My Product Does Everything…I Promise

“This here security software will instantly solve all your problems. Just use the nifty wizards and your network will be secure as soon as you plug it into your system.”

Sound familiar? I am getting tired of software and/or hardware security companies promising the world and delivering nothing close.

Case in point: I was attending a webinar about a new security product that scanned all the computers attached to the network to ensure your machines were within compliance. Well, the particular settings I was interested in involved well over 300 checks. Guess what? The product only checked 150 or so but claimed 100% compliance. WHAT? Hmmm, I haven’t had my coffee since this morning, but I am pretty sure 150/300 does not equal 100%. Well, when I questioned them about the number of checks I got the run around and more unsatisfactory answers. I immediately ended the webinar and hung up the phone. Don’t waste my time, I have far too much to do than listen to your snake oil presentation.

Yes, I am upset about this. Why? Well, if your average consumer does not ask the right questions, or even know which ones to ask, they will be taken by the sly sales pitch and marketing materials. This gives a false sense of security and further enhances the problems we are seeing on the Internet today. People need real advice and real solutions, not marketing materials that promise the world and a product that does not even come close to solving a problem.

Folks, we need to weed out the bad vendors. If the product sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Security Pros can usually see through the smoke. We need to stop buying products that do not deliver. When we do, the bad vendors will suffer from natural selection.

The message here: Choose your products wisely and do your homework. Know what the product can and cannot do. Get a demo of the product and try it in your lab environment to see if it really does what it claims and is what you are looking for.