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Here’s my shortlist of the very best cybersecurity software, along with what I found each does best:
What Is Cybersecurity Software?
Cybersecurity software is a broad category of products designed to enhance digital security on physical devices, networks, and cloud platforms. Common tools include antiviruses, standards compliance managers, rootkit scanners, mailbox protectors, and infrastructure monitors. Some tools can also provide benefits such as real-time monitoring and alerts, logging, and resiliency, and detecting for both internal and external threats.
The software in this article varies in approach, but each one serves the same ultimate ends: protecting your company by securing your devices and infrastructure.
Overviews of the 12 Best Cybersecurity Software
Below are my picks for the best cybersecurity software with brief but detailed rundowns to help you compare their strengths, weaknesses, and pricing:
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Sprinto – Best for companies in highly regulated industries
- Sprinto is an automated compliance management information security platform for cloud-based companies.
- Why I picked Sprinto: I chose Sprinto for its ability to automate compliance, and I liked that it supports several industry and regulatory standards.
- Sprinto standout features and integrations: Features that made me recommend Sprinto for highly regulated industries include the audit success portal and the Dr. Sprinto mobile device management (MDM) system.
- Pricing one-liner: From $8,000/year
- Free trial one-liner: Free demo available
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Barracuda Phishing and Impersonation Protection – Best anti-phishing tool
- Barracuda Phishing and Impersonation Protection, previously called Barracuda Sentinel, is an email security solution for Microsoft 365 that fights against social engineering threats.
- Why I picked Barracuda Phishing and Impersonation Protection: I evaluated how well Barracuda Phishing and Impersonation Protection handles spear phishing attempts. I found that it’s very effective because it evaluates company-wide communication patterns and flags anomalies.
- Barracuda Phishing and Impersonation Protection standout features and integrations: Features that made me recommend Barracuda Phishing and Impersonation Protection include the ability to flag and stop inbound spoofing attacks and scan outbound links to determine instances of web impersonation.
- Pricing one-liner: Pricing upon request
- Free trial one-liner: 14-day free trial
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Dynatrace – Best for securing applications
- Dynatrace is a cloud-based monitoring, observability, automation, and analytics solution for systems such as infrastructure and applications.
- Why I picked Dynatrace: One of Dynatrace’s main offerings is its application performance monitoring (APM) solution, whose security features I tested. It provides actionable information that identifies the root cause of issues.
- Dynatrace standout features and integrations: Features that made me like Dynatrace’s APM tools include the automatic detection of all application dependencies and providing usage metrics from both synthetic and real users.
- Pricing one-liner: From $0.08/hour
- Free trial one-liner: 15-day free trial
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Microsoft Intune – Best for endpoint security
- Microsoft Intune is a suite of tools for enterprise security and endpoint management that also provides device and data protection.
- Why I picked Microsoft Intune: I found its built-in endpoint security tools were effective for devices across all major platforms to effectively monitor and act on vulnerabilities.
- Microsoft Intune standout features and integrations: Features that I liked while using Intune for endpoint security include privilege management and remote help.
- Pricing one-liner: From $8/user/month
- Free trial one-liner: 30-day free trial
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Azure Sphere – Best for IoT devices
- Azure Sphere is a platform for internet-connected devices that you can use to maintain security throughout your dev cycle as you create new IoT products.
- Why I picked Azure Sphere: It provided everything I needed to build a fully functional IoT device, with security services, a specialized Linux-based OS, and silicon in the form of a microcontroller unit (MCU).
- Azure Sphere standout features and integrations: Features that impressed me most in Azure Sphere include the “chip to cloud” approach and over-the-air (OTA) updates.
- Pricing one-liner: From $8.95
- Free trial one-liner: Free demo available
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CrowdStrike Falcon – Best for ITOps teams
- CrowdStrike Falcon is a cloud-based security platform that analyzes networks for malware and similar threats.
- Why I picked CrowdStrike Falcon: The CrowdStrike Falcon Discover feature scanned my network and identified applications, users, and devices that didn’t meet compliance standards.
- CrowdStrike Falcon standout features and integrations: Features that make CrowdStrike Falcon ideal for ITOps include Falcon Spotlight and Falcon Forensics.
- Pricing one-liner: From $299.95/year
- Free trial one-liner: 15-day free trial
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Amazon CloudWatch – Best for AWS
- Amazon CloudWatch is a repository for metrics that gives you access to statistics for infrastructure on AWS as well as other clouds and on-premise deployments.
- Why I picked Amazon CloudWatch: It collates data from various AWS sources and provides data encryption and access control.
- Amazon CloudWatch standout features and integrations: Features that make CloudWatch ideal for security on AWS include data encryption, AWS Key Management Service (KMS), and AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM).
- Pricing one-liner: Pricing upon request
- Free trial one-liner: Free plan available
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Datadog – Best for educational institutions
- Datadog is a cloud monitoring platform that provides observability across systems such as infrastructure, applications, and digital experiences.
- Why I picked Datadog: Its infrastructure monitoring platform makes it easy to comply with security standards, including those imposed on educational institutions.
- Datadog standout features and integrations: Features I found while testing Datadog include the sensitive data scanner and real-time insights for monitoring portals and e-learning platforms.
- Pricing one-liner: From $15/host/month
- Free trial one-liner: Free plan available
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Sophos – Best for small businesses
- Sophos is a cybersecurity-as-a-service company with solutions that cover areas such as endpoint, network, email, and cloud security.
- Why I picked Sophos: It provides both desktop and rack-mounted firewall options, which are valuable tools for keeping the entire system safe.
- Sophos standout features and integrations: Features that make Sophos ideal for small businesses include self-managed tools like firewalls and endpoint protection, or fully-managed threat detection and response (MDR).
- Pricing one-liner: Pricing upon request
- Free trial one-liner: Free demo available
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NetScout – Best DDoS protection features
- NetScout is an enterprise network visibility platform that provides real-time insights for security, performance, and availability.
- Why I picked NetScout: It provides an on-premise DDoS solution that monitors both high and low-volume traffic.
- NetScout standout features and integrations: Features that made me recommend NetScout for DDoS attack protection include the ability to use stateless devices to protect stateful devices and actionable threat intelligence.
- Pricing one-liner: Pricing upon request
- Free trial one-liner: Free demo available
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Bitdefender – Best browser protection features
- Bitdefender is a cybersecurity provider whose main focus is on threat protection in both personal and small business environments.
- Why I picked Bitdefender: I picked Bitdefender because of TrafficLight, a browser extension that brings its malware protection features online.
- Bitdefender standout features and integrations: Features that I liked while using Bitdefender in my browser include the search result scanner and the tracker identifier.
- Pricing one-liner: From $1.25/month
- Free trial one-liner: Free plan available
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Malwarebytes – Best rootkit scanner
- Malwarebytes provides anti-malware and cybersecurity services for devices used by both personal and business customers.
- Why I picked Malwarebytes: I chose Malwarebytes because it provides a free rootkit scanner that makes it easier to find these notoriously difficult-to-detect forms of malware.
- Malwarebytes standout features and integrations: Features that made me recommend Malwarebytes for its rootkit scanner include automatic repairs of any system files and services that might have been damaged by an infection.
- Pricing one-liner: From $3.75/device/month
- Free trial one-liner: Free plan available
Other Cybersecurity Software Options
While I was making my evaluations, I found these tools that didn’t make the main list, but might still be a good choice for other use cases:
Selection Criteria for Cybersecurity Software
Here are the factors I considered when evaluating the tools in this list of the best computer security software.
Core Functionality
- Allow IT teams to understand and conduct additional research into cyber threats by providing them with up-to-date definitions.
- Automatically update themselves to ensure human error or lapses don’t compromise security.
- Quarantine threats rather than delete them so security teams can assess them later in safe environments.
Key Features
- Real-time monitoring: Detect threats and quarantine them as soon as possible.
- Logging: For debugging, audits, and other security-related evaluations.
- Encryption: At all possible levels, to keep unauthorized access and overload at bay.
Usability
- Balanced alerting systems
- Conciseness of threat definitions
- Priority tagging
Value for Money
- Consider the scope of the system you want to protect and the kinds of threats you anticipate
- Basic antivirus and firewall for most home users
- Additional features for advanced users and larger enterprises
Conclusion
Digital security should be an important consideration for businesses of all sizes to protect themselves from both internal and external threats. Use this list as a starting point to find the best cybersecurity software that fits your needs. Remember to consult with digital security professionals for a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.
