# Antivirus for a company: what you're really buying and why we choose ESET

> Is the antivirus in Windows enough, how business protection differs from protection at home, six criteria for any solution — and how AI checks in 15 minutes whether all your computers really are protected.

## Full disclosure first

IT Broliai sells, installs and maintains **ESET PROTECT** for its clients.
So this lesson isn't neutral — and we don't hide it.

So that you can trust it, we first give you the criteria you can use to
judge **any** solution, including ours. And only then — why we ourselves
choose ESET.

## Isn't the antivirus in Windows enough?

For one computer — often it is. **Microsoft Defender**, built into Windows,
is serious protection, not “just anything”.

The trouble starts when there are five, fifteen or fifty computers. Then the
question is no longer “is there an antivirus?”, but:

- are **all** the computers protected — including the one the sales manager carries around?
- which computer hasn't been **updated** for a month?
- **where** and when was a threat found — and did anyone notice?

These questions aren't answered by an antivirus, but by **central management** and a **person**
who reads the alerts.

> **Schema.** What a manager sees without central management and with it: without it, nobody knows whether all the computers are protected, which ones aren't updated, where a threat was found and who will respond at night; with a central console and a person who reviews the alerts, all four questions are answered.

## Six criteria for any solution

1. **Central management.** All devices in one console, ideally in the cloud,
   so that you can also see laptops outside the office.
2. **Who reviews the alerts.** Your employee, an IT company or the vendor's service.
   How quickly — agreed in writing.
3. **More than scanning files.** Protection in the browser against scam pages and
   infected websites, ransomware protection, control of plug-in devices.
4. **All your systems.** Windows, macOS, phones, file servers — as many
   as you actually have.
5. **Impact on work.** Protection that slows computers down gets switched off
   sooner or later. Ask for a trial period.
6. **Independent tests.** Labs such as AV-Comparatives and AV-TEST
   regularly test protection solutions. Look at the latest results, not
   last year's.

## Why we choose ESET

By the same criteria:

- **One console for all devices** — Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
  We see the protection status, threats detected and computers that haven't connected for a long time.
- **Protection beyond files.** A real story from the lesson
  [How to spot a phishing email](/en/lessons/how-to-spot-a-phishing-email):
  a .zip attachment held a PDF with a link, and it was the ESET web filter
  that stopped the infected website.
- **Low impact on work.** Our clients' computers don't slow down so much that anyone
  wants to switch the protection off.
- **A European vendor.** ESET is based in Slovakia, in the EU — for managers who think
  about NIS2 and where their data is kept, this is a frequent question.
- **New: protection for AI tools.** As more and more employees use AI agents
  that download files and reach outside services on their own, the latest ESET PROTECT
  plans include a protection layer built for this.

You'll find a comparison of the plans, and what we do, on
[our ESET PROTECT page](https://itbrothers.lt/solutions/eset-protect/).
But if your IT company already looks after another solution that meets the criteria
above — there's no need to switch.

## Check your computers — with AI

The first task is to find out what you have now. Copy and paste:

```text
You are my IT security adviser. Help me check whether all our company's
computers are protected, and prepare a short report.

ABOUT US
- Number of computers and systems: [e.g. 12 Windows, 2 Mac]
- What protection I believe is installed: [... / don't know]
- Who looks after the computers: [an employee / an IT company / nobody]

PROCESS
0. TOOLS. Tell me whether you can run commands on this computer yourself.
   If you can — use ONLY read-only commands (e.g. a query of the Windows
   security status) and explain what each one does before you run it.
   If you can't — explain what to open and what screenshot to send.
1. ASK. Ask me the missing questions, one at a time.
2. TABLE. For each computer: which protection → is it active → when was it
   last updated → who will see the alert.
3. GAPS. Rank them by risk and suggest what to do, but change nothing.

GOAL
The job is finished when I have a table with ALL the computers and a clear
list of gaps — not general advice.

STRICT RULES
- Never switch off, uninstall or "temporarily pause" the protection.
- Don't install any programs without my explicit consent.
- Never ask for passwords.
- Answer in English.

AT THE END
Separately — WHAT YOU DID NOT CHECK (e.g. computers you couldn't see).
```

<div class="routes">
  <div class="route ai">
    <p class="route-label">🤖 AI route <span class="pill">recommended</span></p>
    <h4>The AI reads the status itself</h4>
    <p>An AI that can run commands on the computer reads the Windows security status
      with a single read-only command and explains it in plain language. On the other
      computers it will ask for a screenshot.</p>
    <p class="say">“Start with this computer. Before you run a command, tell me
      what it does.”</p>
    <p><strong>Your job:</strong> approve the commands and send screenshots of the other
      computers. If the AI ever suggests switching the protection off — stop.</p>
  </div>
  <div class="route manual">
    <p class="route-label">✋ Manual route</p>
    <h4>Two minutes per computer</h4>
    <ol>
      <li><strong>Start → Windows Security</strong>.</li>
      <li><strong>Virus &amp; threat protection</strong> — it should say that no action is
        needed and show which program is protecting the computer.</li>
      <li>Write down the program's name and the date of the last update.</li>
    </ol>
  </div>
</div>

<aside class="remedy">
  <p class="remedy-label">💊 The fix</p>
  <h3>One protection for all devices, one console, and a person who reads the alerts.</h3>
  <p class="rule-line">An antivirus without a person who sees the alerts is only half the protection.</p>
  <ul>
    <li><strong>All devices in one console</strong> — laptops too, and the one that's
      “sitting in the storeroom”.</li>
    <li><strong>Agreed in writing</strong>: who reviews the alerts and how quickly they respond.</li>
    <li><strong>A 5-minute review every month:</strong> which computers aren't updated
      or haven't connected for a long time.</li>
    <li><strong>No administrator rights for employees.</strong> That way neither they nor
      malware acting in their name can switch the protection off.</li>
  </ul>
  <p class="caveat">No antivirus stops a person who approves a Smart-ID request themselves
    (Smart-ID is the app most people in Lithuania use to log in to their bank and sign documents)
    or types a password into a fake page — that's what the
    <a href="/en/lessons/how-to-spot-a-phishing-email">phishing</a> and
    <a href="/en/lessons/passwords-and-mfa">MFA</a> lessons are for.</p>
</aside>

## What to do this week

1. Use the prompt above to draw up a protection table for all your computers.
2. Answer for yourself who reviews the alerts. If the answer is “nobody”, that's the first job.
3. Check that employees work without administrator rights.

Want us to look after this for you? **pagalba@itbroliai.lt**

## Check yourself

Five questions on what you've just read. At the end you'll get a certificate
with your score.