Joe’s Tech

Odds are, if you work for a large employer with a lot of IT assets, they purchase their licensing for software, including antivirus software, on what’s called a site license, meaning they can install as many copies as they want, as long as they are on their computers.  Antivirus and security vendors typically also allow employees (and students, at universities,) to install copies on personal machines as long as they’re employed (or enrolled).  (That makes it easier to protect the employer’s network, and is just good marketing.)

The old standard is Symantec Client Security, aka Symantec Antivirus (SAV), generally considered the industry standard for enterprise-level client antivirus.  (Argue if you want, but every enterprise I’ve worked at used it, including different levels of government)

Symantec just replaced that product, though, and calls the new one Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP).  I can’t say with authority why they changed it, but I suspect it’s becuase they’ve started catching more than just viruses, specifically more spyware, so they want an all-encompassing name.  (Thanks to VPNs and Remote Access options, any computer can be an “endpoint” of a network, and that’s the focus now.)

How can you tell what product you installed, though?

Easy.  Just look at your installed programs list.  Here’s two screenshots from Windows XP, the first has SEP installed, the second has SAV.  It should be pretty clear which is which.

I should also give a shout-out to my favorite free antivirus provider: AVG.  Of course, their website can be a little tricky to navigate, because they want you to buy the non-free version, but the free one works, and works well, too.  Oh, and you Mac and Linux users aren’t off the hook, either.  Remember, the first internet worm used Unix flaws. Heck, I’d call on you to be more diligent than Windows users, because if you do it right, you can make sure your Windows friends’ drives are sanitized with little to no risk to yourselves.