BlackBerry Protect (CylancePROTECT) vs. Symantec Endpoint Security

If I had to recommend an endpoint AV solution, [BlackBerry Protect (CylancePROTECT)] would be on the list...in fact at the top of the current list. It is a cost effective solution. When we did the bakeoff in our selection we built 3 generic W10 PCs. We located a Malware repository on the internet and downloaded a package of 100. The first solution stopped 80% from installing, the second stopped 100%, [BlackBerry (CylancePROTECT)] would not let the package download! Winner winner chicken dinner :)

Incentivized

We have found that Symantec Endpoint Security is better suited to newer systems running faster processors and more than 8GB RAM otherwise the client agent takes up too many resources and slows the system down. However, if you have a reasonably modern fleet of systems it does everything you would expect from an Endpoint Protection solution and works well as part of a multi-layered cybersecurity policy.

Incentivized

• Cylance uses AI Math-Model algorithms/machine-learning solutions, compared to other solutions which use signature-based solutions.
• The Cylance client is very light-weight and is not as resource hungry.
• The blocking capability is completely customizable through policies. Macro blocking, script blocking, and device blocking (USB, CDROM, iPhone, Android, etc.) can all be customized per organization needs.
• Management interface is easy to use. The dashboard gives administrators a quick glance at threat events, threat protection, and device protection. Reports give you quick glances at infections, stale versions, and computers that have been offline for a period of time. Updates are easy to roll out in a tiered fashion to properly test.
• Customer support is great! You can open up a ticket within the management portal and get help within a few hours. Most of the support is over email unless it is complicated, then they will do a remote session.

Incentivized

• The virus and spyware protection has worked well for us, catching several things and quarantining the items or cleaning them.
• The virus definitions very rarely fail to update for the users, so I feel confident that my client machines are kept up to date.
• I like the report I get daily telling me about threats found and action taken without having to login to the console to look it up myself.

Incentivized

• It would be great if there was a way for an administrator to make a file as safe from the end user device when a false positive has occurred (which is rare). At present and administrator has to log into the web console, create an exception and then wait 60-120 seconds for this to be effective on the end user device, still great, but this can be frustrating for users that are urgently trying to use the file.
• Executive reporting could be better. Just a single page dashboard report that could be included in other monthly reporting.

Incentivized

• Removing dead clients from the console. This is nearly impossible to do, and makes keeping the console clean a very difficult task.
• Poorly tested versions are sometimes released that cause serious issues for users. This ranges from browsers malfunctioning to BSOD errors.
• Malware detection is good but not great. We are not confident in SEP by itself to neutralize malware threats. It's detection rate just isn't high enough for next generation and zero day threats.

It's simply been the best product I've used and tested within the past four years.

Incentivized

Continued satisfied support. The saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it..." comes to mind. It works, and we'll continue to use it and support Symantec.

Incentivized

1. Great product
2. Great technology
3. Great people
4. Great leader (Stuart McClure)
5. Great Service

I work with hundreds of complex suppliers in healthcare and tech, and this company is more than just an extension of our business.

The rating reflects Symantec Endpoint Security's ability to balance enterprise grade security with user-friendly workflows or advanced configurations require extra effort. For most organizations, the streamlined management and robust automation justify the high score. Management GUI is old fashined and need to be improve. Older devices may experience slowdowns during full scans without careful configuration.

Incentivized

We've used it for years and the software is easy to use. The dashboard is easy to read, and you can easily figure out where to go to troubleshoot or deploy software. Symantec is there for emergencies like backup restoration or file retrieval. It's pretty low maintenance. Symantec is there when your IT infrastructure needs it

Incentivized

I have only used CylancePROTECT support one time and they were very fast and responsive with the answers that solved my issue. That is the only reason I gave them a 7 as I have only had one interaction with them.

Incentivized

Support is completely awful! You can never get anyone to help if you can even find a number to call. The support web portal is a joke and their response time if you're even able to submit a ticket is ridiculously slow.

Incentivized

Use a third party deployment tool and not the deployment option within the SEP Manager itself.

Incentivized

At the time we were looking to upgrade to the Blackberry version, we already had the Dell branded version of Cylance installed on our machines and we really liked it. Once we got the pricing comparison between Carbon Black and Blackberry we made the decision to stick with Cylance since we knew it was proven to work well in our environment with some of our unique software.

Incentivized

Symantec Endpoint Security seems to be a more mature solution compared with CrowdStrike, particularly when CS was just recently getting their USB blocking functionality rolled out for macOS endpoints this year. Another differentiator with CrowdStrike is that Symantec ES still provides both on-demand scanning & real-time signature-based detection in addition to solely real-time machine learning detection whereas on-demand scanning and signatures are not available on CrowdStrike. This means there is a doubt as to whether we can use CS to comply with some of our PCI DSS obligations which specifically require the use of signature-based antivirus solutions.

Incentivized

• We are spending less time troubleshooting potential attacks - all alerts go to our management interface and we can globally clear/block items.
• Users are not getting upset at the resources taken by antivirus - they feel they got their speedy machine back.

Incentivized

• Symantec [Endpoint Security] cost 50k less than other options while providing similar benefits over the last year
• Cylance conflicted with Symantec [Endpoint Security] and Cisco Umbrella Client (All 3 at the same time) causing us to rebuild many desktops
• Symantec [Endpoint Security] made it easy to detect where issues were and repair them

Incentivized