Any experience with Bitdefender BOX? Is it an AV replacement?

[theNEOone]

http://www.bitdefender.com/box/

Hi folks - I have Bitdefender Total Security installed on my main PC but like the idea of offloading CPU cycles related to AV software onto an external box. I also like that this can "protect" all devices on my network -- I have a number of things connected at home including a Nest, multiple Nest Cams, Xbox one, Roku, TV, iPads, as well as well as other PCs w/o AV installed.

Two questions:

1. Is the BOX a true replacement for software AV (incl. ransomeware protection and secure browsing)
2. Can someone explain the true merits of the BOX?

I'm not familiar with hardware security and don't know how much of Bitdefender's site is marketing nonsense.

Much appreciated.


=|

 

[John Connor]

Just a quick glance to me seems like a hardware-based IDS/malware scanner. You can make your own with a dual NIC ITX computer and Sophos or Untangle. Bitdefender Box might be a cheaper approach though.

As to ransomware. That's a whole other animal as that's usually zeroday malware. Meaning there's no definition for it and malware scanners won't catch it. The best practice on preventing it is a proactive backup approach of your computers or using a sandbox environment like Sandboxie for your browser or VooDoo Shield. There's also Anti-executable.

Modern anti-virus software should incorporate some type of sandboxing environment to combat today's threats.