Is all in one solution GOOD or BAD

Interesting topic indeed. One that I think warrants my long-winded explanations.

( Keep in mind that this is time based, and may not be accurate a year from now, even six months. )

On the one hand:

I don't like integrated solutions.
I did not like when they put a turntable together with a tuner, tape decks ( sometimes a cassette and eight track, later dual cassettes, ) and amplifier.
I did not like when the radio was integrated into the car with the controls on the steering wheel.
I did not like the idea of a phone integrated into a car.

As indicated before by others, when one fails they all fail. The repair or replacement costs ( and sometimes the operating costs ) outweigh the initial savings to the consumer.

On the other hand:

( history )
I have been using products from Trend Micro for years, long before they were even distributing it in the U.S. themselves ( they had contracted another company to do so. )

I, like nihil, used the original Microsoft antivirus solution before this, but they dropped it, and support for it ( I think there were reasons other then nihil implied as I recall, but that is not relevant here. But I agree, it was a major blunder on their part. )

I decided on this brand after examining all the others at the time, which were blotted, slow in response, and lacked compatibility with other software, etc. Trend's solutions seemed to work the best.

There was a very rocky period when the license agreement of the other company ran out that was licensed to distribute Trend's products in the U.S. and Trend took it back over, but that was understandable, IMO.
( /history )

I currently use PC-cillin Internet Security
I repair a lot of boxes for people, often using other solutions, ( well, so far none using Trend Solutions which have been updated regularly, but some with none at all, ) and still find the others solutions overly blotted, lack compatibility, etc. Each time I find my initial decision to stick with Trend was correct.
And yes, I also experiment routinely with the others, checking available resources, etc., just to keep myself abreast.

Disclaimer here: My above findings may be the result of a superior product ( which I believe it is or I wouldn't be paying for and using it, ) but it may also be so do to Trend Micro's marketing strategy, or lack thereof.
At this time, and for several years, in my area a consumer can not go to a store and purchase their products off the shelf.
Distribution was limited to specific resellers ( good for corporations, ) or via the net, which I don't purchase anything from. To say the least it was a hassle for me to obtain licenses in the past, but I believe in keeping things legal.
The situation may change as I have noticed that now some major computer manufacturers have recently been including Trend products with their systems.

Anyway, back to the topic.

Although I have used Trend's integrated solution for a number of years, I have always shut off everything but the antivirus portion ( which is where I think they shine ) and used solutions ( firewall, spam, etc., ) from other vendors, until recently.

I have recently found the need to utilize the firewall portion of the Trend integrated solution, though my son has been using it for a while. Although it seems to work exactly as I wish, easily configured, I found it not so intuitive to set up. The average user would either not bother or shut it off completely.
I have also found the other aspects of it to be not as complete as other available solutions, and found the need to run them as well.

So to sum up what I am saying, no integrated solution at this time ( even Trend's ) would cause me to recommend using and relying upon it solely.

As far as Microsoft?
They bailed out of this area years ago and concentrated on the OS and other add on features to make things easier with no regard for security, and since have not been able to get these systems right as far as security. Why should I, or anyone else consider them for such an integrated security solution until they fix what they chose specialize in? No mater the ease, why should we trust them ( WGA ring a bell ? )

Just my thoughts, FWIW.

"God" boxes are the marraige of two forces -- lack of manpower and security market warfare.

You, the customer, never have enough man power. This was realized as the security sector was being carved up among those fighting for dominance. As these companies sucked up excellent point solution providers, their marketing people spun this out as a major benefit to you because vendor X can provide all of your perimeter services in a single box that requires no maintenance.

And now, reality. You don't have to look far (erm, Symantec) to see how this idea, while in a vacuum is wonderful, but in reality sucks big hose. Many times, all in one boxes do many things pretty good and nothing excellent. They also require some type of maintenance in the form of OS upgrades. Early versions of these beasts were particularly annoying because you had to upgrade them with a CD instead of live updates.

Anyway, that's the cut down version of how these things came into existance. Now, which is better? That's easy. Whichever one fits your requirements better. All roads begin with requirements. As F2B mentioned, he had a requirement for less boxes to maintain. God boxes fit the requirement. Problem solved.

Happy 4th. Time to go prepare the munitions...

--TH13

Greeting's

After reading all the post it seems to me as choosing which package depends on lot of factors. Also it is very hard to conclude that a particular type of package is good for all types of users.

But the way it seems to me is industry is taking a turn on its own and users may not have much choice . This is where commerce comes into picture. Till date Symantec sold its package differently as antivirus or firewall or both or both plus system utilities, But by the looks they are going to concentrate on the last choice (Anti-virus + firewall + utilities) more then just individual development.

I know most of the world has free market economy but it isn't there is practice. Although you can turn off the firewall in a particular package but when you install firewall from another developer how sure can you be that they will not conflict (to whatever extent). I saw this coming a long time back with Zonealarm started selling anti-virus with their firewall. At the very beginning when I tested it I found it completely useless. Also most of the users here (at antionline) I think must be using BEST OF BREED products. But as Nihil pointed out that for some users its better to have all in one product so it becomes easy but hardly anyone will agree on this same reason for themselves here because for us security is more important then just clicking update and getting everything update. I've also seen a trend where most of the developers are making their security products easy to use but when you see the options they provide very less security in their default configuration.

Coming back to reality (or the future possiblity) I see most of the developers giving more attention on ALL IN ONE product and giving less attention on INDIVIDUAL PRODUCTS. I'm not sure if that's the best thing to do. They may do this to achieve complete market dominance but in turn providing less security.

Like I said it in the end boils down to Commerce, for example Sygate firewall (now taken over by Symantec) if there are no options available what can the user do ? But I think this is still to far fetched and *MAY* not happen.

Also deciding which product to buy depends on your requirements too....... And we can just keep on going....

me would go for the specialists.

would you like SWAT to handle a tricky situation or the patrol guy?

I always feel microsoft is trying to bully itself into all businesses.

Quote:

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Do you think its best to have a complete security software (solution) which takes care of everything (ALL IN ONE)?

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All-in-One is a bit of a misnomer, as it implies you'll need nothing else for securing your PC. Circumstances will inevitably arise (i.e., when you get infected) you'll need more than an all-in-one. The fact is, all-in-one or not, nothing's going to make you bulletproof when it come to viruses and spyware, especially on a multi-user machine.

A buddy of mine runs a small PC shop (a dying breed he is) and sells a lot of McAfee's suite. I see PC's he installed it on routinely returned infected.

Another problem with all-in-ones is they're going to run crappy on older machines. Go out and buy Norton's Internet Security Suite and then install it on a 5-year-old computer. LOL!

In defense of all-in-ones, it makes it easier for many, many users to put in place basic protection, much of which is pretty good. But again, basic protection is just that...basic.

Perhaps my biggest gripe with all-in-ones is...it's a marketing gimmick. Consumers are lulled (and stupified). The more things change, the more they stay the same.