The Safend Data Protection Suite features three main modules. The first is the Protector, which can block or encrypt data transferred to external media and devices - such as CD/DVD, USB and Firewire - as well as block connections to unsecure wireless networks. The second module is Encryptor, which transparently protects and encrypts PCs and laptops using whole disk encryption. The final component is the Reporter, which can generate many types of compliance reports and log summaries.
We found installation and management of this product to be quite simple and straightforward. The installation is comprised of installing the management console and server end, configuring initial settings, deploying the agents and, finally, setting and configuring protection and encryption policies. All management is done through the intuitive management console, which has a clean and organized layout. We found navigating the console to be quite effortless.
The policy section of the console is also nicely organized, and policy configuration is quite easy to do. The console is organized into sections that allow administrators to configure various pieces of the policy, such as port control and device control, and then easily save the policy and push it out directly or through Active Directory GPOs or registry files.
Documentation included an installation guide and user guide, both in PDF format, as well as some other useful documentation including a best practices guide. The installation guide clearly detailed installation of the product and agent deployment, while the user guide provided advance configuration steps and how to define policies. Both guides included many screen shots, step-by-step instructions and configuration examples.
Safend offers many support options through a support agreement which includes both 24/7 and eight-hours-a-day/five-days-a-week phone and email support, as well as access to support contacts. There is also a small support area available on the website for trouble-ticket submission and access to a knowledge base.
At a price starting at $34 per seat, we find this product to be a great value for the money. It combines many great protection features with an easy-to-use management console and policy engine.
