPS and create a port, like a web port, and they synchronize everything with the central server. It's very, very straightforward and it's very stable. It's not like all the antivirus products that I know require you to have ports open to communicate better. With other software you have the whitelist, a lot of hostnames in the firewall, to make sure it communicates to the server or the cloud. With Bitdefender, it just uses one hostname, one port, that's it. It's very stable. Very easy.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This product has an excellent price and it works with selling and reselling. It is a very good product to buy if you want to save money. In my experience, it's much more powerful than other solutions. It is very aggressive with the ransomware relative to the price. Its remote access Trojan is very focused on that power of security.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Bitdefender could be improved. Last year the support was really slow. When you sent a ticket they would answer you five hours later. But over this past year, it has been improving. Now, if you send a ticket they call you back and help with whatever you need in about an hour.
The support people are are very skilled. When they call you they solve the problem immediately. They mostly do email support. But there is an option when you open a ticket that you can select remote support so they can connect remotely to your computer and assist you with whatever you need regarding Bitdefender.
We recently had a problem with password protection on a customer's endpoint. They helped us wipe it out. It was great. That's the experience we've had with the support tech. They've improved since last year.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We switched from Symantec because we had a problem with ransomware that did not stop. We were concerned about the customers with this particular ransom and older kinds of threats. We switched to Bitdefender after we tested a lot of viruses and ransomware in the lab.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is very easy. You just set it up at the company, then you set up the package, and you download the executable, and it will be automatically installed. There's no "next next" wizards, nothing. It's all automatic. It has a feature, that I only I realized a month ago, which helps you to remove old competitors like Malwarebytes from all devices. The setup is very simple, believe me.
Also, with big environments like Active Directory, which has a lot of computers in the domain, you can install one endpoint in the server and set it up like a relay, everything in the simple graphical interface - very friendly. And you can deploy everything from the Bitdefender cloud, the installation to all the workstations which are in the domain.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The license is very flexible. You can choose from monthly, yearly, or three years. The license is very simple. It's not a file that has to upload to the product. It's just a serial number, like a product key, that you put on the cloud console, and that's it. Every endpoint you install will be synchronized with that license.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We tested several antivirus solutions and Bitdefender gave us the best results. In my experience as an IT company providing a lot of customers IT support and MSP, Bitdefender was and still is, the best at stopping the most dangerous ransomware currently on the internet.
What other advice do I have?
We use Bitdefender cloud. So basically everything is cloud-based. All the protection is based on agents installed in servers and workstations.
In terms of mobile protection, I see that it has good features. You can install the mobile protection on on-premise servers like VMware or Hyper-V, and it works fine. It's very friendly. I do see the graphics on the mobile endpoint are a little bit old and I think they should improve that. Also, it would be great if in the future they included a feature for anti-theft so they can clean the device and wipe it out if it gets stolen. I think it might have that feature because we are testing the new mobile solution that has the remote wipe, and the lock with the password feature. But the classic interface from the app should be improved, it's a little bit old.
Another feature I would like to improve is on the laptops. When a laptop is lost or stolen, it would be great if they included the anti-theft there as well. Because in the personal product, it's already implemented, but for business, it's not. That would be great.
On a scale of one to ten, I would rate Bitdefender GravityZone a nine.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner