{"id":5546,"date":"2017-06-20T21:05:51","date_gmt":"2017-06-20T20:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/?p=5546"},"modified":"2021-04-06T21:08:54","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T20:08:54","slug":"moving-cloud-cloud-based-antivirus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.n-able.com\/it\/blog\/moving-cloud-cloud-based-antivirus","title":{"rendered":"Moving to the Cloud – Cloud-Based Antivirus"},"content":{"rendered":"

The move from on-premises endpoints to hosted endpoints in the cloud is one many organizations are embracing. Why? Because it offers benefits like better availability, lower cost, and none of the hardware headaches. Cloud options like Amazon Web Services\u2122<\/sup>, VMware\u00ae<\/sup>\u00a0Cloud Air, Azure\u00ae<\/sup>, Rackspace\u00ae<\/sup>\u00a0(to name a few) all provide IT with an ability to quickly create, manage, and remove virtual machines (VMs) as business needs change.<\/p>\n

Staying Vigilant Against Malware and Ransomware<\/h3>\n

\"stayaware.jpg\"Once you move the endpoints into the cloud with a trusted vendor, you can\u2019t (and shouldn\u2019t) assume the endpoints are secure. The fact is,\u00a0they\u2019re not<\/em>. The threat of malware is on the rise, and cloud-based systems are often seen as opportunistic, low-hanging fruit by cyber attackers. Employing a simple\u00a0war dialer-type<\/a>\u00a0scan of a cloud infrastructure vendor\u2019s IP addresses can highlight a number of potential unsecured targets for an attacker. According to the\u00a0Verizon\u00ae<\/sup>\u00a0Data Breach Investigations Report<\/a>, most attacks involve some type of malware, so having some level of antivirus protection is a mandatory part of your layered defensive security strategy to safeguard your cloud-based endpoints from the latest viruses, malware, and spam.<\/p>\n

Is Antivirus in the Cloud Different Than On-Premises?<\/h3>\n

In a word,\u00a0absolutely<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Cloud-based antivirus, of course, has the same function as its on-premises counterpart. But the cloud adds one major design requirement to antivirus that on-premises is not as concerned with:\u00a0performance<\/em>. Given your cloud-based endpoints are likely virtual machines (VMs), there\u2019s a big push to ensure the levels of disk and processor required are MUCH lighter in the cloud from that of on-premises antivirus\u2014if not offloaded entirely. Traditional antivirus uses a number of operating system intercepts (memory, or file for example) to scan using various methods (such as signatures, heuristics, or sandboxing), which only kills a machine\u2019s performance. Cloud-based antivirus is laser-focused on security\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0performance.<\/p>\n

If you were to use that kind of solution within a cloud-based server hosting a number of VMs, you’d need to multiply the performance problem by the number of VMs\u2014with each one slowing down the others (remember VMs are a shared resource system!).<\/p>\n

How Do You Select the Right Cloud-based Antivirus Solution?<\/h3>\n

\"rightav.jpg\"Choosing the right antivirus for the cloud<\/p>\n

The choice of a\u00a0cloud-based antivirus solution<\/a>\u00a0comes down to three basic issues, all of which intersect:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The antivirus feature set and the security value it brings<\/li>\n
  2. The endpoint (read: guest VM) resources required<\/li>\n
  3. The individual endpoint workloads<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you choose a powerful, comprehensive antivirus solution, but it taxes the living daylights out of your most critical workloads, you\u2019re in trouble. The same goes for an extremely light version of antivirus that leaves your endpoint\u2019s resources relatively untouched. You need to find the perfect balance of powerful and light.<\/p>\n

    Which Antivirus Features Should You Be Looking For?<\/h3>\n

    \"scanningfiles.jpg\"It\u2019s important to look beyond marketing claims and focus on the technical capabilities of each solution. Depending on the vendor you select, you\u2019ll want to make sure whatever antivirus you put in place has\u00a0one or more<\/i><\/b>\u00a0<\/i>of the following features:<\/p>\n