The Safend Data Protection Suite features three main modules. The Protector can block or encrypt data transferred to external media and devices such as CD/DVD, USB and Firewire, as well as block connections to unsecured wireless networks. The Encryptor transparently protects and encrypts PCs and laptops using whole disk encryption. The final component is the Reporter that can generate many types of compliance reports and log summaries.
We found installation and management of this product to be quite simple and straightforward. It consists 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 management console that has a clean and organised layout. We found navigating the console to be quite effortless.
The policy section of the console is also nicely organised and policy configuration is quite easy to do. The console is organised into sections that allow administrators to configure various pieces of the policy, such as port and device control, and then easily save the policy and push it out directly or through Active Directory GPOs or registry files.
Documentation provided included an installation guide and user guide both in PDF format, as well as 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 screenshots, step-by-step instructions and configuration examples.
Safend offers many support options through an agreement, which includes 24/7 and 8/5 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 knowledgebase.
We find this product to be great value for the money. It combines many great protection features with an easy-to-use management console and policy engine.