Endpoint Protector 2008 provides control of removable devices and peripherals from laptops and desktops. It can monitor connections from a range of devices including: USB flash drives, wireless USB, memory cards, card readers, ZIP drives, floppy drives, CD/DVD player/burner, digital cameras, smart phones/handhelds/PDAs, iPods, external HDDs, FireWire devices, MP3 player/media player devices, and biometric drives.
This is accomplished using a two-tiered architecture that consists of a centralised server and a client installed on the endpoint. The types of client endpoints are restricted to Vista and XP which compares badly with competitors. It also only performs device protection.
A unique piece to the CoSoSys offering is the flexibility as to which type of operating system the server can run. The most common OS is a Windows 2003 Server with SP1 and IIS version 6.0. In this configuration, PHP is necessary, as is a MS SQL database and .Net Framework 2.0.
If you wish to go down the non-Microsoft route, you can use a Linux-based server. CoSoSys recommends Debian Linux or Debian-based Linux variants, such as Ubuntu. Regardless of the Linux OS selected, the additional components are virtually the same as in the Microsoft environment.
The Linux server requires Apache web server with PHP, a MySQL database and OpenSSL libraries installed. This flexability allows environments to control costs while making ease of installation choices.
CoSoSys includes eight hours a day, five days a week support
via email in English, German, French and Romanian languages. Additional fee-based help and maintenance includes updates and upgrades, bug fixes and remote desktop assistance for setup and maintenance. This level is available for 20 per cent of the purchase price annually.
Phone support is available to established customers and trial users. The company also offers a web-based chat feature and a FAQ list.
The pricing is based on per seat licensing. This puts the Endpoint Protector 2008 at the upper end of the price spectrum.