What You Need to Know About ESET

	ESET PROTECT is an endpoint security platform offering different tiers of detection and response functionality. Through its extended detection and response (XDR) solution, ESET PROTECT Elite, customers receive email, network, and server protection.
Overall Rating: 4.4/5 • Pricing: 4.5/5 • Core features: 4.1/5 • Advanced features: 3.9/5 • Ease of use: 4.5/5 • Administration: 4.3/5 • Customer support: 5/5	Pros	Cons
	Multiple tiers for growing teams	Lacks some features that its competitors have
	Multiple support channels	Poor MITRE independent testing results
	On-prem and cloud deployment options	Limited customer training videos

Continue reading my ESET review for more information about the PROTECT platform, or skip down to see how I evaluated ESET and its features, pricing, and administrative capabilities.

Who Should Use ESET?

ESET is a strong choice for businesses looking for a comprehensive cybersecurity platform and multiple support channels. It’s also a good option if you want to scale your organization’s endpoint protection capabilities over time.

Consider ESET if you’re one of the following:

• Organizations needing the full package: Through ESET LiveSense, the PROTECT platform offers features like threat hunting, rogue device management, machine learning, and sandboxing.
• Teams that want plenty of support channels: ESET offers phone, email, and live chat support, which is rare for vendors in the endpoint detection and response market.
• Businesses that need to scale: If you’re a smaller organization and don’t need full XDR capabilities yet, consider ESET — once you’re able to scale, you can upgrade your plan as needed.

Who Shouldn’t Use ESET?

While ESET is a strong EDR and XDR solution, it may not be an ideal choice if you’re looking for one of the major players in the endpoint security field. It’s also not the best for advanced security policies or quarantine features.

Consider other options if you fall into one of these categories:

• Customers looking for a top-five EDR: If you’re a large enterprise hoping to purchase the likes of Palo Alto or a higher scorer in independent testing like MITRE, you may want to look elsewhere.
• Security teams that want training videos: ESET doesn’t offer as many training videos for new users as some of its competitors.
• Admins that need advanced quarantine capabilities: ESET can quarantine files, but it may lack further endpoint isolation options.

If you’d like to see a broad selection of security vendors, read our list of the best cybersecurity companies in the industry, which includes Rapid7 and Proofpoint.

ESET Pricing

If you need the most basic protection for endpoint devices and servers, ESET PROTECT Entry should be sufficient. But if your business wants features like mobile defense or cloud app protection, look at the Advanced or Complete plans. Elite adds XDR, and finally, ESET PROTECT MDR provides the most intensive support with managed detection and response. ESET is a great solution for SMBs that want to scale their endpoint security over time.

5 Key Features of ESET

In this ESET review, I looked at five XDR features, including vulnerability management, protection for cloud apps, security policies, dashboards, and LiveGuard Advanced for examining malicious samples.

Vulnerability & Patch Management

Offered in ESET PROTECT Complete and higher, the vulnerability and patch management module helps security teams track vulnerabilities within their business. The module categorizes vulnerabilities by the severity of risk presented, and it shows how recently computers have been scanned for issues. The module also shows security admins, which of the applications they use are the most vulnerable. ESET also allows you to configure automatic software patching.

Cloud Application Security

ESET’s Cloud Office Security module offers features like anti-spam, sandboxing, and email and file quarantine for Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace environments. Security teams can view which users receive the most spam emails and malware. ESET also shows teams whether users are unprotected, so they can immediately work with those users. Cloud Office Security can be purchased separately or used as a module within the PROTECT platform.

Security Policy Management

ESET PROTECT allows security admins to create policies that determine how their business handles firewall rules, problematic endpoint devices, and logging. Policies are one of the most useful tools for cybersecurity management because they help teams customize exactly how stringent their security will be. ESET PROTECT supports a variety of policies and lets teams create their own in its web console.

Dashboard & Charts

Visualizing threat patterns and endpoint weaknesses is critical for security teams, especially ones overwhelmed by manual work, and ESET PROTECT’s dashboard will help you track the concrete steps you need to take. Its charts provide an overview of the devices within your organization and whether they’re updated to the most recent software version. The dashboard shows tabs for different modules and features so you can easily navigate amongst them.

ESET LiveGuard Advanced

ESET LiveGuard Advanced is an automated cloud-based sandbox that performs behavioral analysis and inspection of malware. This tool directly counters zero-day threats and ransomware strains by investigating suspicious traffic before it enters the network. The sandbox simulates actual machine behavior for all physical and virtual hosts, giving malicious files the chance to launch in an isolated environment while critical segments stay protected.

ESET Ease of Use

ESET earned a high score from me because it offers multiple usability features, including product documentation for PROTECT and a single pane of glass management console. ESET also works on all three major computer operating systems, as well as Android and iOS devices. I took off points for no customer training videos, which could be a downside for inexperienced teams or security personnel who have never used an EDR solution before.

ESET Customer Support

Its selection of customer support channels is where ESET really stands out. It offers phone, live chat, and email to customers, which is unusual for a major EDR vendor. Both of ESET’s premium support tiers are available 24/7, but critical severity response time will be the fastest, with a two-hour response time. Recent customer reviews have overall positive comments about the support team’s general helpfulness and responsiveness.

	ESET Premium Support Essential	ESET Premium Support Advanced
Support Hours of Availability	24/7	24/7
Phone
Email
Live Chat
Dedicated Account Manager

Alternatives to ESET PROTECT

ESET is a good choice for many businesses, but it might not be the best for your organization’s needs. If you want a different platform, consider Sophos Intercept X, Bitdefender GravityZone, CrowdStrike Falcon, or Trend Micro Vision One. These are all strong endpoint detection and response platforms, and they’re more well known than ESET, if you’re looking for a chart-topping security platform.

Sophos Intercept X

Sophos Intercept X is an endpoint security and XDR solution that, like ESET, is ideal for smaller organizations, with features like device encryption. However, it still offers advanced capabilities for larger businesses, including behavioral analytics and threat hunting. Sophos is widely regarded as an easy-to-use security platform, which makes it a good choice for less experienced teams.

Sophos doesn’t provide direct pricing for Intercept X on its website; potential buyers can request a quote. Sophos also offers a 30-day free trial for Intercept X.

Bitdefender GravityZone

Bitdefender GravityZone is a threat prevention and remediation solution for businesses that includes incident analysis and forensics capabilities. While it’s not presented as an XDR solution, GravityZone offers some features comparable to ESET’s, including risk management and sandboxing.

GravityZone costs around $570 per year for 10 devices, which is most comparable to ESET PROTECT Advanced. For more than 100 devices, Bitdefender requires potential customers to submit a pricing request.

CrowdStrike Falcon

CrowdStrike Falcon is a popular endpoint security platform that offers features like automated remediation, behavioral analytics, and quarantine. Like ESET, you can start with a tier that offers more basic endpoint protection features, or you can go all the way to Falcon Insight, CrowdStrike’s XDR solution.

CrowdStrike’s most basic plan, Falcon Go, starts at $59.99 per year and includes next-gen antivirus and device control. The third plan, Falcon Enterprise, starts at $184.99 per device annually and adds EDR coverage and threat intelligence. CrowdStrike offers a 15-day free trial for the Falcon platform.

Trend Micro Vision One

Trend Micro’s Vision One platform combines XDR and attack surface management in a comprehensive platform. It helps protect email, networks, cloud, and container environments. It’s a good choice for both smaller businesses and large enterprises, with a managed service offering that will benefit teams that don’t have a lot of experience.

Trend Micro offers pricing for the Vision One platform through resellers, including the Amazon Web Services Marketplace, which prices it by credits. A single credit on a 12-month contract costs $1.05.

If none of these sound like the right fit, check out our guide to the best business antivirus solutions, which also includes Malwarebytes and Microsoft.

How I Evaluated ESET PROTECT

To evaluate ESET as an endpoint security solution, I developed a product scoring rubric to review the PROTECT platform. I chose six major categories that are important for an EDR platform, which were my main rubric criteria. Each category had multiple subcriteria, which included individual features and pricing plans. How well ESET PROTECT met all of my subcriteria earned it an overall score of 4.4 out of 5.

Evaluation Criteria

I first looked at ESET’s core EDR and threat features, like device control, vulnerability management, and incident quarantine. Then I considered ease of use, including documentation and operating system support. I also examined pricing, including ESET’s different plans, and administrative features like dashboards and APIs. I evaluated ESET’s customer support channels, and finally, I looked at advanced features like forensics and sandboxing.

• Core features (25%): This category evaluated ESET’s major XDR features, including threat intelligence, risk scoring, and cloud application protection.
  • Score: 4.1/5
• Ease of use (20%): I analyzed usability features like a knowledge base, training videos, and the availability of a managed service.
  • Score: 4.5/5
• Pricing (15%): This category covered ESET’s different pricing tiers, as well as the availability of a free trial.
  • Score: 4.5/5
• Administration (15%): I evaluated features like dashboards and charts, APIs, identity management integrations, and deployment options.
  • Score: 4.3/5
• Customer support (15%): I looked at ESET’s customer support channel options, including phone, email, and live chat, as well as product demos.
  • Score: 4.5/5
• Advanced features (10%): I considered ESET’s nice-to-have security features, like custom detection rules, automated remediation, and forensics.
  • Score: 3.9/5

Bottom Line: Consider ESET as an Endpoint Security Platform

ESET is a strong choice for businesses that want to start with an endpoint security solution that only has a few modules, with the option to scale to an XDR or MDR plan later. The PROTECT platform offers a variety of advanced security capabilities and helps businesses secure their digital infrastructure, including cloud applications and networks. Consider which security features are most critical for your business’s needs before selecting an ESET PROTECT tier.

If you’re interested in a product focused on analytics, check out our list of enterprise user and entity behavioral analytics tools.

The post ESET PROTECT Review: Prices, Features & Benefits appeared first on eSecurity Planet.

• Norton 360: Better solution for ease of use and customer support ($29.99+ for a single device)
• McAfee Total Protection: Better for privacy and data cleanup features ($29.99+ for a single device)

Norton vs McAfee at a Glance

The following table covers Norton’s and McAfee’s similarities and differences, looking specifically at pricing plans, features, and operating system support.

Annual Price	• Norton Antivirus Plus: $29.99 (1 device) • Norton 360 Standard: $39.99 (1 device) • Norton 360 Deluxe: $49.99 (5 devices) • Norton 360 with LifeLock: $99.99 (10 devices)	• McAfee Basic: $29.99 (1 device) • McAfee Essential: $39.99 (5 devices) • McAfee Premium: $49.99 (unlimited) • McAfee Advanced: $89.99 (unlimited) • McAfee Ultimate: $199.99 (unlimited)
Supported Operating Systems	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS	Windows, Mac, Android, iOS
Number of Devices Supported	1-10 (depending on plan)	1-unlimited (depending on plan)
Ransomware Protection	Yes	No
VPN Feature or Add-On	Yes	Yes
Identity Theft Monitoring	Yes	Yes
	Visit Norton	Visit McAfee

Through my comparison of the two, I found that Norton is the better overall solution, with plenty of device and identity security features, training videos for customers, and multiple support channels. However, McAfee is still a solid choice, especially if you’re looking for plenty of financial and credit monitoring features. Continue reading to learn more about each product, or skip down to see how I compared Norton and McAfee.

Norton Overview

Better for Ease of Use & Customer Support

Overall Rating: 4.2/5

• Pricing: 3.7/5
• Core features: 3.5/5
• Advanced features: 4.3/5
• Ease of use and admin: 4.4/5
• Customer support: 5/5

Norton Antivirus and Norton 360 are antivirus and security plans for consumers to protect up to 10 devices, including phones and tablets. Aside from antivirus, Norton offers ransomware and hacking protection, privacy monitoring, and a VPN. On the usability side, it supports Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS devices. Norton has multiple training videos and help articles for using the software, and it offers phone, email, and chat options for customer support.

Pros & Cons

Key Features

• Dark web monitoring: Norton scans the dark web for customers’ personal information in case it’s been exposed.
• Parental controls: A good feature for families, Norton’s controls allow parents to set internet time limits for children and filter the web content they can see.
• Password manager: Norton generates strong passwords and syncs logins across all your protected devices.
• Privacy monitoring: Norton searches data broker websites for your personal data so you know where you can request to opt out of having your data exposed.
• Credit and financial protection: The most expensive plan offers credit monitoring coverage for one credit bureau and limited reimbursement for stolen funds.

If you’re looking to protect your entire home network, learn more about overall network security.

McAfee Overview

Better for Privacy & Data Cleanup Features

Overall Rating: 3.8/5

• Pricing: 4.7/5
• Core features: 3.3/5
• Advanced features: 4.3/5
• Ease of use and admin: 2.9/5
• Customer support: 4.4/5

McAfee Total Protection is a set of five consumer security plans that include antivirus, web protection, and safety scores. Even McAfee’s most basic plan includes a VPN, identity monitoring, and text scam detection. I recommend McAfee if you’re looking for features like social media privacy, personal data monitoring, and scans of old internet accounts. It helps consumers manage their data privacy and remove information that doesn’t need to be exposed.

Pros & Cons

Key Features

• McAfee Protection Score: Total Protection gives you an overall cybersecurity safety score and recommendations to improve your cyber health.
• Social Privacy Manager: McAfee helps you quickly adjust your privacy settings on social media based on your frequency of use.
• Bank transaction monitoring: McAfee sends customers alerts if it finds suspicious activity in their accounts.
• Credit monitoring: Users receive monthly credit score updates and monitoring through one credit bureau, as well as temporary security freezes as needed.
• Data cleanup: McAfee searches for your information on data broker sites to help you request removal from the sites.

Better for Pricing: Tie

Basic Plan	Norton Antivirus Plus: $29.99	McAfee Basic: $29.99
Mid-Range Plans	• Norton 360 Standard: $39.99 • Norton 360 Deluxe: $49.99	• McAfee Essential: $39.99 • McAfee Premium: $49.99
Highest-Priced Plans	Norton 360 with LifeLock: $89.99	• McAfee Advanced: $89.99 • McAfee Ultimate: $199.99
Free Trial	7 days	30 days
	Visit Norton	Visit McAfee

Winner: Norton and McAfee have extremely similar pricing for their antivirus plans.

Norton’s standard plan, Antivirus Plus, includes basic AV features for one device. Norton 360 Deluxe is only $10 more expensive per year than Norton 360 Standard; because it adds privacy monitoring and parental controls, it may be worth it to spring for that Deluxe. Finally, Norton 360 with LifeLock is where Norton’s identity monitoring features come into play. For its antivirus and 360 plans, Norton offers a seven-day free trial.

McAfee Essential offers web browsing protection, VPN, and identity monitoring. McAfee Premium adds data cleanup features. For basic identity needs, McAfee Essential or Premium should be sufficient. But if you want more, McAfee Advanced adds identity theft coverage, credit card transaction monitoring, and credit score updates. McAfee Ultimate has the largest feature bundle, but most users will find that Advanced covers their needs.

Better for Core Features: Norton

Antivirus	Yes	Yes
Anti-Ransomware	Yes	No
Web Browsing Protection	Unclear	Yes
Dark Web Monitoring	Yes	Yes
Data Cleanup	No	Yes
Parental Controls	Yes	No
Webcam Threat Detection	Limited	No
Text Scam Detection	No	Yes
	Visit Norton	Visit McAfee

Winner: Both plans offer a comparable number of features, but Norton gets the slight edge in my evaluation for offering customers just a bit more.

Norton 360 offers basic antivirus and ransomware protection, as well as parental controls and dark web monitoring. Norton also offers web browsing protection, but it’s not particularly clear about which product the feature belongs to. If you need to detect or remove rootkits, check out Norton Power Eraser — it’s not part of Norton 360, but it’s a completely free tool. Norton 360 lacks text scam detection, but again, Norton does offer a free detection tool, Genie.

McAfee’s key features include antivirus, web browsing protection, and dark web monitoring. Other features to highlight are data cleanup, which sends requests to online services to take down your personal information, and text scam detection. McAfee is unclear about ransomware protection features, and it also doesn’t seem to offer ad blocking or anti-tracking. It doesn’t specify which plans offer parental controls.

Better for Advanced Features: Tie

VPN	Yes	Yes
Password Manager	Yes	Yes
Privacy Management	Privacy monitoring	Social Privacy Manager
Identity Theft Monitoring	Yes	Yes
Anti-Spyware	No	No
Security Assessments	Unclear	No
	Visit Norton	Visit McAfee

Winner: Norton and McAfee offer comparable integrations and advanced antivirus capabilities.

Norton has a password manager in all of its Antivirus plans, and all the 360 plans also have a VPN. Other nice-to-have features include privacy monitoring and identity theft monitoring. For advanced consumer identity protection, Norton is a great choice — it also offers fraud detection features. Norton doesn’t have spyware protection; I recommend looking at business antivirus products if that’s a priority for you.

McAfee’s selection of integrations and advanced features is very similar. Like Norton, the Total Protection plans include a VPN and password manager. McAfee’s Social Privacy Manager is a particularly good option for customers who use social media frequently and want to protect their online presence; I recommend this for freelancers who work with social channels. McAfee also doesn’t offer spyware detection.

Better for Ease of Use & Administration: Norton

Supported Computer Operating Systems	Windows and macOS	Windows and macOS
Supported Mobile Operating Systems	iOS and Android	iOS and Android
Number of Devices	Up to 10	Unlimited
Documentation	Yes	Limited
Training Videos	Yes	No
	Visit Norton	Visit McAfee

Winner: Norton wins here for its consumer support articles and training videos.

You can install Norton’s antivirus and 360 plans on Windows and Mac computers and iOS and Android devices. The most extensive plan, Norton 360 with LifeLock, supports up to 10 devices. Norton also offers support articles, which provide instructions ranging from VPN installation to renewing an expired subscription. And Norton’s training videos could be especially helpful for users who aren’t as tech-savvy or have never installed an antivirus solution before.

McAfee can be installed on Windows and Mac computers and iOS and Android phones, like Norton. Its Advanced and Ultimate plans support unlimited devices for a single user; this is especially helpful for freelancers who use a lot of different devices. I didn’t see much user documentation or training videos in my evaluation of McAfee; it might be a bit more challenging for some users to learn without that extra visual aid.

Better for Customer Support: Norton

Phone	Yes	Yes
Email	Yes	No
Live Chat	Yes	Yes
24/7 Support	Yes	Yes
Community Forum / Support Center	Yes	Yes, but check for outages
	Visit Norton	Visit McAfee

Winner: Norton’s three support channels gave it the edge in my comparison.

Norton offers phone support and estimates a five-minute wait for calls. It also has email and live chat options; live chat is reportedly available 24/7. Providing all three major support channels is impressive, particularly for a consumer product. Norton has a support community forum as well; users can submit questions or issues they’re having with their products, and other users or Norton experts can answer.

McAfee’s main support channels are phone and live chat. Both are available 24/7. While McAfee doesn’t appear to offer email support, phone and live chat tend to be faster channels and more useful in outages or emergencies. McAfee does seem to have an online support community, but it’s currently taken down for improvements without a clear end date, so take that into consideration if an active forum is important to you.

Who Shouldn’t Use Norton or McAfee

Norton and McAfee are both strong antivirus options for consumers and freelancers. But they aren’t the best fit for all users, especially businesses.

Who Shouldn’t Use Norton?

Consider other antivirus tools if you’re one of the following:

• Users looking for anti-spyware or anti-tracking: Consider other antivirus or device protection products if you need spyware or tracking protection.
• Small or large businesses: While freelancers and contractors will benefit from Norton’s protection, it’s not designed for multiple users.
• Families with more than three users: Norton 360 with LifeLock only supports 10 devices, and Norton 360 doesn’t offer a family-specific plan.

Who Shouldn’t Use McAfee?

Look at other options if you fall into one of these categories:

• All businesses: While McAfee offers business protection for five users, it’s marketed as being for Dell products and won’t support anything larger than a few employees.
• Parents who want to manage kids’ security: McAfee doesn’t have parental controls in its Total Protection plans.
• Users looking for walk-through videos: McAfee doesn’t offer much in the way of training videos, so users that need a visual walkthrough may have a little trouble.

Top 3 Alternatives to Norton & McAfee

If neither Norton nor McAfee sound like the right fit for you, check out one of the following solutions instead. Bitdefender, PC Matic, and Malwarebytes all offer comparable antivirus plans.

Pricing	• Individual: $59.99/year (5 devices) • Family: $84.99/year (25 devices)	• Security: $50/year (5 devices) • Personal: $100/year (5 devices) • Family: $199/year	• Individual: $4.17/month (2 devices) • Duo: $6.67/month (5 devices) • Family: $10.83/month (10 devices)
Ransomware Prevention	Yes	Yes	Yes
VPN	Yes	Yes	No
Identity Monitoring/Protection	Limited — data breach detection	Yes	No
	Visit Bitdefender	Visit PC Matic	Visit Malwarebytes

Bitdefender Total Security

Bitdefender Total Security is an anti-malware solution for individuals and families. Its features include ransomware protection, scam prevention, and cryptomining protection. Like Norton and McAfee, Bitdefender also offers a VPN and a password manager through Total Security.

The Individual plan supports up to 5 devices and costs $59.99 per year. The Family plan supports up to 5 accounts and 25 devices total and costs $84.99 per year. Total Security can be installed on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android.

PC Matic

PC Matic is an antivirus and endpoint security solution for both individual users and families. It offers features like malware protection, a VPN, and identity theft protection. PC Matic also provides 24/7 phone support.

PC Matic’s Security plan offers the most basic protection – antivirus and anti-malware – for $50 per year and up to five devices. The Personal plan, at $100 per year, covers all of a single user’s devices and adds identity theft protection. The Family plan protects every household device and costs $199 per year. PC Matic is a bit more expensive than Norton and McAfee, but supporting large families sets it apart.

Malwarebytes Premium

Malwarebytes Premium is a device protection and scam prevention solution for both individuals and families. It offers protection from virus, ransomware, Trojans, and spyware, as well as scam protection from texts and phishing accounts.

Malwarebytes’ Individual plan supports two devices and starts at $4.17 per month, billed annually. The Duo plan, for two users, supports five devices and starts at $6.67 per month. Finally, the Family plan includes up to 10 of your family’s devices for $10.83 per month. Malwarebytes is also a bit more expensive than Norton and McAfee, so keep that in mind while shopping.

How I Compared Norton & McAfee

I used a product scoring rubric, which had five key categories, to compare Norton and McAfee. The five categories covered major criteria of antivirus solutions, and I weighted each based on importance. Each category also had multiple subcriteria, like individual features, which received their own weighting. My rubric examined Norton and McAfee’s pricing plans, major AV features, advanced capabilities, overall usability, and customer support options.

Pricing – 20%

I looked at Norton and McAfee’s pricing plans, from basic options with a smaller selection of features to more comprehensive options. I also scored them based on the availability and length of a free product trial.

Core Features – 30%

I evaluated Norton and McAfee based on their selection of consumer security features, including antivirus and ransomware prevention but also additional options like dark web monitoring and scam detection. I also looked at features like parental controls and anti-tracking.

Advanced Features & Integrations – 15%

I considered advanced security features like anti-spyware, device assessments, and identity theft monitoring. Additionally, I scored Norton and McAfee based on the availability of VPNs and password managers, which consumer antivirus software often provides. 

Ease of Use & Administration – 20%

I evaluated administrative features, including the operating systems Norton and McAfee support, and also looked at the number of devices each plan supports. Then I considered whether training videos and product documentation were available.

Customer Support – 15%

I scored Norton and McAfee based on the number of support channels they offered, including email, phone, and live chat. Additionally, I looked at the hours the support team was available and whether the vendors offered a customer forum or support center.

Bottom Line: Norton vs McAfee

Norton and McAfee are both good antivirus solutions for consumers, particularly freelancers looking to secure multiple devices. Norton is great if you’re looking for plenty of support channels, and it also provides helpful tools like videos if you’re worried about learning to use the solution. McAfee is an especially strong choice for individuals working in social media or consumers who want to better protect their online presence.

If your small business is looking for an antivirus solution, I’d recommend checking out these top business AV products for options more suitable for teams.

The post Norton vs McAfee: Compare Antivirus Software 2025 appeared first on eSecurity Planet.

To help you choose the best option for your organization, we’ve reviewed the top cybersecurity training programs, highlighting key features, benefits, and potential drawbacks for each.

Here are the top six cybersecurity training programs:

• KnowBe4: Best overall security training product
• ESET: Best for endpoint security and threat prevention
• Proofpoint: Best for small and midsize businesses
• Ninjio: Best option for employee engagement
• Infosec IQ: Best vendor for customer service
• SANS Institute: Best for skilled teams and IT pros

Top Cybersecurity Training Products Compared

The following chart briefly overviews our six products’ feature availability. While some vendors don’t offer full free trials for their products, they may offer a few free phishing episodes or another type of demo, so consider those if you’re reviewing the product, too.

	Phishing Templates	Training Videos	Over 20 Languages Supported	Free Trial
KnowBe4
ESET
Proofpoint
Ninjio
Infosec IQ
SANS Institute

KnowBe4: Best Overall Security Training Product

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KnowBe4 is one of the most popular training products in the field, offering baseline testing to find out how phish-prone an organization is and a huge library of engaging network security awareness training content. Other features include automated training campaigns, simulated phishing attacks, and a tool for monitoring improvements in user behavior.

KnowBe4 is particularly good for midsize to large businesses that want reasonably priced, engaging training. Its laser focus on training and transparent pricing contribute to its spot on our list.

Pros

• Has straightforward and transparent pricing
• Supports many languages

Cons

• Smaller businesses may find lower payment tiers restrictive because of feature limitations
• Some users are having trouble separating new from outdated content in the training library

Pricing

Key Features

• Interactive browser-based training: Employee training is web-hosted.
• Skills-based and culture surveys: These focus on improving the overall team security culture.
• Phishing templates and landing pages: KnowBe4 makes these customizable.
• AI-driven training recommendations: Individual users know what they need to work on.
• USB-drive behavior testing: These tests analyze employees’ behavior toward unfamiliar storage devices.

Screenshot

ESET: Best for Endpoint Security & Threat Prevention

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ESET is a well-established cybersecurity company known for its robust endpoint protection solutions. Offering a comprehensive suite of cybersecurity products, ESET focuses on providing businesses with proactive protection against a wide range of cyber threats. Their training programs are designed to help employees recognize and mitigate potential risks, enhancing overall organizational security.

Pros

• User-friendly interface
• Comprehensive threat coverage

Cons

• Limited customization options
• Higher cost for advanced features

Pricing

ESET offers both free and paid training options to suit various organizational needs. The free training provides essential cybersecurity awareness content, while the paid training is $250 for 10 users annually, offering more comprehensive modules and features. For detailed pricing information and to explore the available options, it is recommended to contact ESET directly or visit their website.

Key Features

• Interactive Learning Modules: ESET offers engaging training with videos, quizzes, and interactive scenarios to boost learning retention.
• Phishing Simulation: The platform features phishing simulation tools that help organizations test employees’ responses to simulated attacks, reinforcing real-world skills.
• Reporting and Analytics: ESET’s reporting capabilities enable administrators to track employee progress, identify knowledge gaps, and create compliance reports.
• Multi-Language Support: ESET’s training modules are available in multiple languages, making it accessible to diverse workforces.
• Regular Content Updates: The training content is regularly updated to address the latest threats and best practices, keeping employees informed about current risks.

Proofpoint: Best for Small & Midsize Businesses

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Proofpoint offers a cybersecurity awareness training program with concise, digestible modules to create lasting improvements in user habits. Seamlessly integrating with other Proofpoint solutions, it’s an excellent choice for SMBs, particularly those new to a structured training approach.

While it may not be as comprehensive as some options for larger enterprises, Proofpoint provides a practical, accessible solution for small to mid-sized organizations looking to strengthen their security awareness.

Pros

• Integrations with other Proofpoint products make this a good choice for existing customers
• Security awareness training is a good starting point for small teams

Cons

• Multiple customers found the user interface hard to navigate
• Focus on smaller businesses may not offer this level of customization enterprises need

Pricing

Pricing for Proofpoint’s training is included as part of its Proofpoint Essentials service. Subscribers to that service can access its security awareness training. Proofpoint also offers a free trial for the training service. The company doesn’t list pricing info on its website, so interested buyers must contact the sales team directly.

Key Features

• Consistent training around the globe: This includes multi-language support.
• Employee progress tracking: Dynamic reporting helps admins clearly view users’ progress.
• Integration with target attack protection (TAP): TAP helps prevent ransomware by detecting and blocking advanced threats.
• Detection for very attacked people (VAPs): This feature provides more detail on the types of threats your organization engages in, including the business’s top link clickers.
• ThreatSim phishing simulations: Help your team understand its susceptibility to various phishing attacks.

Screenshot

NINJIO: Best for Employee Engagement

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NINJIO offers a highly engaging training solution through short, animated videos, each lasting 3–4 minutes, with fresh content released monthly. The videos are based on real-life security breaches, presenting relatable scenarios that teach employees how to respond effectively. A gamified leaderboard boosts engagement by fostering friendly competition among employees.

With consistently positive user reviews, NINJIO is a top choice for driving employee engagement in cybersecurity training.

Pros

• Reporting and analytics are available for phishing success
• Received high user reviews for overall employee engagement

Cons

• A few users found the admin dashboard to be clunky
• Lacks transparent enterprise pricing

Pricing

NINJIO doesn’t offer pricing information publicly. If you’re interested in buying, contact Ninjio for pricing info or look at the monthly subscription plan for SMBs. Pricing is per user, per month, with an annual commitment.

Key Features

• Hollywood-style storytelling: The brief videos and voice acting are designed for better connection and engagement.
• Real-life examples: NINJIO uses phishing examples that have actually happened.
• New training episodes: NINJIO releases new content each month.
• Private hosting portal available: This includes your business’s own branding and domain name.
• Interactive quizzes: Quizzes are available in multiple languages.

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Infosec IQ: Best for Customer Service

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Infosec IQ provides a flexible cybersecurity training solution with pre-built programs and customizable options from a vast library of industry- and role-specific modules. This allows companies to tailor training to focus on relevant topics for their employees.

Known for its responsive customer service, Infosec IQ is highly regarded for its strong sales and technical support. It is a top choice for businesses seeking comprehensive and adaptable training solutions.

Pros

• Customers have high praise for its customer service and support
• Phishing simulation templates are a particular highlight among users

Cons

• Some users said the site navigation and UI could improve
• Reporting features have mixed reviews

Pricing

Infosec IQ’s security awareness training has three tiers: Standard, Enterprise, and InfoSec IQ + Skills (for security, IT, and dev teams). Prices on these three tiers are not publicly available, so interested organizations must fill out a form on Infosec IQ’s website to receive pricing details.

Key Features

• Phishing templates: New ones are added weekly based on new threat data.
• Phishing simulator: Infosec provides instant feedback when a user takes unsafe actions.
• Brief training videos: Videos are designed to improve employee learning retention.
• Single sign-on integrations: Supported products include Active Directory and Okta.
• Customizable reporting: Dashboards can be filtered by department and learning group.

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SANS Institute: Best for Advanced Teams and IT and Security Professionals

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The SANS Technology Institute provides business employee training alongside full undergraduate and graduate cybersecurity programs. Its computer-based training adapts to diverse learning styles and corporate needs, featuring engaging, challenging games to enhance retention.

With additional courses available for advanced security professionals, SANS is ideal for teams seeking in-depth cybersecurity expertise and growth opportunities. It is a top choice for companies with advanced or ambitious cybersecurity goals.

Pros

• Offers phishing templates in multiple languages and five difficulty tiers for templates
• SANS Institute training has an integration with Active Directory

Cons

• Some users complain about high costs
• Potential customers might find the multiple products and training difficult to understand while shopping for a product

Pricing

SANS Technology Institute doesn’t make pricing information publicly available. Contact the Institute to learn more about its multiple training products, including the Phishing platform, EndUser training, PCI-DSS compliance training, and Cyber Risk Insight Suite for company assessments.

Key Features

• Custom awareness programs: These are good for teams in specific industries that need specific cybersecurity training.
• Knowledge assessment: Avoid wasting time on skills your team has already mastered.
• Automated test delivery: Tests are scheduled over 12 months.
• Automated remedial training: Training is assigned to users when they need additional work on a simulation.
• More than 50 training modules: Six different tracks are available.

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Essential Features of Effective Cybersecurity Training Tools

To build a resilient and security-aware workforce, choosing a cybersecurity training tool with features that effectively engage employees and adapt to evolving threats is essential. Here are the top five features that make a cybersecurity training solution truly effective:

Phishing Simulations

Phishing simulations are critical for hands-on learning, allowing employees to practice recognizing and responding to phishing attempts in a safe environment. These tools send simulated phishing emails to test employees’ awareness and response. By replicating real-world scenarios, phishing simulations help users become familiar with phishing tactics, preparing them to identify and avoid actual threats.

Engaging & Interactive Content

High-quality training tools use engaging, interactive content, including videos, quizzes, and real-world scenarios, to make learning enjoyable and memorable. Cybersecurity can be complex, and breaking down the content into short, engaging modules keeps employees’ attention and boosts retention. Quizzes and scenarios provide practical application, reinforcing lessons in a meaningful way.

Customizable Learning Paths

Every organization has unique security needs, and a customizable learning path feature allows training to be tailored accordingly. This feature allows administrators to assign different training modules based on employees’ roles, risk levels, or existing knowledge. This targeted approach ensures that employees receive relevant training, increasing the program’s effectiveness and minimizing unnecessary content.

Regular Content Updates

The cybersecurity landscape is constantly changing, with new threats emerging regularly. Training tools with continuously updated content ensure employees stay informed about the latest threats and best practices. Regular updates help keep training relevant, covering areas like ransomware, phishing, and social engineering as they evolve, which is essential for maintaining an informed and vigilant workforce.

Reporting & Analytics

Robust reporting and analytics provide valuable insights into training effectiveness, enabling administrators to monitor individual and team progress, identify knowledge gaps, and measure overall program success. This feature helps tailor the training experience to employees’ needs, ensuring continuous improvement in security awareness and reinforcing areas where more focus may be needed.

How to Choose a Cybersecurity Training Product

If your business is considering purchasing a security awareness training product, look at each solution’s main features, ease of management, pricing, support, other products, and the training content your team needs.

Review Their Core Features

Before shopping for a product, create a shortlist of 3–5 key features your team needs for your training course. The other features should be nice, but every product you consider should have those few core capabilities. Those might include short animated videos, a specific type of report, or quizzes after each training module. While your list shouldn’t be unattainable, make sure you’re keeping your team’s main needs front of mind.

Consider Ease of Management

How is user management handled? Is it a manual process? Assess the ease of administration of whatever vendor you choose. If there are multiple systems or consoles, ask about the degree of integration between those systems. It’s always best to ask as many questions as possible before committing to a product.

Consider Cost

Find out how many capabilities come with the subscription level, including what functionality is included versus required managed services and extra fees. Balancing budget with quality is always a fine line, but make sure you’re investing in a product that will last your business years, not a low-quality one that fits your budget but not a growing team.

Determine Customer Support Needs 

Some teams may not need detailed reporting or 24/7 customer support, but make sure you communicate with the vendor and know your business’s expectations before making a decision. Additionally, look at existing customers’ reviews — while these don’t give the entire picture, they help your team spot potential weaknesses and gauge whether you’re willing to live with them.

Keep Integrations in Mind

While your business may only be looking for a training product, it could be beneficial if the training solution integrates with your existing security solutions. Some vendors, like Proofpoint, offer multiple security products. Others, like KnowBe4, offer only awareness training. Decide whether you want your cybersecurity training to integrate with other security products in your infrastructure before purchasing.

Know Your Content Expectations

Look at the volume and quality of training content provided for each product. How important is it to your organization to have an ongoing campaign with fresh content? A small training library means stale and infrequent training. Content needs to be engaging, so try it yourself to get a feel for the vendor’s approach.

Consider asking multiple employees what they consider engaging in training courses. You’ll get a more comprehensive picture if you poll more team members.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why Do We Need to Train Our Employees?

Employees and individual contributors are among the weakest links in enterprise cybersecurity. They’re susceptible to malicious email links, spoofed phone calls, and unsecured websites. Some of those scenarios happen because employees have never been taught to spot fakes, and recent cyberattack tactics can be highly sophisticated.

A simple employee mistake could cost your business thousands or millions of dollars. When done consistently and engagingly, cybersecurity training reduces these risks.

What Should Cybersecurity Training Include?

A thorough training program should include comprehensive coverage of common phishing trends, including email, text, and phone phishing. However, ensure you also cover strong password policies and password protection. What are a few basic security health items that your team can cover? Discussing those items with new and tenured employees is also important.

How Can You Promote Cybersecurity Awareness in the Workplace?

Developing a security culture in your organization won’t just happen by assigning training videos to your employees. Your leaders have to promote open communication, too. Talk with your team regularly, ensuring frank security conversations are commonplace. The more your employees expect these discussions, the less likely they’ll be to break your business’s security restrictions blatantly.

Bottom Line: Choosing the Best Employee Cybersecurity Training Service

Cybersecurity training solutions have become increasingly advanced in recent years, empowering businesses to prevent a single phishing email or malicious link from escalating into a major security breach. To find the right solution, create a shortlist of promising products and use demos or free trials to assess the user experience firsthand.

Once you choose a training solution, it’s crucial to implement it immediately. New employees are vulnerable to phishing and credential theft from day one, so early and consistent training is key to strengthening your organization’s security posture.

While training and technology are great tools, they are not enough to protect your team. Read more about the importance of a business cybersecurity culture next.

The post 6 Best Cybersecurity Training for Employees in 2025 appeared first on eSecurity Planet.

Here are the best six XDR platforms: 

• Microsoft Defender XDR: Best overall XDR solution
• Trend Micro Vision One: Best for combined detection and response
• CrowdStrike Falcon Insight: Best for a mix of features and support options
• Palo Alto Cortex XDR: Best for enterprise security needs
• SentinelOne Singularity: Best XDR with forensics for junior teams
• Cybereason Defense Platform: Best for detailed attack lifecycle management

Top XDR Solutions Compared

The following table compares my top vendors based on their important detection and response features and the availability of a free trial.

	Device Controls	Automated Response	Custom Detection Rules	Free Trial
Microsoft Defender XDR				90 days
Trend Micro Vision One				30 days
CrowdStrike Falcon Insight				15 days
Palo Alto Cortex XDR
SentinelOne Singularity				30 days
Cybereason Defense Platform

= Yes    = No   = Add-on

Based on my comparison, Microsoft Defender XDR is the best XDR platform, but all six of my top choices are industry-topping detection and response solutions. Continue reading to learn more about them, or skip down to see how I evaluated the top platforms.

Microsoft Defender XDR – Best Overall XDR Solution

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Overall Reviewer Score

4.2/5

Pricing

3.4/5

Features

4.1/5

Usability and coverage

4.5/5

Administration

4.8/5

MITRE ratings

5/5

Customer support

3/5

Microsoft Defender XDR is a cloud-native XDR solution for enterprises. Microsoft’s XDR capabilities include coverage of all network components and environments, priority alerts, and threat response coordination. Defender XDR has plenty of features, like email protection and threat hunting, and it also offers integrations with SIEM and identity management solutions so you can further centralize your security. I recommend it for teams of all sizes.

Pros

• Extensive XDR coverage
• Thorough documentation
• SIEM and IAM integrations

Cons

• Unclear whether 24/7 support is available
• Limited incident quarantine features
• Unclear whether you can deploy on premises

Pricing

• Contact for quote: Custom pricing available
• Free trial: 90 days

Key Features

• Query-based threat hunting: Security teams can create custom queries and use them to explore 30 days’ worth of raw log data for specific threat searches.
• Automated self-healing: Defender XDR automates simple healing tasks, like device cleaning, and allows teams to develop customized auto-responses to common alerts.
• Entra ID integration: Defender XDR helps you protect apps and identities by integrating with Entra ID, Microsoft’s IAM solution.
• Copilot: Microsoft’s tool for security assistance answers natural-language questions and gives you options for resolving threats, allowing you to view policies and get device info.

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Trend Micro Vision One – Best for Combined Detection & Response

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Overall Reviewer Score

4.1/5

Pricing

3.6/5

Features

4.3/5

Usability and coverage

3.8/5

Administration

4.7/5

MITRE ratings

4/5

Customer support

4.1/5

Trend Micro Vision One is a broad security solution offering threat intelligence, attack surface management, and XDR. Vision One’s coverage includes servers, email platforms, cloud environments, and user identities. The platform produces an XDR data lake that collects data like metadata, logs, and telemetry, helping reduce security data silos. For SIEM and SOAR integrations, Trend Micro partners include Splunk, Microsoft, and Palo Alto.

Pros

• Platform covers multiple security functions
• Protection for cloud workloads and email
• Customizable policies and reports

Cons

• Log retention is only 30 days
• Limited SIEM integrations
• No technical account manager option

Pricing

• Contact for quote: Custom pricing available
• Free trial: 30 days

Key Features

• Vulnerability management: Vision One helps you track vulnerabilities’ CVEs and the meantime to patch them.
• Sandbox analysis: Analysts can send suspicious files to Vision One’s sandbox and isolate possible threats during an examination.
• Role-based dashboards: Specific organizational roles — like CIOs or IT operations personnel — receive custom dashboards based on their responsibilities.
• Custom reports: Vision One customers can create out-of-the-box or custom risk reports tailored to the specific reports you need to give.

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CrowdStrike Falcon Insight – Best for a Mix of Features & Support Options

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Overall Reviewer Score

4/5

Pricing

3.8/5

Features

4.1/5

Usability and coverage

3.3/5

Administration

3.7/5

MITRE ratings

5/5

Customer support

4.7/5

CrowdStrike Falcon is an endpoint protection solution with multiple software plans and capabilities, including Falcon Insight, its XDR segment of the platform. CrowdStrike has features like advanced antivirus, threat intelligence and threat hunting, firewall management, endpoint detection, and incident response. CrowdStrike offers multiple tiered plans, standalone licenses for specific solutions, and multiple support channels like phone and live chat.

Pros

• Great for advanced threat response needs
• Email and cloud workload protection
• Phone and chat support options

Cons

• Limited info on data retention policies
• Network sources unclear
• Unclear how much documentation is available

Pricing

• Falcon Pro: $99.99 per device year
• Falcon Enterprise: $184.99 per device per year
• Falcon Elite: Contact for quote; Falcon Insight XDR falls under this plan
• Free trial: 15 days
• Free demo: Contact to schedule

Key Features

• Zero trust assessments: Falcon Insight’s ZTAs assess business-wide endpoint health and let you know what OS settings and policies make you vulnerable.
• Incident workbench: Security teams can view an attack from beginning to end to better understand its process.
• CrowdScore: Your organization receives an overall threat score and an incident dashboard that triages alerts for you.
• Data ingestion: Falcon Insight XDR users receive 10GB of free third-party ingested data daily through CrowdStrike Falcon Next-Gen SIEM.

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Palo Alto Cortex XDR – Best for Enterprise Security Needs

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Overall Reviewer Score

3.8/5

Pricing

2.4/5

Features

3.4/5

Usability and coverage

3.2/5

Administration

4.2/5

MITRE ratings

5/5

Customer support

4.7/5

Palo Alto Networks’ Cortex XDR platform is an advanced detection and response solution that combines endpoint, network, and cloud data insights to reduce admins’ manual work. Its key features include ML-based behavioral analysis, custom detection rules, and threat hunting and intelligence through PAN’s Unit 42 team. While Cortex XDR could be complex for inexperienced teams, it’s a fantastic choice for advanced users and enterprise security needs.

Pros

• One of the strongest providers in the industry
• Outstanding results in independent testing
• Threat research available through Unit 42

Cons

• Can be complex for less experienced teams
• No free trial
• Email protection capabilities unclear

Pricing

• Contact for quote: Custom pricing available
• Free demo: Contact to schedule

Key Features

• Custom rules: Cortex XDR offers rules based on indicators of compromise (IOCs), like IP addresses, file names, and event correlation rules.
• Cloud lateral movement analytics: Palo Alto finds strange patterns in cloud services based on usage, identifying behavior that’s typically used to move laterally.
• Response actions: Teams can isolate endpoints, remediate malicious changes, and search for and destroy malicious files on a device.
• XSOAR integration: Cortex XDR and Cortex XSOAR integrate closely, allowing you to ingest incidents from Cortex XDR into XSOAR playbooks automatically.

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SentinelOne Singularity – Best XDR With Forensics for Junior Teams

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SentinelOne Singularity is a comprehensive XDR solution offering an easy-to-use automation ecosystem, enhanced SOAR functionality, and machine speed containment. The Singularity platform also includes RemoteOps Forensics for digital forensics needs. SentinelOne receives generally glowing reviews from users, including for its support team, so I recommend it to less experienced teams, particularly if you’re looking for digital forensics capabilities.

Pros

• Consistently strong user reviews
• Forensics available through Enterprise plan
• IoT support through SentinelOne Ranger

Cons

• Security policy creation features are unclear
• Lacks triage features
• Documentation is challenging to find

Pricing

• Singularity Core: $69.99
• Singularity Control: $79.99
• Singularity Complete (includes XDR): $159.99
• Singularity Commercial (includes XDR): $209.99
• Singularity Enterprise (includes XDR): Contact for quote
• Free trial: 30 days; only for Singularity Control
• Free demo: Contact to schedule

Key Features

• RemoteOps Forensics: Singularity Enterprise customers can set automatic evidence collection to be triggered by threats and customize specific forensics profiles.
• Role-based access control: SentinelOne offers six predefined roles and also allows admins to create custom roles and permission settings.
• Network discovery: SentinelOne Network Discovery fingerprints IP-enabled devices on customers’ networks and identifies vulnerable endpoints.
• Firewall control: Singularity lets you perform native firewall control for Windows, Linux, and macOS operating systems.

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Cybereason – Best for Detailed Attack Lifecycle Management

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Cybereason Defense Platform is a detection and response solution renowned for analyzing malicious operations, or MalOps. If you’re looking for top-tier threat visualization, Cybereason shows the complete attack lifecycle. It also offers features like incident triage and custom detection rules. Cybereason is a great choice for teams that need thorough attack lifecycle management and want to investigate a threat’s full picture.

Pros

• Great for visualizing attack lifecycles
• One of the top performers in MITRE evals
• Plenty of IAM integrations

Cons

• Unclear network and IoT device coverage
• Quarantine features seem limited
• No free trial

Pricing

• Contact for quote: Custom pricing available
• Free demo: Contact to schedule

Key Features

• MalOps: Cybereason tracks the history and behavior of a specific threat from its first entry into the network until its attempted attack.
• Incident triage: Cybereason’s incident response prioritizes your business’s most critical assets, so you’re responding to the most important issues first.
• Threat hunting: Teams can search for threat evidence, conduct investigations, and use custom detection rules based on their business.
• Device controls: Cybereason Endpoint Controls help you manage endpoints from one screen.

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5 Key Features Of XDR Solutions

While it’s challenging to determine exactly which features your security team needs, core XDR capabilities are a good starting checklist to use while searching. Look for broad security coverage, incident response, automated workflows, threat intelligence, and security integrations.

Central Visibility

One of the major selling points of XDR is its comprehensive view of enterprise assets, not just endpoints. Aside from company devices, XDR platforms should also cover networks, email, and cloud environments. This is beneficial for teams that want to reduce security silos and correlate incidents that show up in different places but might actually be from the same threat.

Just ensure the vendor can demonstrate how this works in the platform and that it isn’t an empty claim.

Incident Management & Response

Teams should not only be able to view the history of an incident — where the threat first originated and its progress through the network — but also have resources to mitigate it. Incident response includes halting executable processes and quarantining compromised applications. It’s one of the most important capabilities of XDR and encompasses multiple XDR features, like device control.

Customizable Workflows & Automation

While “workflows” might first seem like an industry buzzword, it just means the ability to design response patterns for your security teams that make sense for your security infrastructure. If your XDR solution notices a particular behavior, it follows alert and response steps according to the workflow your team already developed. Ideally, these workflows are automated — security teams can’t be everywhere simultaneously, and automated responses are often faster.

Threat Intelligence

XDR platforms should draw data about vulnerabilities and threats from multiple locations. Good solutions offer varied threat intelligence sources or feeds so your security team receives plenty of threat data. It’s also important for any threat intelligence to be trustworthy, clean data so you’re operating based on accurate information.

Integrations With Other Security Products

XDR solutions shouldn’t be entirely locked into one particular vendor. They should offer integrations within a vendor’s infrastructure and provide connections with other products. Without third-party integrations, XDR will silo threat data and prolong businesses’ security challenges because they still don’t have all the information they need in one place.

How I Evaluated the Best XDR Solutions

I created a product scoring rubric to compare XDR platforms and evaluated industry-leading solutions using six major criteria and individual subcriteria. The six categories I selected, like features and support, are significant for buyers to consider when purchasing an XDR platform. I weighted each criterion based on importance, and weighted all the subcriteria, too. How each solution met the criteria I set, as well as criteria weighting, determined the platform’s total score.

Evaluation Criteria

First I considered product features, including device controls and automated response, which are the backbone of XDR. I also looked at usability and product coverage, like documentation and device support, and administration, including APIs and deployment options. Next I evaluated customer support options, like phone and 24/7 channels, and MITRE ratings, which test vendors’ real-world capabilities. Finally, I considered free trials and pricing transparency.

• Features (25%): This category covered important XDR capabilities like threat hunting, detection rules, and email and cloud protection.
  • Criterion winner: Trend Micro Vision One
• Usability and coverage (20%): I considered features that contribute to ease of use, like managed services, and product coverage, including network and IoT protection.
  • Criterion winner: Microsoft Defender XDR
• Administration (15%): This category included APIs, security policy management, and dashboards, as well as other subcriteria that ease administrative work.
  • Criterion winner: Microsoft Defender XDR
• Customer support (15%): I evaluated support channels like email, phone, and chat, as well as the availability of demos, community forums, and technical account managers.
  • Criterion winner: Multiple winners

• MITRE ratings (15%): Vendors’ independent security testing scores help show their product’s true abilities.
  • Criterion winner: Multiple winners
• Pricing (10%): I looked at XDR platforms’ pricing information and the availability of free product trials.
  • Criterion winner: CrowdStrike Falcon Insight

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What’s the Advantage of XDR?

Because XDR solutions ideally combine threat insights from multiple sources in your business’s infrastructure, they’re more comprehensive than standalone EDR or NDR solutions. However, they must be properly configured and used by your IT and security teams to gain the most accurate and useful information.

What’s the Difference Between XDR & EDR?

While EDR mainly deals with endpoint security and incident response, XDR extends to other infrastructure components, including networks and email accounts. Many EDR solutions have XDR capabilities and vice versa, which can make buying decisions confusing — you’ll see a lot of overlap. But if you’re searching for an XDR product, look for protective features for network and cloud assets, not just endpoints.

What’s the Difference Between XDR & MDR?

MDR is a managed service for businesses that want threat intelligence, insights, and incident response handled by an external team. Vendors offering MDR perform threat analysis and handle security incidents for their customers, which is a good choice for businesses with limited IT or security teams. MDR can cover both EDR and XDR services — it just depends on the capabilities of each MDR offering. All of my XDR picks offer a managed version.

Bottom Line: The Best XDR Solutions

Extended detection and response helps businesses manage various security assets, not just endpoints. In addition to greater ease of management, knowing how threats connect within different parts of your infrastructure helps security teams better understand how incidents originate and develop.

It’s also important to remember that XDR won’t automatically catch and detain all threats. It must be configured and studied over time before becoming a consistent and effective tool for your organization. It should also work well with any existing security tools so your business can improve its overall security posture.

If your business is debating which type of security platform to choose, read about the differences between XDR, SIEM, and SOAR next.

The post Top 6 XDR Solutions & Vendors appeared first on eSecurity Planet.

The antivirus industry can feel pretty big, so we’re gonna focus on only two platforms today: Avast and AVG. Both platforms are owned by the same company (Avast Software s.r.o.), but does that mean they’re the same product? Let’s find out.

Avast vs. AVG at a Glance

Let’s compare some basic pricing and features between Avast and AVG in a handy-dandy table before we look at them in more detail below:

Lowest Annual Price*	$69.99 per year for the first year; $99.99 per year for subsequent years	$59.88 per year for the first year; $99.99 per year for subsequent years
Supported Operating Systems	Windows, MacOS, and Android***	Windows, MacOS, and Android***
Maximum Number of Devices Supported	10	10
Firewall	Yes	Yes
Malware Detection Rates**	100%	100%

*While Avast and AVG both have free versions, those are not being considered for this review. Instead, I am looking at Avast Premium Security, AVG Internet Security, and any higher-priced subscription tiers.

**Malware detection rates in this table were pulled from AV-Test.org’s August 2024 Windows test. Detection rates from other websites, including AV-Comparatives, were used to evaluate the products.

*** While Avast and AVG both have iOS products, neither are antiviruses, and neither will be considered for this article.

Avast Overview

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

• Pricing: 2/5
• Core Features: 5/5
• Advanced Features & Integrations: 3/5
• Customer Support: 2/5
• Impact on Device Performance: 4/5
• Trustworthiness: 0/5

With its free version and decades of experience, Avast has become a household name in the antivirus space. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good. It has some things going for it. Its impact on device performance was relatively low, it scores well in independent testing, and its office management plan can be nice for businesses that employ many remote workers.

However, that’s where the positives stop, in my opinion. The service is expensive, and the features it does offer aren’t really all that different from most any other antivirus platform on the market. Additionally, while its test results are good, so are the likes of Microsoft Defender, Avira, and Bitdefender, which are all at equivalent prices or are cheaper.

Then we get to trust, which is my biggest issue with Avast. In 2020, the company harvested users’ browsing data, particularly data collected from Avast and AVG’s free versions and browser extensions, to be monetized through company subsidiary Jumpshot.

After being caught, the company defended this data collection as perfectly legal, promising to scrub collected data of identifying information. It did, however, reinforce its commitment to monetizing this scrubbed data by selling it to companies like Pepsi and Google, as reported by PC Mag’s Michael Kan.

While the company was first caught 4 years ago, this was not the end of the story. In February 2024, the FTC ordered Avast to cease “selling browsing data for advertising purposes” and to pay out $16.5 million for doing so. According to the FTC, this data harvesting has been happening since 2014.

While the FTC has banned Avast from continuing its data harvesting ways, I simply cannot trust a cybersecurity company I know has done this. A lot of what an antivirus gives users is peace of mind and a feeling of safety when using their computer. As such, trust is the most essential currency a company like this has with potential customers. Without that trust, why would you ever use software that requires so much data and access privileges on your device?

The bottom line is I wouldn’t trust Avast with my personal data, and I don’t think anyone else should either.

Pros & Cons

AVG Overview

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

• Pricing: 2/5
• Core Features: 5/5
• Advanced Features & Integrations: 3/5
• Customer Support: 2/5
• Impact on Device Performance: 4/5
• Trustworthiness: 0/5

Everything I said about Avast can be applied to AVG. The same company owns them, runs on the same engine, and, as briefly demonstrated in the comparison below, even uses the exact wording on their websites when describing certain features. These two have the same overall score because neither does anything that the other isn’t also doing.

This means AVG and Avast share many of the same positives (good independent test results, relatively low device slowdowns when in use) and negatives (too expensive without providing enough to justify the price).

It also means my trust issues with Avast are the same as those with AVG. The company’s data harvesting and monetization practices used antivirus-free versions and browser extensions. If you want my recommendation, I’d say stay far away from both providers.

Pros & Cons

Best for Pricing: AVG

Lowest Pricing Tier (Billed Annually)	$69.99 per year for the first year; $99.99 per year for subsequent years	$59.88 per year for the first year; $99.99 per year for subsequent years
Highest Pricing Tier (Billed Annually)	$69.99 per year for the first year; $139.99 per year for subsequent years	$59.88 per year for the first year; $139.99 per year for subsequent years
Free Trial	30 days	30 days

Winner: AVG’s first-year annual pricing being roughly $10 cheaper gives it a slight edge over Avast, but this is as close to a tie as one can get without it actually being a tie.

Best for Core Features: Avast & AVG

Endpoint Scanning	Yes	Yes
Antimalware	Yes	Yes
Web Browsing Protection	Yes	Yes
Ad Blocking	Yes, as a free browser	Yes, as a free browser

Winner: Avast and AVG are owned by the same company and run on the same engine. In terms of core features, these two are identical. This includes the store pages for both products using the same wording for several of the listed features.

Best for Advanced Features & Integrations: Avast & AVG

VPN	Yes	Yes
Password Manager	No	No
Firewall	Yes	Yes
Dark Web Monitoring	Yes, as an add-on*	Yes, as an add-on

* Avast dark web monitoring feature is only available as part of the Avast One subscription. It cannot be purchased a la carte.

Winner: Once again, these two are more or less the same antivirus in different skins. 

Best for Customer Support: Avast & AVG

Support Forum/Customer Community	Yes	Yes
Support Hours	24/7	24/7
Phone Support (With a Human Agent)	Yes	Yes
Email Support	No	No
Live Chat Support (With a Human Agent)	No	No

Winner: I’m sure it is a silly coincidence that the two antiviruses using the same engine and owned by the same company have the same customer support features.

Who Shouldn’t Use Avast or AVG?

In my opinion, no one should use either service. While this is a knock on their overall quality as products, it’s also just my recommendation to use antiviruses. The bulk of paid antivirus options don’t provide enough value for your money compared to cheaper options like Microsoft Defender, and the shady history of the free version of these antiviruses makes it impossible for me to recommend anyone use that either.

If you’re looking for a way to secure your business better, I would avoid antiviruses in most cases. The intense consumption of machine resources, high prices, and loads of feature bloat make most antivirus platforms not worth the money. Many antivirus providers also offer endpoint detection response (EDR) solutions that will better scale and suit the needs of most mid-size businesses.

2 Alternatives to Avast & AVG

Avast and AVG aren’t the only antivirus solutions on the market. Here are a couple of alternatives for your consideration:

Microsoft Defender

If you’re a PC user, the Microsoft Defender software with a Microsoft 365 subscription will, more often than not, be just as effective as any of the more expensive, more feature-burdened platforms. It scores well in virus detection tests run by reputable sites like AV-test and AV-Comparatives, and it lacks many bloatware and unnecessary features common in modern antivirus software.

Microsoft Defender is available as part of the Microsoft 365 subscription plan, which starts at $69.99 per year. Microsoft 365 also has features like identity theft monitoring, OneDrive file protection, and advanced email and calendar features for Microsoft Outlook, besides the Defender antivirus. Additionally, there’s Microsoft Defender for Business, which has plans starting at $3 per user per month for up to 300 users and up to 5 devices per user.

Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes is one of the only antivirus programs I would consider using. It scores well in virus detection tests while not, in my experience, causing the sort of intense slowdowns commonly associated with antiviruses. However, there is still a noticeable slowdown while in use. Malwarebytes’ plans can start at $3.75 per month for individuals and freelance users.

Malwarebytes’ Teams plan for businesses and organizations starts at $119.97 per year for 3 devices but can go up to 20 if necessary. Interested business clients can also look into the company’s managed detection response and EDR solutions.

How I Compared Avast & AVG

To grade Avast and AVG on a roughly even playing field, I created a grading rubric with 6 categories that interested buyers should consider when deciding which antivirus to buy. Two categories (Trustworthiness and Impact on Device Performance) did not get a dedicated section due to there not being much to compare within the format of this article. Still, they were briefly discussed in the overview for both products.

Pricing – 15%

I looked at the pricing on the lowest-available paid plans for both services. This was its Premium Security antivirus plan for Avast; for AVG, this was AVG Internet Security.

Core Features – 20%

I evaluated the availability of basic antivirus features for both Avast and AVG. Basic features included endpoint scanning and web browsing protection.

Advanced Features & Integrations – 10%

For this category, I analyzed some nice-to-haves for an antivirus, including a firewall and dark web monitoring. Password Managers and VPNs were also considered, though their impact on my overall grade was minor.

Customer Support – 10%

I checked out this category’s customer support options for Avast and AVG. This included determining if I could contact human customer support agents via phone or live chat, whether customer forums were available, and whether either company had 24/7 support.

Impact on Device Performance – 15%

I looked at how much each software slowed down or affected my experience using my device. This includes looking at browsing speeds and if either product’s web protection features are blocked or affected by any websites I commonly use throughout my day, like YouTube or Spotify.

Trustworthiness – 30%

Finally, I researched both companies’ histories for any notable data breaches or past shady activity, like if they had been caught selling user data. In my opinion, trust is the most important consideration factor with cybersecurity products, which is why it’s weighted so much higher than all other categories.

Bottom-Line: Avast vs. AVG

Avast and AVG are functionally identical antiviruses and are owned by the same company. That company used both antivirus-free versions and browser extensions to harvest user data that a subsidiary monetized. Even if these were the best antivirus products in the world, which they are not, I would never trust this company with my personal data, and I don’t think anyone else should either.

The post Comparing Antivirus Software 2025: Avast vs. AVG appeared first on eSecurity Planet.

These tools simplify the complexity of governance, providing your team with the resources needed to handle regulations efficiently while reducing costs. In this article, we’ll explore the 10 Top Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) tools for 2024, highlighting their features, drawbacks, and pricing options to help you choose the right solution for your business.

How to Choose the Best GRC Tool for Your Business Needs

Choosing the right Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) tool is crucial for ensuring your business remains compliant with regulations while effectively managing risk. With a wide range of GRC software available, selecting one that aligns with your unique business requirements is essential. Here’s a guide to help you make the best choice.

Assess Your Compliance Requirements

Start by identifying the regulations that apply to your business, such as GDPR, PCI-DSS, or SOX. Understanding your compliance obligations will help you choose a GRC tool tailored to these standards.

Evaluate Risk Management Capabilities

Ensure the GRC software has robust risk assessment features. Look for tools that can proactively identify, assess, and mitigate risks across your organization, providing real-time monitoring and alerts.

Scalability & Flexibility

Choose a GRC solution that can grow with your business. Whether you’re expanding into new markets or increasing your regulatory scope, the tool should be flexible and scalable enough to accommodate evolving needs.

Integration with Existing Systems

Select GRC software that integrates seamlessly with your IT infrastructure, including ERP, CRM, and other management systems. Integration ensures smoother operations and enhanced efficiency.

User-Friendly Interface

A user-friendly platform is essential for widespread adoption across your team. Opt for a tool that simplifies governance, risk management, and compliance processes with intuitive dashboards and easy navigation.

Focusing on these key areas can help you find a GRC tool that supports your business needs and enhances your compliance strategy. To help you make an informed decision, here’s our list of the top 10 GRC solutions for 2024, featuring tools that excel in managing governance, risk, and compliance, ensuring your business remains secure and compliant:

• RSA Archer: Best for Breadth of Features
• MetricStream GRC: Best for Flexibility and Customization
• ServiceNow: Best for Automation
• IBM OpenPages: Best for AI-driven Insights
• Hyperproof: Best for Real-time Compliance Tracking
• Riskonnect: Best for Internal Auditing
• LogicManager: Best for Risk Reporting
• SAI360: Best for Monitoring Third-party Access
• Corporater: Best for Business Performance Integration
• StandardFusion: Best for User Experience

Top Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Tools Comparison

This table compares leading email security tools, including their advanced features, ease of use, and cost. As pricing can vary greatly between software solutions, we offer in-depth reviews below this chart to help you choose the tool with the features and compatibility you need.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, pricing is based on an annual subscription to endpoint security solutions.

Continue reading to see how I assessed and analyzed these options, or skip ahead to see how I evaluated the solutions.

RSA Archer: Best for Breadth of Features

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RSA Archer is a leading governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) platform designed to help organizations effectively manage risk, ensure regulatory compliance, and protect their assets. With its modular and customizable structure, RSA Archer is ideal for organizations across various industries looking to integrate risk management processes into their operational workflow.

It is widely used for automating risk assessments, incident tracking, audit management, and policy enforcement, providing users with real-time visibility into their risk profile.

Pros

• Broad GRC capabilities
• Customizable workflow
• Comprehensive dashboard view
• Report customization
• Admins can set access control at the system, application, record, and field levels, allowing users to log in based on their access level

Cons

• User interface could be improved
• The keyword search feature could be better

Pricing

Archer does not list pricing on its website, but pricing per risk area typically starts around $30,000 to $50,000.

Key Features

• IT & security risk management
• Enterprise & operational risk management
• Regulatory & corporate compliance
• Audit management
• Business resiliency
• Public sector solutions
• Third-party governance
• ESG management
• Operational resilience

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MetricStream GRC: Best for Flexibility & Customization

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MetricStream’s platform is ideal for organizations with diverse user needs, offering tailored solutions for auditors, IT managers, and business executives alike. It excels in delivering a comprehensive GRC experience that meets the specific demands of different organizational roles.

At the core of MetricStream’s GRC platform are three critical dimensions of risk management: risk categories (financial, cyber, human health, and environmental), stakeholder engagement, and organizational agility. This framework allows organizations to prioritize and address the most pressing risks in real time, ensuring a focused, adaptive approach to managing risk in an ever-evolving landscape.

Pros

• Provides mobile apps to support mobility
• Uses AI to remediate issues
• Automate content extraction from SOC2 and SOC3 reports
• Use AI-powered recommendations to categorize observations as a case, incident, issue, or loss event and route them for review, approval, and closure
• Provides insight into risks via advanced analytics, heat maps, reports, dashboards, and charts

Cons

• Reporting could be improved
• Users report that the solution can be buggy

Pricing

MetricStream does not publish pricing information for its solutions. However, the AWS marketplace quotes MetricStream CyberGRC Prime for IT risk assessments, reporting, scoring, and centralized management at $180,000 for 36 months. Prospective buyers should contact MetricStream directly to request pricing information and schedule a platform demo before making a purchase decision.

Key Features

• Enterprise & operational risk management
• Business continuity management
• Policy & compliance management
• Regulatory engagement & change management
• Case & survey management
• Internal audit management
• IT threat & vulnerability management
• Third-party management

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ServiceNow: Best for Automation

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ServiceNow lives up to its name by delivering real-time insights through advanced monitoring, automation, and analytics tools. It proactively identifies risks, enabling organizations to respond swiftly and efficiently to emerging threats.

ServiceNow GRC stands out for its ability to simplify workflow management and facilitate seamless collaboration across internal and external teams. In addition, it often doubles as an effective project management tool, streamlining processes and improving overall efficiency. While its reporting capabilities could benefit from enhanced data visualization features, ServiceNow remains a formidable player in the GRC market, offering a robust and dynamic solution for risk management.

Pros

• Real-time view of compliance across the organization
• Automates workflow with a no-code playbook
• Users can interact with a virtual agent in human language to resolve common issues
• Allows users to manage and assess vendor’s risks
• Manages KRIs and KPIs library with automated data validation and evidence gathering

Cons

• Users report that the solution can be pricey
• Steep learning curve

Pricing

Pricing for ServiceNow GRC is available on request. ServiceNow partner pricing can start at about $3,000 monthly, while base licensing can start at around $50,000.

Key Features

• Policy & compliance management
• Risk management
• Business continuity management
• Vendor risk management
• Operational risk management & resilience
• Continuous authorization & monitoring
• Regulatory change
• Audit management
• Performance analytics
• Predictive intelligence

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IBM OpenPages: Best for AI-driven Insights

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IBM OpenPages is an enterprise-level Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) platform renowned for integrating AI-powered insights. Leveraging IBM’s Watson AI technology, OpenPages provides predictive analytics and automation to help organizations proactively manage risk, ensure regulatory compliance, and streamline governance processes.

It’s best suited for large enterprises across finance, healthcare, and manufacturing industries that must handle vast amounts of data while anticipating and mitigating risks through intelligent insights.

Pros

• Leverages AI-powered insights for predictive risk management
• Offers comprehensive coverage of financial, operational, and cyber risks
• Highly scalable and customizable to fit diverse industry needs
• Streamlines compliance and audit management with automation
• Centralizes policy and vendor risk management for enhanced governance

Cons

• High implementation costs may deter smaller businesses
• Steep learning curve requires significant training for effective use

Pricing

IBM OpenPages operates on a custom pricing model, typically ranging from $9,000 to $200,000+ annually based on the size and complexity of the organization, the number of users, and the level of customization required.

Key Features

• AI-Powered Risk Insights
• Compliance Management
• Risk Management
• Policy Management
• Audit Management
• Vendor Risk Management
• Incident Management
• Dashboard and Reporting
• Regulatory Change Management
• Scalability and Customization

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Hyperproof: Best for Real-time Compliance Tracking

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Hyperproof is a cloud-based Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) platform designed to streamline compliance management and automate real-time tracking of regulatory requirements. It helps organizations manage multiple compliance frameworks simultaneously, simplifying the audit process and providing clear visibility into compliance status.

Ideal for industries like tech, finance, and healthcare, Hyperproof offers an intuitive platform to monitor and ensure continuous adherence to complex regulatory standards.

Pros

• Real-time compliance tracking provides immediate insights into regulatory status
• Easy-to-use interface simplifies compliance management for all users
• Supports multiple compliance frameworks simultaneously
• Automated workflows reduce manual effort in audit and compliance tasks
• Strong integration capabilities with popular business tools

Cons

• Limited advanced customization for complex GRC needs
• May lack some in-depth risk management features compared to larger platforms
• High-end pricing may deter smaller organizations

Pricing

Hyperproof’s pricing is based on company size. For a company with 200 employees, the cost ranges from $16,300 to $32,200 annually. For larger organizations with 1,000 employees, the price increases to between $23,600 and $49,300 annually.

Key Features

• Real-time Compliance Monitoring
• Audit Trail Automation
• Framework Mapping
• Task Management
• Risk Register
• Document Management
• Collaboration Tools
• Compliance Reporting
• Control Automation
• Third-Party Integrations

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Riskonnect: Best for Internal Auditing

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Riskonnect’s GRC platform is tailored for risk management, information security, compliance, and auditing professionals across healthcare, retail, insurance, financial services, and manufacturing industries. It unifies governance, management, and reporting of performance, risk, and compliance processes across the entire organization.

With built-in strategic analytics through Riskonnect Insights, the platform provides actionable intelligence by identifying, alerting, and visualizing key risks for senior leadership. Additionally, Riskonnect offers seamless integration with Salesforce CRM, enhancing workflow efficiency and data connectivity.

Pros

• Riskconnect automates task assignment, document management, data deduplication and data entry
• Dashboards provide risk status and customizable KRIs and KPIs
• Gathers vendor information – including agreements, contracts, policies, and access credentials
• Merges insurable and non-insurable risks for easy management

Cons

• Some users reported that the software implementation process can be difficult
• Steep learning curve

Pricing

Riskconnect doesn’t list prices on its website, but the ESG Governance solution is available to Salesforce users for $25 per user per month. The Riskonnect website also includes an ROI study that may benefit potential customers.

Key Features

• Risk management information system
• Claims administration
• Internal auditing
• Third-party risk management
• Enterprise risk management
• Compliance management

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LogicManager: Best for Risk Reporting

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LogicManager’s GRC solution serves various industries, including financial services, education, government, healthcare, retail, and technology. It accelerates key processes such as data aggregation, report generation, and file management, enabling organizations to efficiently analyze and act on critical risk and compliance information, similar to other top-tier GRC platforms.

Pros

• Pre-built and configurable reports featuring heat maps, risk summaries, and risk control matrices
• Allows users to automate workflows
• LogicManager custom profile and visibility rules allow users to configure GRC form input fields to fit specific scenarios
• Efficient support team

Cons

• Some users say the platform and interface could be more intuitive and easier to use
• Reporting functionality could be improved

Pricing

LogicManager’s pricing is based on an organization’s size and complexity, but it can start at as low as $10,000 a year.

Key Features

• Enterprise risk management
• IT governance and security
• Compliance management
• Third-party risk management
• Audit management
• Incident management
• Policy management
• Business continuity planning
• Financial reporting compliance

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SAI360: Best for Monitoring Third-party Access

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SAI360 from SAI Global provides three distinct editions of its platform, catering to a wide range of needs — from small businesses requiring essential functionalities to large enterprises seeking extensive customization.

The platform effectively catalogs, monitors, updates, and manages an organization’s operational GRC requirements. It prioritizes oversight of third parties with access to your systems, automates workflows to address potential gaps, and fosters a culture of compliance best practices within your internal teams.

Pros

• Users can create relationships between elements like risks, controls, policies, applications, and loss events to enhance assessment scores and reporting
• Quality support team
• Easy workflow setup
• Provides a unified view of enterprise risk management

Cons

• Users reported that the solution has limited customization
• Reporting could be improved
• The user interface could be better

Pricing

SAI360 does not provide pricing, and we could find no secondary sources.

Key Features

• Compliance education & management
• IT risk & cybersecurity management
• Environment, health, and safety (EHS) management
• Enterprise & operational risk management
• Audit management
• Business continuity management
• Regulatory change management
• Internal control
• Vendor risk management

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Corporater: Best for Business Performance Integration

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Corporater is a comprehensive business performance management platform that integrates and aligns various performance metrics across an organization. It empowers organizations to visualize, monitor, and analyze their performance data, making it ideal for strategic planning, decision-making, and achieving business objectives.

Corporater is particularly beneficial for organizations seeking to enhance their governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) processes while driving overall business performance.

Pros

• Seamless integration of diverse performance metrics into a unified platform
• Highly customizable dashboards for real-time performance monitoring
• Facilitates strategic alignment across departments and teams
• User-friendly interface that simplifies data visualization and analysis
• Robust reporting capabilities for informed decision-making

Cons

• Initial setup and customization can be time-consuming
• Pricing may be a barrier for smaller organizations

Pricing

No pricing information is given on the company’s official website.

Key Features

• Integrated Performance Management
• Customizable Dashboards
• Strategic Alignment
• Advanced Reporting
• Risk Management
• Data Visualization
• Goal Tracking
• Collaboration Tools
• Compliance Management
• Automated Workflows

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StandardFusion: Best for User Experience

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StandardFusion provides a comprehensive suite of GRC features suitable for small and large businesses. Its user-friendly interface and straightforward deployment make it an excellent choice for SMBs, while its advanced functionalities cater to the more complex needs of larger organizations.

The platform simplifies compliance with various regulations, including GDPR, HIPAA, NIST, CCPA, and more. One of StandardFusion’s standout features is its transparent pricing structure, ensuring users are not caught off guard by hidden fees or unexpected costs. Customer reviews consistently highlight the platform’s above-average ratings for ease of use, deployment, and customer support, reflecting its strong reputation in the GRC market.

Pros

• Transparent pricing
• Integrates with several third-party tools, including RiskRecon, SecurityScorecard, Slack, Jira, Confluence, ZenDesk, SSP Reporting and POA&M
• Users can generate branded reports
• Manage compliance to multiple standards, such as ISO, SOC2, NIST, HIPAA, GDPR, PCI-DSS, and FedRAMP
• Quality support team
• Free trial available

Cons

• SSO is only available in enterprise packages. It costs an extra $200 per month for Starter and Professional plans
• The starter plan lacks integration into major third-party apps
• Steep learning curve

Pricing

StandardFusion offers four pricing plans

• Trial: A 14-day free trial is available
• Starter: $1,500 per month, onboarding fee: $7,500
• Professional: $2,500 per month, onboarding fee: $10,000
• Enterprise: $4,500 per month, onboarding fee: $20,000
• Enterprise+: $8,000 per month, onboarding: Dedicated implementation

Key Features

• IT and operational risk management
• Vendor and third-party risk management
• Compliance and audit management
• Policy management
• Incident management

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Key Features of Email Security Software

Most of the vendors listed above have been recognized in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for IT risk management and Forrester’s GRC Wave. What helps these platforms gain recognition? According to Forrester, a GRC solution should have the breadth and depth to support a wide range of GRC use cases, capabilities to align GRC efforts across multiple business functions, and advanced risk analysis.

Most GRC programs employ some combination of features in the following areas to accomplish these goals:

• Risk and control management
• Document management
• Policy management
• Audit management
• IT risk management
• Third-party risk management
• Risk scoring
• Workflow
• Dashboards and reports
• Preconfigured and custom integration
• End-user experience

How I Evaluated the Best Email Security Software

Intro blurb. See a good Selling Signals example here. The percentages represent the weight of the total score for each product.

Evaluation Criteria

I prioritized the core features of each email security solution according to the following:

• Core features (25%): We focused on the most important security elements for email protection, like spam filtering, virus detection, phishing protection, email encryption, data loss prevention, MFA/sender verification, and content screening. The availability and comprehensiveness of these characteristics were critical in our evaluation.
• Pricing and transparency (20%): I evaluated each solution’s total value, considering the cost of competitors and the features provided. We looked at the clarity and accessibility of price information on provider websites and the availability of free trials for hands-on testing. We also looked into other charges, such as core features offered as add-ons and the structure of maintenance plans.
• Advanced features (15%): These are the non-core elements that improve each solution’s overall security and usefulness, and were carefully considered. These included SIEM/SOAR/XDR integration, real-time threat intelligence, compliance features, and the availability of reporting and analytics tools.
• Ease of use and implementation (15%): I examined how simple and easy each solution was to deploy and manage, understanding that simplicity of use is critical for acceptance by users. This area included automation capabilities, the depth of the accessible knowledge base/resources, the amount of technical competence necessary for setup, policy management choices, and the admin interface’s usability.
• Customer support (15%): I assessed the quality and availability of customer service, emphasizing its relevance in resolving issues and providing assistance quickly. This includes assessing the availability of 24/7 options, live chat and email help, and the comprehensiveness of documentation, demos, and training materials.
• Vendor compliance (10%): Category includes

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which Industries Typically Need GRC Tools?

While finance, healthcare, and manufacturing are the first industries that come to mind when you hear risk and compliance, nearly every industry has risk and some compliance requirements, so every industry needs some type of GRC tool in place. For example, retailers have PCI DSS compliance to contend with in accepting credit card information, and any business that interacts with Europe has to abide by GDPR.

GRC software may not be a priority for small businesses, especially those in industries that are not heavily regulated. Their risk and compliance needs can be handled with basic cybersecurity software and business continuity plans. However, enterprises that don’t currently have a GRC framework in place should add the tools as soon as possible. Without them, they’re leaving themselves vulnerable to risk and could compromise their clients’ data.

What Is a GRC Software?

Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) software helps businesses manage all necessary documentation and processes to ensure maximum productivity and preparedness. Data privacy regulations like the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) can be hard to navigate for businesses of any size. Still, GRC tools can simplify and streamline adherence to all compliance demands.

GRC tools are also useful for preventing and addressing vulnerabilities that will inevitably impact your systems, resources, and stakeholders. Further, managing your organization’s short-term and long-term policies and procedures can be challenging without an effective GRC strategy in place.

What Is the Purpose of GRC?

Imagine a fictional retail business that sells vitamin supplements to use an example of a functional GRC strategy in action. The narrowest component, compliance, ensures that any data they collect is purposeful, the way they store the data is secure, and how they use it is appropriate. If they collect health information about prospective customers to match them with the right kinds of vitamins, compliance will help them meet all HIPAA requirements.

The risk management component monitors the security of the business’s infrastructure and technology, internal teams’ activities, and prospective external partners’ suitability. If there’s a phishing attempt that targets the company’s email system, the risk will be recorded, assessed, and dealt with in a way that minimizes damage to the internal systems and information.

If there is damage, the risk management strategy will also help recovery efforts regarding the impacted technology and data itself and any reputational rehabilitation that may be required. Perhaps most broadly, the corporate governance component helps the business’s leadership manage the company’s success in meeting short-term and long-term goals.

It provides an overview of the financial and operational status at any given moment so that all teams are aware of urgent needs or areas for improvement. It also ensures all internal policies, like paid time off and technology use, are upheld and enforced. Not only does the governance framework promote accountability and corporate integrity, but it also helps optimize the business’s performance.

Overall, a GRC strategy helps ensure every action, resource, and stakeholder aligns with the business’s broader company objectives.

Bottom Line: Invest in a GRC Platform That Grows with You

GRC is more than a software platform or a set of tools. In fact, GRC is effectively a broad framework that helps with decision-making processes, emergency preparedness, and collaboration across all segments of a business.

Any organization can benefit from a GRC strategy regardless of industry or size. It will help you optimize performance, stay up-to-date with all compliance requirements, and proactively prevent and address all threats to your organization. To keep customer data safe, and, in turn, keep their confidence, you’ll need the right set of GRC tools.

Aminu Abdullahi contributed to this article.

The post Top 10 Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Tools appeared first on eSecurity Planet.

If organizations don’t opt for full security suites, several solutions may be needed to protect against these threats. Let’s cover some of the most important cybersecurity software and tools in your security arsenal and some of the best vendors in each category.

Top Cybersecurity Software

We’ve narrowed this list down to four categories of software that are essential to modern cybersecurity: Extended detection and response (XDR), next-generation firewalls (NGFW), cloud access security brokers (CASB), and security information and event management (SIEM).

If you’re looking for antivirus software, see our list of the best ones.

• XDR
• NGFWs
• CASBs
• SIEM

Best Extended Detection & Response (XDR) Tools

Extended detection and response (XDR) software combines multiple cybersecurity tools, including endpoint detection and response (EDR), threat intelligence, and network traffic analysis. Rather than monitoring endpoints alone, like EDR, XDR takes a multi-layered security approach, covering email, endpoints, cloud environments, and on-premises networks.

XDR typically pairs well with secure access service edge (SASE) platforms to include coverage for Internet of Things (IoT) devices and the network edge.

ESET PROTECT Enterprise

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ESET PROTECT Enterprise is a robust security solution designed to protect organizations of all sizes with an integrated approach to endpoint security, threat detection, and response. It excels in automated and manual threat remediation, leveraging its XDR capabilities to provide real-time visibility across endpoints.

Pros

• Highly scalable for businesses of all sizes.
• Lightweight software that doesn’t burden system resources.
• Excellent customer support and responsive service.

Cons

• Limited third-party integrations compared to other XDR platforms.
• May require advanced configuration for optimal use in large enterprises.

Pricing

ESET PROTECT Enterprise offers flexible pricing, from approximately $39 per endpoint to $140+ annually, with discounts available for larger organizations or multi-year subscriptions.

Key Features

• Advanced Machine Learning: Detects and blocks sophisticated threats through AI-driven models, even before they can be executed.
• Multi-Layered Protection: Combines endpoint detection and response (EDR) with cloud sandboxing, network attack protection, and full disk encryption.
• Centralized Management Console: Administrators can monitor, manage, and respond to incidents through a unified interface.
• Customizable Reporting and Alerts: Users can prioritize critical threats and reduce false positives.

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Cisco XDR

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Cisco XDR is a comprehensive, cloud-native platform that integrates Cisco’s extensive security portfolio, including Secure Endpoint, Secure Network Analytics, and Threat Response. Its XDR solution offers cross-platform threat detection and remediation with deep integrations into Cisco’s security products, providing a seamless experience for security teams.

Pros

• Tight integration with Cisco’s security suite.
• Real-time, actionable threat intelligence from Talos, Cisco’s threat research division.
• Strong automation capabilities for fast threat remediation.

Cons

• Pricing can be higher for smaller organizations or those not already using Cisco products.
• Steeper learning curve for those unfamiliar with Cisco’s ecosystem.

Pricing

Cisco XDR is available as part of Cisco SecureX, with pricing depending on the size of your organization and specific deployment requirements. Licensing typically starts at around $0.99 per month up to $140+ for larger organizations, with custom pricing for enterprise-scale solutions.

Key Features

• Cloud-Native Architecture: Ensures scalability and ease of deployment, leveraging Cisco’s cloud security infrastructure.
• Unified Threat Intelligence: Combines data from across Cisco’s security ecosystem to comprehensively view potential threats.
• Automated Playbooks: Offers customizable automation workflows for streamlined responses to common security incidents.
• Cross-Layer Detection: Detects threats across endpoints, networks, email, and cloud applications for comprehensive protection.

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CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR

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CrowdStrike Falcon XDR offers a unified command console that enables swift threat identification and remediation, providing cross-platform attack insights and alerts to accelerate response times.

Automated multi-stage workflows reduce the burden on security teams by streamlining threat mitigation, while advanced analytics detect threats without manual rule adjustments. Its extensive integrations allow cybersecurity experts to connect and correlate data from various tools into a single console, enhancing visibility and coordination across the entire organization.

Pros

• The MDR solution is well-suited for smaller teams without a dedicated security staff, providing effective outsourced protection.
• Delivers strong, reliable platform performance across various environments.

Cons

• Some users report challenges with managing and navigating the user interface.
• Falcon’s pricing can be high, making it less affordable for organizations of all sizes.

Pricing

CrowdStrike Falcon Insight XDR is priced per endpoint, with options starting at around $59.99 per endpoint monthly. Pricing may vary based on the number of endpoints and additional features included.

Key Features

• CrowdStrike Threat Graph: Analyzes over 1 trillion events per week, enabling rapid threat detection and response across the enterprise.
• Cloud-Native Platform: Scalable, easy to deploy, and doesn’t require extensive on-premises infrastructure.
• Extended Coverage: Protects endpoints, identities, cloud environments, and workloads, providing visibility across the entire attack surface.
• Automated Threat Remediation: Integrates AI and machine learning to automate detection and response, minimizing human intervention.

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Best Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs)

Next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) extend traditional firewall protection from the network layer to the application layer to prevent breaches and add threat intelligence from outside the network. They still validate traffic via packet filtering and VPN support, but they can also use whitelists or a signature-based IPS to determine whether applications are safe or not.

Cisco Secure Firewall

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Cisco Secure Firewall (formerly known as Firepower) is an advanced NGFW solution that integrates deeply with the Cisco security ecosystem. It offers comprehensive threat detection, visibility, and real-time protection. It stands out with its encrypted traffic analysis, enabling the detection of threats within encrypted streams without decryption. It is ideal for businesses of all sizes, providing robust security across on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments.

Pros

• Strong integration with Cisco’s ecosystem and Talos threat intelligence.
• Powerful encrypted traffic analysis without requiring decryption.
• Flexible deployment options, including cloud, on-prem, and hybrid.

Cons

• Higher cost compared to some other NGFW options.
• Complex configuration and setup for non-Cisco environments.

Pricing

Cisco Secure Firewall pricing varies depending on the deployment (on-premise or cloud), the size of the network, and the security features required. It typically costs around $2,000 per firewall device, with subscription fees for security services such as threat intelligence.

Key Features

• Advanced Malware Protection (AMP): Real-time detection and blocking of malware, including sandboxing and retrospective threat analysis.
• Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Proactively prevents known vulnerabilities and potential attacks.
• Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA): Monitors and detects malware even in encrypted traffic.
• Seamless Cloud Integration: Integrates with multi-cloud environments to protect both cloud-native and hybrid setups.
• Threat Intelligence via Talos: Provides real-time global threat intelligence from Cisco’s Talos threat research team.

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Palo Alto Networks NGFW

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Palo Alto Networks NGFW is known for its cutting-edge technology in identifying, controlling, and securing applications, users, and data across networks. With their proprietary App-ID and Content-ID technologies, these firewalls provide granular control over applications and deep visibility into network activity.

Its NGFWs also use machine learning to enhance threat detection and improve security posture. This firewall suits organizations of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises.

Pros

• Feature-rich and ideal for large enterprises needing comprehensive functionality.
• Includes NGFW for container protection.

Cons

• Palo Alto is one of the pricier NGFW solutions, which may pose challenges for small businesses.
• Several customers have reported long wait times for technical support.

Pricing

Palo Alto Networks NGFW pricing starts at about $1,000 for the entry-level PA-220, while the high-end PA-7000 series begins at around $200,000. The rugged PA-220R offers up to 320 Mbps in threat prevention throughput, whereas the flagship PA-7080 delivers an impressive 300 Gbps and can handle up to 6 million new sessions per second.

Key Features

• App-ID Technology: Identifies applications regardless of port, protocol, or encryption, ensuring granular control over all network traffic.
• Threat Prevention: Blocks known threats, exploits, and malware using signatures and machine learning models.
• WildFire: Cloud-based malware analysis environment that inspects suspicious files and ensures zero-day protection.
• User-ID: Associates network activity with individual users, providing insight into user behavior and security events.
• PAN-OS Operating System: Centralized management of security policies and threat prevention across multiple firewall instances.

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Forcepoint

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Forcepoint stands out as a Visionary in Gartner’s evaluation, offering an NGFW that seamlessly connects and protects users and data across an organization’s offices, branches, and cloud environments. Security teams can swiftly deploy, monitor, and update thousands of firewalls, VPNs, and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) through a centralized console, whether on-premises or through a managed service provider.

The solution includes high-availability clustering and SD-WAN capabilities, working harmoniously with the Forcepoint Human Point System to enhance user and data protection alongside cloud and access gateway security. A unified software core ensures consistent operation and performance across all physical, virtual, and cloud-based appliance types.

Pros

• Strong multi-link features, ensuring redundancy and high availability.
• Excellent for distributed enterprises with complex compliance needs.
• Integrated data loss prevention for enhanced security.

Cons

• The learning curve for configuring DLP features can be steep.
• Less intuitive user interface compared to some competitors.

Pricing

Pricing for Forcepoint’s NGFWs varies based on capacity and features, starting at under $1,000 for the small office/home office model. The high-end 6200 series is priced at over $100,000, while the 2105 model tested by NSS Labs is approximately $40,000.

Key Features

• Multi-Link Capabilities: Enables load balancing and failover across multiple network links, ensuring continuous uptime.
• Intrusion Detection and Prevention (IDPS): Prevents attacks by detecting vulnerabilities and stopping exploits in real-time.
• Sandboxing: Isolates and analyzes suspicious files to detect malware and zero-day exploits.
• Unified Central Management: Allows simplified management of multiple firewall instances across various locations.
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Protects sensitive data by preventing unauthorized sharing and transfers.

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Best Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs)

Censornet

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As part of the vendor’s Autonomous Security Engine (ASE) solution, Censornet Cloud Access Security Broker integrates adaptive multi-factor authentication, email security, and web security for comprehensive protection. Additionally, Censornet’s CASB includes Identity as a Service (IDaaS) to ensure secure user authentication.

Censornet provides robust reporting capabilities, featuring pre-built trend reports that users can easily download and share with colleagues or clients. Security teams can access multiple report views, allowing them to analyze data by device, threat level, user, and other criteria for enhanced visibility and decision-making.

Pros

• Offers sophisticated algorithms for identifying and responding to potential threats in real-time.
• Intuitive design makes navigation and management straightforward for users at all levels.
• Effectively safeguards sensitive information against unauthorized access and data breaches.

Cons

• Generally, it is more expensive than some competing solutions, which may deter smaller organizations.
• The initial configuration and deployment can require significant time and resources, necessitating dedicated personnel for optimal implementation.

Pricing

The email security plan begins at just £1.70 per user per month, while the web security and antivirus plan is available starting at £2.30 per user per month. For those interested in the CASB plan, pricing starts at £2.50 per monthly user. Contact their sales team to obtain a tailored quote for your business.

Key Features

• Comprehensive risk assessment, rating, and categorization for cloud applications.
• Detailed policy-setting controls based on user, role, device, network, and function.
• In-depth audit reports featuring various criteria, such as application classification, risk level, and threat type.
• A dedicated security awareness training program to enhance user knowledge and preparedness.

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Skyhigh Security CASB

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Skyhigh Security’s CASB solution is designed to enforce data loss prevention policies, effectively blocking attempts to transfer corporate information to personal devices. Utilizing forward and reverse proxy methods for inline deployment ensures robust security across the board. The solution integrates via API with various business applications, including Slack, Zoom, and GitHub, alongside multiple identity and access management tools.

Originating from McAfee’s former cloud business, Skyhigh includes its CASB tool as a key component of its comprehensive SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) platform.

Pros

• Numerous customers have commended the technical support team for their exceptional service.
• Offers a wide range of reporting options.
• Includes a free trial for users to explore the features.

Cons

• It might take time for inexperienced teams to customize fully.

Pricing

Skyhigh offers a demo for potential customers and provides three plans: Essential, Advanced, and Complete. Please note that the Essential plan lacks endpoint data loss prevention. For an accurate quote, contact Skyhigh’s sales team.

Key Features

• A centralized policy engine that offers templates, import options, and the ability to create custom policies.
• Seamless integrations with existing security solutions, including SIEM, secure web gateways (SWG), next-generation firewalls (NGFWs), and enterprise mobility management (EMM).
• Advanced user behavior analytics to detect and mitigate potential insider threats.
• A Shadow IT Cloud Registry that evaluates the risks associated with cloud applications employees may wish to use.

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Netskope

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Netskope has established itself as a pioneer in CASB technology, consistently delivering robust security assessments and compliance solutions. The company has bundled several offerings into a comprehensive SASE solution. Key features of the CASB solution include the Cloud Exchange, which facilitates tech integrations with third-party security solutions like EDR and SIEM, and effective malware blocking for email and cloud storage services.

Pros

• Netskope provides regular technical account management sessions to support and engage customers effectively.
• Customers benefit from access to 40 threat intelligence feeds that enhance the detection of anomalous behavior.

Cons

• No free trial is offered.
• 24/7 support and phone customer service are available at an additional cost.

Pricing

Prospective customers can request a demo from Netskope and schedule an executive briefing to develop tailored business solutions that meet their organization’s unique needs. For precise pricing information, please reach out to the sales team.

Key Features

• Real-time encryption and key management that complies with certified FIPS 140-2 Level 3 standards.
• Seamless integrations with productivity tools, single sign-on (SSO), cloud storage, enterprise mobility management (EMM), and security applications.
• An intuitive dashboard that consolidates all traffic, users, and devices for SaaS, IaaS, and web activities.
• Role-based access control tailored for administrators, analysts, and other privileged user roles.

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Best Security Information & Event Management (SIEM) Solutions

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions enable organizations to monitor their networks for threats and vulnerabilities through a unified management console. These tools offer real-time analysis, enhanced network visibility, and contextual alerts, allowing businesses to effectively track threats across their entire environment.

However, SIEM systems require skilled cybersecurity professionals to manage and monitor them, making them less ideal for small businesses that lack dedicated in-house security teams.

Splunk Enterprise Security

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Splunk Enterprise Security is a robust, analytics-driven SIEM solution that scales across both on-premises and multi-cloud environments. Renowned for its powerful threat detection capabilities, Splunk offers unmatched flexibility with access to over 2,800 integrated apps, seamlessly connecting data and workflows.

Its industry-leading IT observability tools make it an excellent choice for gaining deep, comprehensive insights into an organization’s entire IT landscape, offering a unified security and operational efficiency platform.

Pros

• Comprehensive SIEM with a robust security approach
• Flexible infrastructure and deployment options
• Broad device and tool integration

Cons

• Resource-intensive for smaller teams
• Complex and potentially high-cost pricing structure

Pricing

• Vendor price: Contact Splunk
• Marketplace price: $150+ per month per 1 GB data
• Free trial: Available for 60 days via Splunk Enterprise

Key Features

• Categorizes risks based on user and system compliance with established security frameworks, ensuring adherence to industry standards.
• Scales efficiently for structured and unstructured data, enabling smooth processing of diverse data types and volumes.
• Features a threat intelligence management tool, enhancing the ability to analyze and respond to emerging cyber threats quickly.
• Offers flexible deployment options across cloud, IaaS, software, hardware appliances, or hybrid environments, catering to varied organizational needs.
• Provides access to over 700 detection rules aligned with frameworks like MITRE, NIST, Kill Chain, and CIS 20, ensuring comprehensive threat identification and response.

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IBM QRadar

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IBM Security QRadar SIEM is a top choice among enterprises, continuously evolving with the SIEM market. The introduction of the IBM Security QRadar Suite seamlessly integrates threat detection, investigation, response, SOAR, SIEM, EDR, and XDR into a unified platform for hybrid cloud environments.

Its global reach ensures localized support, deep regulatory expertise, and robust regional channels, making it a dependable solution for organizations worldwide. This comprehensive platform offers scalability and adaptability to meet the complex security needs of modern enterprises.

Pros

• AI-powered with advanced user behavior analytics and network insights.
• Extensive global security expertise.
• Seamless integration with QRadar SIEM for unified management.

Cons

• Complicated onboarding and implementation processes.
• Cluttered and outdated user interface.
• Issues regarding product support and ongoing platform updates.

Pricing

• Free version: Available but limited via QRadar Community Edition
• IBM QRadar SIEM (Software): $320 to $26,540 per month
• IBM QRadar SIEM (SaaS): $2,340 to $25,922 per month
• Custom plans: Contact IBM for a quote
• Free trial: Available through certain MSSPs

Key Features

• Delivers continuous monitoring across both on-premises and cloud environments, ensuring complete visibility across the entire kill chain.
• Utilizes IBM’s Security X-Force and STIX/TAXII threat feeds for enriched, real-time threat intelligence that strengthens overall security posture.
• Provides extensive compliance support for key regulations like HIPAA, SOX, ISO, PCI, NIST, GLBA, GDPR, and CCPA, ensuring organizations stay audit-ready.
• Flexible deployment options include hardware appliances, software, SaaS, and virtual machines, making it adaptable to both on-premises and IaaS environments.
• Seamlessly integrates with diverse security ecosystems through access to over 450 interfaces, APIs, and an SDK, offering broad compatibility and functionality.

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Securonix

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Securonix is renowned for its innovative approach and strong SOAR integration capabilities. Its Unified Defense SIEM seamlessly combines threat detection, investigation, and response, offering a comprehensive security solution. The Autonomous Threat Sweeper enhances threat detection by leveraging the Snowflake Data Cloud for improved searchability. Additionally, the Threat Coverage Analyzer identifies security gaps in alignment with industry standards such as MITRE ATT&CK and US-CERT, ensuring robust protection against emerging threats.

Pros

• Integrated SOAR capabilities enable faster incident response.
• Playbooks and workflow guides streamline processes to minimize response times.
• Complimentary built-in threat intelligence enhances security without extra costs.

Cons

• Restricted role-based access control (RBAC) options.
• Significant learning curve for platform navigation.
• Basic SIEM subscription costs more than comparable solutions.

Pricing

• Vendor price: Contact Securonix Security Operations and Analytics Platform
• Marketplace price: $67,331+ per year for a basic SIEM subscription
• Free trial: Available for SaaS offering

Key Features

• Offers centralized data ingestion across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments, utilizing a unified console to simplify data collection.
• Facilitates in-depth analysis by allowing comprehensive historical data searches, essential for identifying and managing slow-burning threats.
• Built for on-demand scalability, the SaaS subscription model ensures flexibility and efficiency in cloud-based security operations.
• Provides access to over 350 connectors and API-based interfaces, enabling extensive data collection from various cloud sources.
• Features an investigative workbench where users can create cases based on industry scenarios, enhancing practical application and analysis.

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What are the Benefits of Cybersecurity Software?

Each type of software on this list offers multiple benefits as part of comprehensive cybersecurity defenses.

XDR Benefits

XDR adds to EDR’s capabilities by extending protection from endpoints to email, cloud, and on-premises networks. This lowers the operational costs of cybersecurity because security professionals don’t have to integrate and examine multiple tools to get a full picture of a threat. Additionally, XDR allows security teams to identify threats faster, so the threats have a smaller window to collect data and cause problems.

It also improves the productivity of security teams because they have a single management console for the organization’s entire environment. Additionally, the reports provide actionable insights on threats and security operations to secure the network against vulnerabilities.

NGFW Benefits

NGFWs are the third generation of firewalls. This new era introduced multiple new features alongside traditional firewall capabilities. Some of the most beneficial include:

• Intrusion prevention systems (IPS): Allows NGFWs to inspect, alert, and actively remove malware and intruders.
• Deep packet inspection (DPI): DPI offers targeted inspection and can locate, categorize, block, or reroute packets that contain problematic code or data payloads.
• Layer 7 application control: NGFWs can protect data in layer 7 of the OSI model, which presents data in a form that user-facing applications can use. This is commonly where distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks occur, making it a critical protection layer.

CASB Benefits

CASB products are cloud-based or on-premise software solutions that enforce security policies, regulatory compliance, and governance requirements when accessing cloud services. These tools can manage single sign-on, log data, authentication and authorization, device profiling and encryption, and tokenization.

CASB solutions can also block access to cloud services if they detect unauthorized user or application attempts to access resources. They also alert teams of malware and other possible attacks when detected.

SIEM Benefits

SIEM products serve two primary purposes. The first is to collect, store, analyze, investigate, and report on logs and other data. The second is to alert security staff to the most important threats.

Insights pulled from this analysis help with the early detection of attacks, facilitate improved incident response, and assist in maintaining regulatory compliance. SIEM systems also typically incorporate threat intelligence feeds that offer data on correlated events to help identify attacks.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What Are Some Top Features Of Cyber Security Software Tools?

Top features of cybersecurity tools include multi-layered detection engines using advanced threat intelligence to block spam, malware, and data leaks. They ensure business continuity with a 100% uptime SLA, keeping email accessible during outages. Multipurpose archiving stores and replicates data from email, files, and IMs to maintain data integrity.

These tools also simplify backup, recovery, compliance, and e-discovery. Additionally, end-user training enhances cybersecurity awareness, making employees a vital defense against cyberattacks.

Why Are Cyber Security Software Tools Important For Business?

Cyber security software tools are vital to protect businesses from criminal cyberattacks that cause business disruption, data leaks, and ransomware payments in increasing cases.

How Often Should I Update My Cybersecurity Software?

You should update your cybersecurity software regularly, ideally as soon as updates are available. Most software updates include new security patches and definitions to defend against emerging threats. Regular updates ensure that your system is protected against the latest vulnerabilities.

Is Cybersecurity Software Enough to Keep My System Secure?

While cybersecurity software is essential to your overall security strategy, it is not enough. Users must also follow best practices, such as using strong passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, keeping systems up to date, and being cautious of suspicious emails or websites.

Is Free Cybersecurity Software Effective?

Free cybersecurity software can provide basic protection but often lacks advanced features and may not offer the same level of support as paid versions. Investing in a premium solution is usually a better option for comprehensive protection, especially for businesses.

Bottom Line: Keep Your Data & Devices Safe with Leading Cybersecurity Tools

As cyber threats become more sophisticated, safeguarding your data and devices is more important than ever. The top cybersecurity tools for 2025 provide various solutions designed to meet the needs of individuals and businesses alike. Whether you need protection against malware, secure browsing, or comprehensive privacy management, these software options offer robust defenses to keep your information safe.

Choosing the right cybersecurity tool ensures that your personal and sensitive data is protected, giving you peace of mind as you navigate the digital world. Take the time to assess your security needs and invest in the best solution to stay protected against emerging threats.

The post Best Cybersecurity Software & Tools for 2025 appeared first on eSecurity Planet.

Here are the five best rootkit scanning and removal solutions:

• Malwarebytes
• Avast One
• AVG Antivirus
• GMER
• Sophos Rootkit and Bootkit Detection and Removal

Rootkit Scanners Compared

The following table briefly overviews my five top rootkit scanners’ features and pricing options.

	Rootkit Removal	Ransomware Protection	Anti-Tracking Functionality	Pricing
Malwarebytes				• Basic rootkit scanner: Free • Paid plans: Starting at $3.75/month
Avast One				• Basic: Free • Silver: Starting at $2.99/month
AVG Antivirus				• Basic rootkit scanner: Free • AVG Internet Security: Starting at $4.99
GMER				• Rootkit scanner: Free
Sophos Rootkit and Bootkit Detection and Removal				• Plan: Starting at $44.99/year

An important note of caution for all businesses: Most rootkit scanners are designed for personal device use. An enterprise-level network security tool for removing malware will be more advanced. If your business is considering a rootkit scanner, investing in business-grade anti-malware technology, like advanced antivirus software or endpoint detection and response (EDR) is better. This will be the case for most teams of over 10 employees.

Startups with limited personnel may find that a rootkit scanner with multiple features fits their security needs. But if your business plans to scale, buying a more advanced security tool up front typically makes more sense. This guide also covers some paid antivirus plans that are a natural next step after a free rootkit scanner.

Malwarebytes

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Malwarebytes’ anti-rootkit scanner is a free solution that detects and removes rootkits and provides proactive system protection. The scan report lists detected threats and reveals whether Malwarebytes quarantined any detections. If you want further protection, consider Malwarebytes Premium, which offers antivirus, antimalware, a VPN, and alerts. Premium has personal, family, and team plans depending on your device needs.

Pros

• Feature-rich personal and family plans
• Free trial available

Cons

• Teams plan is a little expensive
• System recovery capabilities are unclear

Pricing

• Standard: $3.75 per month for personal devices
• Plus: $5 per month for personal devices
• Ultimate: $10 per month for personal devices
• Family Device Security: $10 per month for 10+ devices
• Ultimate Family Protection: $19.37 per month for 10+ devices
• Teams: $119.97 for three devices per year; up to 20 devices

Key Features

• Rootkit scanning: You can run both manual and automated scans on your devices.
• Ad blocking: Malwarebytes blocks ads and removes adware on customer computers.
• Free trial: Malwarebytes offers a 14-day trial for Malwarebytes Premium.
• Brute force protection: The Teams plan shields Windows devices from ransomware.

Avast One

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Avast One is an all-in-one service that provides comprehensive protection with antivirus, device cleanup, identity monitoring, and virtual private network (VPN) tools. It’s an affordable rootkit and antivirus product for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices. Avast One’s Platinum plan offers protection for up to 30 devices, making it a valid choice for businesses of under five employees or for individual contractors and freelancers.

Pros

• Extensive identity monitoring functionality
• Platinum plan allows up to 30 devices

Cons

• Limited support channel options
• Automated scanning capabilities are unclear

Pricing

• Basic: Free
• Silver: $2.99-$6.67 per month
• Gold: $6.99-$14.99 per month
• Platinum: $9.99-$24.99 per month

Key Features

• Rootkit removal: Avast One detects rootkits and prevents future rootkit damage.
• Identity monitoring: Avast notifies you if your identity has been compromised online.
• VPN: The Gold plan offers a VPN with over 50 server locations and unlimited data.
• Money-back guarantee: All Avast One’s paid plans offer a 30-day money-back option.

AVG Antivirus

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AVG AntiVirus FREE is a robust rootkit scanner that detects and removes rootkits from your system and prevents threats like unsafe internet downloads and email attachments. AVG also offers paid plans. AVG Ultimate, the most extensive plan, only protects 10 devices, so it won’t be a good choice for teams of more than five people. However, freelancers managing their websites and email marketing will benefit from its email and internet security features.

Pros

• Reasonable pricing
• Free scanner is lightweight

Cons

• Reports only for AVG Business
• Ultimate plan supports only 10 devices

Pricing

• AVG Internet Security: $4.99-$8.33 per month
• AVG Ultimate: $4.99-$11.67 per month

Key Features

• PC scanning: AVG looks for performance issues on your computer.
• Mobile support: Aside from Windows and Mac, AVG also supports Android and iOS.
• AVG Tuneup: Part of the Ultimate plan, the Tuneup feature cleans your device of junk.
• Wi-Fi verification: AVG inspects your network for weak Wi-Fi security.

GMER

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GMER is a free rootkit scanner and removal tool that is ideal for simple scans on Windows computers. It also offers kernel-level inspection. However, GMER is an older tool and doesn’t run on any Apple devices. If you want to scan many sections of an older Windows computer, GMER is a good choice. But if you’re a freelancer or you need software for your home office technology, it’s probably best to look for a solution with more features.

Pros

• Completely free
• Kernel-level inspection available

Cons

• Hardly any additional features
• Only works on Windows

Pricing

• Free download: For Windows XP/VISTA/7/8/10

Key Features

• Kernel level inspection: GMER identifies kernel-level rootkits on Windows computers.
• Registry key scans: GMER looks for hidden registry keys on your computer system.
• Inline hook scans: The rootkit remover also hunts for modified code within a program.
• File and service hunting: GMER scans for hidden files, services, and modules.

Sophos Rootkit & Bootkit Detection & Removal

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Sophos’ solution for rootkit removal helps individuals and small and home offices find the rootkits that traditional antivirus software might not uncover. It protects both Windows and Mac machines and permits remote access for family computers in other locations. This is a beneficial feature for people who work for themselves but travel frequently or want to protect their remote assistant’s devices.

Pros

• Offered by a standout cybersecurity vendor
• Community forum available to customers

Cons

• Lacks some of its competitors’ extra features
• No mobile support

Pricing

• One user’s personal devices: $44.99-$59.99 per year

Key Features

• Web and social blockers: Sophos allows you to block specific categories by device.
• Malware scans: The rootkit product looks for malware and cleans it from your computer.
• Parental controls: Sophos provides web filtering for parents to apply to family devices.
• AI detection: Sophos Home Premium uses AI to identify suspicious behavior.

Selecting a Rootkit Scanner

Before selecting one of these solutions, ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I protecting only personal devices or work devices too? Even if you’re a contractor or have your own startup, personal computers and phones that you rely on for all work processes still count as work machines.
• If I employ other people, how many devices in total need protection? If your team has multiple phones, computers, and tablets, you might exceed a device limit quickly.
• How much am I willing to pay? If you can afford to pay $8 a month or $50 a year, this might be more helpful for protecting all your devices.
• Am I trying to fit an inexpensive rootkit scanner into my SMB? If you have more than 10 employees, a small business endpoint protection plan is probably a better call.
• Which extra features do I need? Consider whether add-ons like VPN functionality or email security are critical for you alongside basic rootkit detection and removal features.

Make sure you’ve answered these questions and know exactly what scanning features you need, either for your home devices or work machines, before beginning the buying process. This will help you narrow down the options and find a suitable solution.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why Is a Rootkit So Difficult to Detect?

Rootkit software is developed to blend in with legitimate software and look like it’s supposed to be there. Some rootkits affect the computer’s user level, affecting applications that run atop the operating system, but others run at the kernel level. Firmware rootkits linger within a computer’s memory. Kernel-level and firmware rootkits can be particularly hard to detect because they are so deeply embedded within the computer system.

Where Do Rootkits Hide?

Rootkits hide in multiple locations, depending on the type and where attackers install them. They can reside in computer memory, like random access memory (RAM), or in specific applications on your computer. They can also reside at the kernel level of your device or within the firmware itself. Some rootkits attack your device’s bootloader, which loads your operating system, and is known as bootkits.

How Do I Know if I Have a Rootkit?

A rootkit scanner is the ideal way to identify rootkits, but if one of your applications is behaving oddly, you might notice the existence of a rootkit before it’s scanned. However, you may be unable to tell what kind of malware affects the application unless you’re familiar with specific rootkit behaviors. You can also perform a memory dump, or a RAM dump, to see if a rootkit is executing code.

Bottom Line: Rootkit Scanner or Next-Gen Antivirus?

Rootkit scanners are beneficial tools for individuals and very small startups, helping you debug your computer systems of malware and improve device performance. But keep in mind that they’re not for most businesses. Larger startups and offices will likely need a more comprehensive endpoint security solution, especially if they plan to scale in the next few years. This can include a next-gen antivirus product or a full endpoint detection and response platform.

Is your business looking for a more advanced endpoint tool? Check out my picks for the top endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions next.

The post 5 Best Rootkit Scanners and Removers: Anti-Rootkit Tools appeared first on eSecurity Planet.

While the antivirus industry can feel overwhelmingly large, we only look at two providers today: Bitdefender and ESET Antivirus. Both pieces of software come packed with solid features, and we’ll be comparing the two to see who comes out on top. While this is my opinion, you will ultimately need to decide which antivirus product (if any) is right for you based on your specific needs and those of your business.

Bitdefender vs. ESET Antivirus at a Glance

Let’s compare some basic pricing and features between ESET and Bitdefender before going into more detail below:

Lowest Annual Price	$59.99 per year for the first year; $109.99 in subsequent years	$69.99 per year
Supported Operating Systems	Windows, MacOS, and Android**	Windows, MacOS, and Android**
Maximum Number of Devices Supported	25	10
Firewall	Yes	Yes, at middle and highest pricing tiers
Malware Detection Rates*	100%	100%

*Malware detection rates in this table were pulled from AV-Test.org’s August 2024 Windows test. Detection rates from other websites, including AV-Comparatives, were used to evaluate the products.

** While ESET and Bitdefender both have iOS products, neither are antiviruses and will not be considered for this article

Overall, Bitdefender and ESET Antivirus are fairly inoffensive as far as antiviruses go, in my opinion. They don’t do much to stand out from the broader industry, nor each other. I think that if you were to choose an antivirus product to protect yourself or your business, both are fine options.

Bitdefender Overview

Overall Rating: 3/5

• Pricing: 2/5
• Core Features: 5/5
• Advanced Features & Integrations: 5/5
• Customer Support: 3/5
• Impact on Device Performance: 2/5
• Trustworthiness: 2/5

Bitdefender as a platform is acceptable. Antiviruses are annoying to set up and operate, with persistent notifications and severely impacting device performance. While my device did slow down to crawl while using Bitdefender on Windows, its notifications didn’t have much of the fearmongering you expect from an antivirus platform, which is always nice to see.

Daily scanning can also be a nice touch, even if it’s part of why Bitdefender slowed down my machine. The service also performed well in independent testing from websites like av-test.org and AV-Comparatives.

The product’s cons are fairly noticeable, unfortunately. The aforementioned device slowdown was significant and a pain to deal with, as with most antiviruses. Its add-ons are pricey, meaning any additional features you might want can eat into your wallet as much as the software eats into your speeds. Finally, turning off my subscription’s auto-renewal finally cut off my ability to use some features, mostly in the customer support area. 

Overall, business readers are better off checking out the company’s endpoint detection response (EDR) solutions instead.

As for reputation, Bitdefender sits solidly in the middle of the pack when compared to the rest of the industry: mostly solid but with some bits that give us pause. Although its researchers have done good work, like discovering critical webOS flaws in early 2024, the company’s servers were hacked in 2015, compromising business clients’ passwords.

More damning than the breach itself, these passwords turned out to be unencrypted, which means the company stored this sensitive information without doing even the bare minimum to protect users if a breach occurred. Of course, this was almost a decade ago, and it’s reasonable to believe the company has taken steps to fix this perplexing mistake. However, it makes me wary of trusting Bitdefender with my sensitive information.

Pros & Cons

ESET Antivirus Overview

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

• Pricing: 2/5
• Core Features: 4/5
• Advanced Features & Integrations: 5/5
• Customer Support: 4/5
• Impact on Device Performance: 2/5
• Trustworthiness: 3/5

ESET as an antivirus is alright. Notably, it only registered two false alarms in AV Comparative’s most recent testing, placing it only behind Trend Micro and Kaspersky, each with one false alarm. High scores like these in independent testing are always nice to see.

I was also a fan of its Device Control system when I tested the service. This lets you configure the platform to meet your specific needs, including setting device-specific rules. It can let you block or restrict access privileges for external devices. Theoretically, this could help stop someone using a Bluetooth device to hack your machine. While nice, the platform is fairly expensive, and I’m not sure the whole package is worth the admission price.

Price is one of the key issues with ESET as a product, but it’s not the only one. As much as I liked the Device Control features, they make the service more complicated, which can burden users who lack the technical knowledge to configure it properly. On top of that, ESET’s impact on device performance was significant, which is expected from an antivirus but is never great to see.

Aside from a 2018 antitrust lawsuit, its reputation is mostly fine, which I can’t always say about antivirus providers. There’s no history of major data leaks, aside from its security forums being breached back in 2014. While this isn’t great, you sometimes must grade on a curve with antivirus providers.

Pros & Cons

Best for Pricing: Bitdefender & ESET Antivirus

Lowest Pricing Tier (Billed Annually)	$59.99 per year for the first year; $109.99 in subsequent years	$69.99 per year
Mid-Range Pricing Tier (Billed Annually)	$79.99 per year for the first year; $129.99 per year in subsequent years	$79.99 per year
Highest Pricing Tier (Billed Annually)	$99.99 per year for the first year; $159.99 per year in subsequent years	$179.99 per year
Free Trial	30 days	30 days

* ESET pricing starts lower in the lowest and mid-range pricing tiers but only covers 3 devices. The prices shown above are for 5-device coverage to match up with Bitdefender’s default 5-device coverage.

Winner: While Bitdefender is slightly cheaper in the first year, the significant jump from year two and onward makes it tough to really differentiate between the two in the pricing category. Regardless, both platforms are fairly overpriced for what they offer.

Best for Core Features: Bitdefender

Endpoint Scanning	Yes	Yes
Antimalware	Yes	Yes
Web Browsing Protection	Yes	Yes
Ad Blocking	Yes, at higher pricing tiers	No

Winner: Bitdefender and ESET are nearly identical in core features, but an ad-blocker at higher pricing tiers gives Bitdefender a slight edge.

Best for Advanced Features & Integrations: Bitdefender

VPN	Yes, with limited traffic at lowest-pricing tier; unlimited traffic at middle and highest tiers	Yes, at highest pricing tier only
Password Manager	Yes	Yes, at middle and highest pricing tiers
Firewall	Yes	Yes, at middle and highest pricing tiers
Dark Web Monitoring	Yes, at highest pricing tier	Yes, at highest pricing tier

Winner: Both platforms offer all the features listed above, but Bitdefender offers them at cheaper pricing tiers than ESET Antivirus, giving it a slight edge. However, this is mainly for the firewall feature. While a built-in VPN and Password Manager are nice, I’d recommend dedicated VPN and Password Manager solutions over whatever might come bundled with an antivirus.

Best for Customer Support: ESET Antivirus

Support Forum/Customer Community	Yes	Yes
Support Hours	24/7	6am-5pm Pacific Standard Time Monday-Friday
Phone Support (With a Human Agent	Unclear	Yes
Email Support	Yes	Yes
Live Chat Support (With a Human Agent)	Unclear	Yes, after filling out a ticket

Winner: While Bitdefender’s 24/7 support hours certainly feel better, ESET’s customer support options are more transparent in terms of knowing that you’ll be put in touch with a human. Inconvenient as it may be at times, I’d rather wait to contact the company during business hours than try to deal with a chatbot that is likely working off the same knowledge base I already have access to.

Who Shouldn’t Use Bitdefender or ESET Antivirus?

The short answer is “most people,” in my opinion. Antiviruses can be great for peace of mind. Still, the bulk of paid options, including the stars of this article, usually don’t provide enough value for your money compared to cheaper options like Microsoft Defender. There’s nothing particularly wrong with Bitdefender or ESET compared to the broader industry.

Still, I wouldn’t personally pay the prices asked by these companies to use either on my own device, and I don’t think most other individuals should either. Some businesses might find a helpful antivirus, but in many cases, I would recommend a dedicated endpoint detection response solution over an antivirus.

2 Alternatives to Bitdefender & ESET Antivirus

Bitdefender and ESET aren’t the only antivirus solutions on the market. Here are a couple of alternatives for your consideration:

Microsoft Defender

If you’re a PC user, the Microsoft Defender software with a Microsoft 365 subscription will serve your needs just as well as any more expensive, more feature-burdened platform in most cases. It scores well in virus detection tests run by reputable sites like AV-test and AV-Comparatives, and it lacks many bloatware and unnecessary features common in modern antivirus software.

It is available as part of the Microsoft 365 subscription plan, which starts at $69.99 per year. Alongside Defender, Microsoft 365 has features like identity theft monitoring, OneDrive file protection, and advanced email and calendar features for Microsoft Outlook. A Microsoft Defender for Business plan is available starting at $3 per user per month, supporting up to 300 users and up to 5 devices per user.

Malwarebytes

Malwarebytes is one of the best antiviruses on the market and one of the only ones I would install on my own devices if need be. Much like Bitdefender and ESET, it scores well in virus detection tests while not having as large an impact on your performance as either piece of software. Malwarebytes has plans starting at $3.75 per month for individual users.

Its Teams plan targets businesses and organizations, starting at $119.97 per year for 3 devices. Its Teams plan can support up to 20 devices. Managed detection response and EDR solutions for businesses are also available.

How I Compared Bitdefender & ESET Antivirus

To grade Bitdefender and ESET Antivirus on a roughly even playing field, I created a grading rubric with 6 categories that interested buyers should consider when deciding which antivirus to buy. Two categories (Trustworthiness and Impact on Device Performance) did not get a dedicated section due to there not being much to compare within the format of this article. Still, they were briefly discussed in the overview for both products.

Pricing – 15%

I examined each company’s leading consumer products (Bitdefender’s all-in-one security packages and ESET’s For Home packages) and their pricing plans. Free trials and several supported devices were also considered.

Core Features – 20%

I evaluated the availability of basic antivirus features for both Bitdefender and ESET Antivirus. Basic features included endpoint scanning and web browsing protection.

Advanced Features & Integrations – 10%

For this category, I analyzed some nice-to-haves for an antivirus, including a firewall and dark web monitoring. Password Managers and VPNs were also considered, though their impact on my overall grade was minor.

Impact on Device Performance – 15%

I looked at how much each software slowed down or affected my experience using my device. This includes looking at browsing speeds and if either product’s web protection features are blocked or affected by any websites I commonly use throughout my day, like YouTube or Spotify.

Customer Support – 10%

I checked out this category’s customer support options for Bitdefender and ESET. This included determining if I could contact human customer support agents via phone or live chat, whether customer forums were available, and whether either company had 24/7 support.

Trustworthiness – 30%

Finally, I researched both companies’ histories for any notable data breaches or past shady activity, like if they had been caught selling user data. In my opinion, trust is the most important consideration factor with cybersecurity products, which is why it’s weighted so much higher than all other categories.

Bottom Line: Bitdefender vs ESET Antivirus

Overall, Bitdefender and ESET Antivirus are the same as the other products. The two might be slight differences based on reputation or some small features, but they’re not enough to meaningfully separate one another. I personally wouldn’t pay for either service, but if you’re set on choosing between these two products, I don’t think there’s a wrong answer either way.

The post Compare Antivirus Software 2025: Bitdefender vs ESET appeared first on eSecurity Planet.

Here are the six best Enpass alternatives:

• 1Password: Best overall password manager
• Dashlane: Best for features
• Bitwarden: Best for self-hosting and administration
• Keeper: Best for security add-ons
• RoboForm: Best for basic password management needs
• NordPass: Best for a mix of cost and usability

Enpass Alternatives Compared

The following table compares and contrasts the six best alternative Enpass options, including password management features and product pricing.

	Single Sign-On	Password Health Checks	Dark Web Monitoring	Price of Mid-Range or Business Plan
1Password				$7.99/user/month
Dashlane				$8/user/month
Bitwarden				$6/user/month
Keeper				$3.75/user/month
RoboForm				$2.50-$3.00/user/month
NordPass				$3.99/user/month

= Yes    = No   = Add-on

Based on my analysis, 1Password is the best overall alternative to Enpass due to its selection of features and robust security posture. However, all of the products on this list are great alternative solutions, particularly the more cost-effective ones. Continue reading to learn more, or jump down to learn how I compared Enpass’s competitors against each other.

1Password – Best Overall Password Manager

Visit Website

Overall Reviewer Score

4.2/5

Pricing

2.9/5

Key features

4.7/5

Advanced features

4.2/5

Security

4.8/5

Administration

5/5

Customer support

4.2/5

1Password is an enterprise-grade password management solution ideal for teams of all sizes, particularly those looking for more features than Enpass offers. Aside from standard PM capabilities like password health checks and reports, it offers extras like guest accounts and travel mode. 1Password is also renowned for its overall cybersecurity posture, and it’s extremely transparent about regular audits, even allowing customers to read its audit reports.

Pros

• Offers advanced features and perks
• Widespread OS and browser support
• Developer solution available for dev teams

Cons

• More expensive than most competitors
• Some features may be difficult to learn
• No integrations with cloud storage products

Pricing

• Teams Starter Pack: $19.95 for up to 10 users per month
• Business: $7.99 per user per month
• Enterprise: Contact for quote
• Free trial: 14 days
• Free demo: Contact to schedule

Key Features

• Team security policies: Owners and admins can develop rules to manage 1Password usage, configure identity provider integrations, and deny IP addresses.
• Travel mode: When you leave on a trip, 1Password allows you to remove certain vaults from your devices except the ones you want to stay on the devices.
• Guest accounts: 1Password lets you share specific passwords with people outside your organization, like contractors and third-party vendors.
• Dark web monitoring: 1Password’s Watchtower feature combs data breaches for customers’ personal information and alerts them if it finds any compromised data.

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Alternative

1Password is one of the best password managers and a strong alternative to Enpass, but it’s expensive. If you’re looking for something more affordable with plenty of features and robust security, check out Bitwarden.

Read our full review

Dashlane – Best for Its Many Features

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Overall Reviewer Score

4.1/5

Pricing

3.3/5

Key features

4.9/5

Advanced features

4.5/5

Security

4.3/5

Administration

4.4/5

Customer support

3.3/5

Dashlane is a full-featured password manager ideal for businesses and has many core and advanced PM capabilities. Its plans offer tools ranging from basic activity logs and account recovery to phishing alerts and SIEM integrations. It may be expensive for startups and SMBs on a budget, but it’s an excellent choice for businesses looking for an alternative to Enpass with a wide range of features.

Pros

• Wide range of basic and advanced features
• Multiple resources for developers
• VPN add-on available

Cons

• Pricing for Business plan is high
• Limited reporting functionality
• Not very transparent about vendor audits

Pricing

• Standard: $20 per month for up to 10 users
• Business: $8 per user per month
• Business Plus: $3 per user per month; for new customers only
• Enterprise: Contact for quote
• Free trial: 30 days
• Free demo: Contact to schedule

Key Features

• Developer tools: Dashlane offers features for developers, such as available Android source code and a command line interface.
• Splunk integrations: Dashlane’s CLI can send audit log data to Splunk, which is a security information and event management (SIEM) solution.
• Account recovery through biometrics: Using facial recognition or fingerprints, you can access your PM account if you forget the master password.
• Password health checks: Users receive a password health score out of 100 and recommendations for improving their password security.

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Alternative

While Dashlane is an excellent choice for teams that want plenty of features, it can be expensive for tiny businesses. If you’re looking for more affordable options, check out RoboForm instead.

Read our full review

Bitwarden – Best for Self-Hosting & Administration

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Overall Reviewer Score

4.1/5

Pricing

3.2/5

Key features

4.5/5

Advanced features

2.5/5

Security

4.8/5

Administration

5/5

Customer support

4.2/5

Bitwarden is a password manager that can be hosted either by Bitwarden or on your organization’s servers. Its key features include account recovery, event log monitoring, and passwordless single sign-on. Unlike Enpass, Bitwarden offers developer tools like APIs and a command line interface. It’s a great choice for businesses with the hardware and security expertise to manage a PM product and want more control over the solution.

Pros

• Option to self-host on your business’s servers
• Widespread browser and OS support
• Developer tools like CLI available

Cons

• Teams plan might be too expensive for SMBs
• No phone for customer support
• Free trial is shorter than competitors’

Pricing

• Teams: $4 per user per month
• Enterprise: $6 per user per month
• Custom pricing for larger teams: Contact for quote
• Free trial: 7 days
• Free demo: Contact to schedule

Key Features

• User groups: Bitwarden’s groups feature allows admins to set specific policies for entire departments, teams, or sub-teams.
• Enterprise policy management: Business admins can enforce mandatory two-factor authentication and determine user password character requirements.
• Vault health reports: Bitwarden notifies you if users are doubling up on passwords or if their account passwords are weak.
• Encrypted file attachments: Bitwarden users can add items like files to a vault, such as a scanned version of a sensitive document.

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Alternative

Bitwarden is an excellent solution for organizations that want to self-host, but its Teams plan may be too expensive for some startups and tight budgets. If you’re looking for something even more cost-effective, check out NordPass.

Read our full review

Keeper – Best for Security Add-Ons

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Overall Reviewer Score

4.1/5

Pricing

4/5

Key features

4.1/5

Advanced features

3.6/5

Security

3.8/5

Administration

5/5

Customer support

4/5

Keeper is a password manager and security solution for both SMBs and enterprises. Some of its features include passkeys, biometrics, and a command line interface for enterprise customers. It also offers multiple add-ons, like Secrets Manager, Advanced Reporting and Alerts, and BreachWatch. I recommend Keeper to larger businesses looking for an alternative to Enpass that offers some additional protection on top of their password manager.

Pros

• Full OS and extensive browser support
• Plenty of add-on products available
• Multiple support channels

Cons

• Some SSO options only in Enterprise plan
• Not transparent about audits
• Lacks a few extras and perks

Pricing

• Business Starter: $2.00 per user per month
• Business: $3.75 per user per month
• Enterprise: Contact for quote

Key Features

• Master password recovery: By setting up an account recovery phrase at the beginning and storing it safely, users have that available in case they forget their master password.
• Biometrics: Keeper supports Windows Hello, touch ID, and face ID as biometric login options.
• Secrets Manager: Keeper offers an add-on product for protecting items like API keys, certificates, and database passwords.
• Command line interface: Commander CLI allows developers to use the command line to a significant portion of Keeper’s platform.

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Alternative

Keeper is a strong choice for large businesses and teams looking for extra security, but its Business Starter and Business plans have limited SSO functionality. If you’re looking for full SSO in a more affordable plan, consider RoboForm.

Read our full review