Where are the end points on your network?

What does that even mean today? In this world of connected devices, it is vital that each piece of hardware on your network is protected effectively.

There is no doubt that IT Security is a complex issue. As a small business owner, with many other spinning plates in the air to keep balanced, IT security can seem an overwhelming series of opaque choices.

What is End Point Security?

One term you may have heard a lot about is “end point security”. Unless you are an IT Manager, this rather unhelpful term doesn’t really offer much of a clue about what it means. But it is something you need to know about. Let me explain...

TechTarget defines an end point thus:

“An endpoint device is an Internet-capable computer hardware device on a TCP/IP network. The term can refer to desktop computers, laptops, smart phones, tablets, thin clients, printers or other specialized hardware such POS terminals and smart meters.

Most experts recommend a policy-based approach to network security that requires endpoint devices to comply with specific criteria before they are granted access to network resources.”

We know that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and so it is of your IT network. To protect these devices you need an effective and up-to-date anti-virus software on each one.

Protect Your Endpoints with BitDefender Gravity Zone

One such solution is BitDefender Gravity Zone – a highly rated anti-virus solution ideal for small to medium-sized businesses. It is designed to enable you to protect your network, laptops, desktops, servers and virtual machines. Whether you are using Apple OSX, Microsoft Windows or Linux, BitDefender can help to protect against spyware, computer viruses, worms, trojans and other IT security threats.

AV-TEST, an internationally-recognised and well-regarded testing lab gave BitDefender a perfect score of six out of six for the protection it delivers against malware, viruses, worms and spyware.

Create Policies to Govern Endpoint Use

Using BitDefender also allows you to set rules about access to the Internet, the use of windows workstations away from your office network, the use of other devices that attach to your endpoints (such as USB flash drives and storage devices) and Microsoft Exchange protection.

It won Editors choice in PC Magazine’s award for business-grade hosted endpoint protection software and won a silver award in Business.com.

In reviewing the solution PC Magazine praised the flexibility of the solution for defining policies governing endpoint use and security. It said:

“The Policies page is where Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security outshines the other products I tested in this roundup. Policies control the aggressiveness and enablement of different Bitdefender GravityZone Business Security modules. For instance, you can specify if the firewall is enabled, what kind of web traffic is allowed, and what kinds of devices can be plugged into the system. Besides being able to add and manage policies, those policies can be automatically applied depending on what network you find your computer on. While the rules can get a bit complicated, it's powerful enough that admins can define separate policies for when employees connect from coffee shops versus when they log in from the office.”

These policies are set in the BitDefender GravityZone management console. If you are operating virtualised environments on your business infrastructure, then you may choose to set the BitDefender management console up as an appliance in your own virtualised environment. However, for most small businesses, we recommend choosing the cloud-based hosted option which enables you to access the BitDefender management console through your web browser.

Summary of key features:

• Protect 50 devices or more
• Security scanners detect and quarantine threats
• Defend your businesses against malware threats such as computer viruses, worms or spyware
• Cloud-based management console
• Desktop firewall
• Behaviour-based protection
• Internet protection and content control
• Remote device detection and control
• 24-hour phone, email and live chat support

If this is a topic you’d like to know more about, Grant McGregor offers a series of IT security services specifically developed for small businesses; such as our Cyber Essentials certification process.

For more information about – or to take a closer look at – BitDefender Gravity Zone for small to medium-sized businesses, please call us on 0808 164 4142.