PCNSO.RVW 931109 Comparison Review Company and product: Leprechaun Software Pty Ltd PO Box 134 Lutwyche Queensland 4003 Australia Lindsay Hough +61 7 2524037 Leprechaun International 2284 Pine Warbler Way Marietta Georgia 30062 USA 404 971 8900 fax 404 971 8988 800-521-8849 Roger Thompson home 404-509-7314 Wanikas Software Inc. Suite 4, 60 St. Claire Ave. W. Toronto, Ont. M4V 1M7 (416) 920-5006 Fax: (416) 920-0778 Network Security Organizer 1.0 Summary: NetWare security assessment and antiviral manager Cost Rating (1-4, 1 = poor, 4 = very good) "Friendliness" Installation 3 Ease of use 3 Help systems 2 Compatibility 2 Company Stability 3 Support 2 Documentation 2 Hardware required 3 Performance 2 Availability 2 Local Support 1 General Description: Reports on various aspects of NetWare security and vulnerabilites, manages updating of antiviral software as well as messaging and logging. Comparison of features and specifications User Friendliness Installation Installation is automated insofar as the copying of files is concerned. Access rights must be granted manually. Some features, such as a number of functions of the security check, are immediately available. Others appear to require activation the next time the individual users, on various workstations, log on to the network. There is no provision for manual installation, nor are the specialized operations described in much detail. Ease of use Once fully installed, the operation and use of NSO itself is quite simple. The interface is CUA compliant and, like the Virus Buster interface, well designed and clearly laid out. Help systems Help is available at all times in the NSO program. Assistance in installation of the program is very limited. Compatibility Operates only with the Novell NetWare operating system. The system is stated to preform updates with a number of antiviral packages. Company Stability Doing well. Company Support The normal routes. Documentation The manual is very small, and obviously intended to portray the program as simple to install and use. Unfortunately, it goes a bit overboard in this direction. While the security implications of the reports NSO gives you are perhaps best left to a specialized work on network security, the lack of background in the manual may leave some users or administrators with a false sense of security. On the other hand, the warnings NSO gives are quite detailed and specific, so perhaps additional material is unnecessary. However, there are some definite gaps in the information about the program, itself. Information about certain aspects of the installation is very scanty. Some material is obviously missing: the program is said to be able to check for, and update, a wide range of antiviral programs. Of those listed, MSAV, F-Prot, FindVirus and Sweep have no entries in the set of command line switches needed to do this. Included is a much reduced version of the Virus Buster manual. This covers the basic of installation and operation without the additional background of the full manual. For system administrators wanting a quick reference it would be a handy guide. System Requirements NetWare. Performance NSO's ability to manage and report on vulnerabilities for a specific network is long overdue. Some of the functions, such as the ability to check status on different machines, or update virus software, can be obtained through the use of utilities and script files if the administrator wishes to take the time to do it. Others, such as the virus risk analysis, would be very tedious and time consuming, as well as difficult to automate. For those without a specific background in security, this is a fairly effective "one stop" source for virus and security analysis and control on the network. Local Support None provided. Support Requirements Minimal. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1993 PCNSO.RVW 931109 ====================== roberts@decus.ca rslade@vcn.bc.ca slade@freenet.victoria.bc.ca Just because you are into control doesn't mean you are in control. Author "Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses" 0-387-94663-2 (800-SPRINGER)