Vipre Cloud Applies Artificial Intelligence to Endpoint Security

It’s no secret that endpoints are constantly under attack from an ever increasing array of online threats. Yet few IT Pros seem to realize that their tried and true endpoint security applications are not evolving rapidly enough to counter the sophistication of those threats. Vipre Security aims to close that protection gap with a cloud endpoint security system that ties together Machine Learning, crowd-sourced data collection, behavioral analytics and unified management to protect against most cyber-threats. As a cloud security service, Vipre Cloud is kept up to date with the latest threat information, while a companion agent, which is installed locally, keeps endpoints secured using the latest in anti-malware technology.

To get started with Vipre Cloud users have to sign up for the service via the cloud portal. Vipre keeps the process extremely easy and accessible by all of the popular browsers. Everything is administered via the cloud portal. Users can select a domain, and personalize their preferences from the portal.

Each instance of Vipre Cloud can have multiple users, which means larger organizations can have multiple administrators as well as multiple users. The cloud based portal, which runs on any  browser is accessed via the Internet, giving users flexibility and remote administration capabilities.

Vipre Cloud expedites the setup process with a QuickStart wizard, which guides users through the two primary setup and administration scenarios. From the QuickStart screen, users can either define policies or deploy agents. Policies control how the agents work as well as how the product works. The agents are small pieces of code that are pushed out to endpoints.

In most cases, administrators will start with the main dashboard, which is presented as a welcome screen. Easy to identify options are presented here and most any feature is just a mouse click away. The welcome screen also includes get started wizards as well as shortcuts to the most used features.

Policies define Vipre Cloud protects endpoint devices. Most Administrators will want to plan out their policies before deploying any agents to endpoints. Numerous policies can be created, which is a good thing, since it allows administrators to define policies for groups, individuals, devices, and so forth. The product includes several default (or example) policies that in many cases may be enough for a typical user. However, new policies can be created or modified as needed.

Administrators have multiple choices for assigning policies to assets. For example, a policy can dictate whether or not an end user can interact with the agent. Granular control of the agent is part of the policy definition. Other policy options include enforcing firewall rules, protecting browser sessions, email protection, intrusion detection, and so on. Simply put, policies give full control over the agent activities. 

Vipre Cloud offers numerous agent installation scenarios, ranging from emailing an MSI package to an end user to pushing the agent down to an endpoint using a script. Installation can be hands-on, un-attended, or even done with limited interaction. Administrators have multiple choices for defining agent installation enabling them to pick the method that works best for them. They can even choose a method that eliminates the need to visit each endpoint.

One of the most important capabilities of Vipre Cloud is to keep administrators informed of the security health of endpoints. The Threat Summary report offers an easy to digest visual summary of what is occurring on the network. Easy to understand visualizations help explain threats to non technical co-workers.

Another powerful tool is the detection report, which can provide both summary information and details about detected threats. Administrators can filter, sort, or export detection reports as well as drill down into the details. The detection report indicates how well the product is working and how effective defined policies are.

The primary dashboard is fully customizable and offers a full graphical interface into the workings of the product, as well as the agents, users and endpoints. Most administrators will create a dashboard that meets their specific needs and keep that running all the time. Alerts can be also defined, which can notify administrators of problems or keep them appraised of statuses.