Netwrix Access Analyzer Reviews

Pros

Being a free tool makes this especially appealing for smaller IT teams and organizations that don't have a big budget to work with. It gives immediate visibility into effective permissions across file shares and folders which is really helpful for spotting excessive or unnecessary access. It also quickly points out risky permissions making it easier to reduce the overall attack surface.

Cons

It works more like a snapshot than a live monitoring tool so there's no real-time tracking, automation or alerting when changes happen. It also doesn't offer continuous access monitoring or the ability to schedule reports.

Pros

The data collection and monitoring are very detailed and once the queries are set up, the system is really simple to use. That level of granularity is something I really appreciate.

Cons

Setting up the queries can be a little complicated at times and the software overall needs a pretty large amount of VM resources.

Pros

Built-in reports, strong scanning capabilities, support for custom scripting and the modular design are the key things that make StealthAUDIT really appealing to use.

Cons

While it can scan and report across many different kinds of systems, the access audit side is still pretty limited when it comes to what can be imported for owner approvals.

Pros

After testing several options, it was the only one that captured file activity with complete accuracy and kept the audit data intact. Our test was simple but thorough, we created 100 files, opened all 100, edited all 100 and then deleted all 100. We verified that every creation, read, edit and deletion was recorded. We ran the same process with both plain text files and MS Word documents since Office handles file edits in a strange way. Another well-known product we evaluated only recorded about 40% of the activity, even after weeks spent working with support and sales engineers trying to correct it. At one point, one of their engineers blamed Windows for not logging the events and would not even review the event log with me, despite the fact that I could clearly see Windows was capturing 100% of the file activity. Whatever product you choose, make sure you thoroughly confirm that it works reliably before committing to it.

Cons

At least when we installed it, was that the activity tracking console depended on it which forced me to use Internet Explorer instead of a modern browser. On top of that, performance was sluggish. It also crashed twice without any alert and as a result I lost all metadata from the time of the crash until I noticed it had gone down. Because of that, I ended up having to keep a close eye on the system just to reduce the risk of losing audit data. That is why I would call it adequate rather than outstanding, even though it was still the only product we tested that actually did the job it was supposed to do.

Pros

It has been very simple and reliable for us. It responds quickly, the AIC includes everything we need and deployment and updates were simple to handle. I also appreciate that there's no fat client for users since everything is web-based. During a pretty extensive POC/POV, we were honestly surprised by how much more data it uncovered compared with Varonis DatAdvantage, even when both were using the same credentials and permissions. On 5 NetApp filers alone, it identified more than 60 million additional folders that Varonis had missed. Once we scanned all of production, that gap grew to over 1 billion more folders than Varonis had found. That exposed a massive risk we didn't even realize existed.

Cons

Reporting is still the weak point for us because it's not very user-friendly unless you already know how to work with SQL queries. I understand there's an option to use Tableau but that's not something everyone has available. This was actually the biggest factor we debated when deciding whether moving from Varonis to StealthAUDIT was the right choice. We ultimately did make the switch and have gotten better at writing reports over time but we still feel the product needs a more user-friendly reporting tool.

Pros

This tool gives us a ton of visibility into both Active Directory and the filesystem through a wide range of reports. Those reports make it easier to see the big picture, review recent changes and spot areas that may need investigation or cleanup. Its sensitive data discovery is effective too though it does require some tuning of the criteria to cut down on false positives. Getting everything up and running was fairly simple especially with the dedicated implementation team, who were quick to respond whenever questions or issues came up. The support team has also been very responsive throughout.

Cons

Getting comfortable with the processing schedule took a while based on our environment and needs. Some jobs can run for a long time so you really have to watch for overlap and contention between them since that can create backlogs or make SQL database logs grow faster than expected. There is plenty of documentation available but finding the exact information you need can still be difficult at times. More thorough training at the beginning would also help new administrators get up to speed faster.

Pros

One of the best parts of it is how it lets you gather data in almost any way that works best for you and then actually makes that data useful afterward.

Cons

The interface feels outdated, the features are not documented very well and removing data that is no longer needed is not very simple.

Pros

Having access to user data and statistics through a clear, user-friendly GUI is a big plus. The support has been outstanding as well, it regularly checks in with my teams to make sure we're fully supported and getting the most out of the product.

Cons

The initial configuration and setup can feel a bit complex.

Pros

This platform comes packed with features. We use it to protect Active Directory, MS Exchange, file servers and SharePoint Online. It also serves as a data governance tool that helps secure sensitive data and enforce least-privileged access control.

Cons

A wizard-driven configuration setup would have made the initial setup and configuration process better.

Pros

Whenever we need a better understanding of the product or want certain functionality added, the support and customer service team really goes above and beyond. They've consistently been incredibly helpful and responsive and it genuinely feels like they care about supporting their users.

Cons

There is a slight learning curve at the beginning but the support team does an excellent job of helping with user education while also being there to assist whenever needed.

Pros

Something this software does really well is give clear visibility into what's happening across the systems it monitors. We've especially valued being able to see who changed what in Active Directory and the file systems. It has been a very useful tool for forensic investigations.

Cons

There have been several occasions where it stopped processing changes and the database kept filling up with unprocessed data. Once it gets too full, the database eventually stops responding altogether.