Automox vs. BeyondTrust Network Security Scanner, powered by Retina (Legacy)

Smaller organisations such as ourselves, who have outgrown their MSP but still need to retain control of their system and have visibility of the estate. The tool enables us to have real-time visibility and deploy or remediate as needed. We have also purchased Rapid7, which integrates natively into the product, making it a more powerful tool moving forward.

Incentivized

Retina Network Security Scanner is well suited for any environment and infrastructure that would like to expose security deficiencies across their network as well as visualize vulnerabilities as they pertain to assets in their environment. I cannot think of any scenario that would not be appropriate for this product. Since the product carries over to pretty much all assets in your environment, I don't know off the top of y head what it wouldn't be appropriate for.

Incentivized

• Shows applications installed on a specific asset
• Able to push policies and updates remotely , creating policies is easy.
• Keep track of compliant devices and when is the last time they have connected to the servers
• All the great information provided within one single device

Incentivized

• Besides the fact that Retina NSS performs the fundamental task of scanning all my network devices, one of the main strengths is the speed at which it scans. Time is money and I know people tent to wear that cliché out a bit, but when you are as small as we are of a team, every minute counts.
• We have utilized other network security scanners over the past 21 years and Retina NSS seems to have the smallest footprint with no evidence of scanning degrading performance of the devices scanned.
• They seem to update their database frequently enough that we notice a correlation of threats to discovery.
• There is a small learning curve, but overall, a seasoned IT professional can quickly get up and running in a few hours and get usable results quickly. This falls back on the speed at which Retina NSS scans. My previous network security scanners would sometimes take hours to complete a full vulnerability scan of between 250 - 400 devices, now it only takes a fraction of that time.

Incentivized

• Server patching orchestration. There is no way to patch and reboot systems in order of importance, such as database servers before application servers.
• Worklets for patching .net core and similar.
• Worklets for removing unwanted Java installs or other unwanted software.
• Integration with Tenable Vulnerability Management.
• AI script development should be included at no additional cost; GPT or Gemini can be used instead for free and pasted into Automox. Why charge when others are free?
• Official worklets are slow to be added or updated.

Incentivized

• I do not have any obvious cons to report at this time.

Incentivized

This is a software that just works. Once configured its a set and forget kind of tool that keeps things up to date and alerts me if something is wrong. I was able to work through an expansion project to deploy an additional 500 devices in almost no time and create a robust self-patching environment.

Incentivized

It truly functions like a single pane of glass. While our use case is for EC2 instances in AWS, it can manage endpoints across all clouds, or even deployed hardware (laptops). We do manage instances in multiple AWS accounts and there is no set up required between orgs. This accomplishes our needs for real time tracking, and historical reporting for all of our in scope resources.

Incentivized

1. Simplicity and Ease of Use 2. Cross-Platform Support 3. Powerful Automation with Worklets 4. Real-Time Visibility and Control 5. Fast and Reliable Cloud-Based Updates 6. Strong Security Focus

Incentivized

Implementing Automox successfully starts with a clear strategy for organizing and grouping devices based on operating systems, environments, or business criticality. This ensures that patching and configuration policies can be applied with precision. A phased rollout approach is essential—beginning with a pilot group allows teams to test patching schedules, reboot behaviors, and custom Worklets before scaling across the organization. Leveraging Worklets from the start can significantly boost automation by enforcing security baselines and performing routine system tasks. Integration with existing SOC tools, such as SIEMs, enhances visibility and response time by correlating patch compliance with threat intelligence. Additionally, aligning patching schedules with operational downtimes minimizes disruptions, and consistent monitoring and reporting helps maintain compliance and prepare for audits. Overall, Automox offers a streamlined and effective solution, but its true value is unlocked through thoughtful planning, testing, and integration with existing IT and security workflows.

Incentivized

All of these other products are overly complicated with user interfaces that are not very friendly.. too technical, even for IT pros. They are also expensive for smaller companies or those with limited IT budgets. I've found that these other solutions are really geared for larger enterprises more than small to midsized companies, which is fine... but then they tend to market themselves as good for everyone, when they are really not.

Incentivized

Retina Network Security Scanner is the only product we have used in our enterprise. I have used a product in the past called GFI LanGuard Network Security Scanner and while it did perform the functions of vulnerability testing, etc...it just wasn't nearly as refined as Retina NSS. It was slow and was not as lightweight as Retina as far as end-user detection.

Incentivized

• Patches are now fully up to date and we have no longer been dinged for it from our pen testing partners.
• Reduced man hours spent on maintaining an update server and the hours spent looking at each machine to ensure it patched all software both windows and third party.
• Allows for us to provide a vendor with a means to connect to our systems without the use of a VPN.

Incentivized

• The product is extremely easy to deploy, extremely positive.
• If you take full advantage of this product as I did, you will maximize your ROI quickly as we did.
• We were able to visualize our vulnerabilities efficiently and effectively and maintain scheduled scans that allowed us to maintain a continuous improvement atmosphere while securing our investments.
• The ability provide reporting allows our IT department to prioritize issues and remediate as required without chasing down low risk issues over high risk issues that need immediate attention.

Incentivized