What is our primary use case?
Our main use case for ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform is application whitelisting and ring-fencing, and we also utilize the elevation control. That was what led us to ThreatLocker. We use it for application whitelisting and elevation. We have the storage module, which we need to use a bit more, but we are at a point where we are working on other projects, so we are okay right now, but we will come back to it and continuously improve on it, adding more functionality there. Mostly those three are our current focus.
What is most valuable?
The elevation feature of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform is what led us to them because originally we were using a different company that was overcharging us for elevation. My boss, Robert, met ThreatLocker at a conference and talked with them, saying, "Well, we do that and more." So it started at elevation, but the application whitelisting is what really helped us out, especially getting to the point where we are with Zero Trust. We had dealt with ransomware attacks in the past, and we were always trying to figure out how to stop this. We did not want to face that again because if you get hit once, you almost get PTSD. So we ended up with the application whitelisting, and that brings me peace of mind. If I had to pick one module out of all of them, that one is it.
ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform benefits a company in general by providing all features under one umbrella, but specifically elevation control is crucial. Certain software needs admin rights to run, and we do not want to give a person admin rights to run that software, especially security software for us, specifically the security cameras. We tried other solutions, but they did not work as nicely. They would work and then break, but we have not had a problem with ThreatLocker. The application side is the one I would pick just because you do not have a situation where if you are going to try to run a program, it stops it. You can allow it through, and it will start running for you. Because it stops you along the way during the initial phase, you know that a malicious actor is not going to be able to run something bad on your system. That is the beauty of the whole Zero Trust platform, that lovely protection layer of stopping literally everything.
What needs improvement?
The only improvement I would suggest for ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform is the ability to stop automatic processes when pushing out updates or applying new policies to your computers. It would be beneficial because if you deploy to a large number of servers that are not broken down by groups and all have the same network-attached storage, it can cause an issue. Deploying to an entire organization at once could lead to a slowdown, so you can avoid that by deploying to individual groups at different times. If I had one thing to add, that would be it.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform for about two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
As far as stability and reliability with ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform, I have not experienced any downtime, crashes, or performance issues. We had a small blip with everyone trying to write at the same time on the policies, but ThreatLocker's dev team helped us come up with an option to delay it, which is good. I would still like to see the scheduling I mentioned, but I have not had any issues with availability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform's solution scales with the growing needs of my company as we have not really grown yet. We mainly cover our staff and faculty machines. The student machines may get added, but we are reevaluating our computing policy for student devices, especially as many have transitioned online. We can expand it for staff and faculty easily as we have enough fluff in the licenses, but it is very simple to do if needed.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate customer service and technical support of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform a 10 out of 10, hands down. I am a big fan of them. My account rep is always responsive; if I need something and email him, he gets back to me. I will not get ghosted. They also have the Cyber Hero chat, and they always answer within a few minutes.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to adopting ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform, I did not have another MDR solution, but we tried several endpoint protection solutions over the years. A long time ago, we had Kaspersky, which was good back in 2015, but we wanted to get away from them for geopolitical reasons. We then went to VMware's Carbon Black, which was a complete failure, even letting ransomware through. Currently, we also have SentinelOne, more for server antivirus, but I find ThreatLocker and SentinelOne to be the best combination.
What was our ROI?
ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform has absolutely saved us money. If it is not money in an actual cost, it saves in intrinsic value. I sleep better at night because of it. We have the MDR package as well, and just knowing someone is watching those endpoints at 3:00 a.m. is a lifesaver that you cannot put a dollar figure on. It has made things more manageable because we are a smaller team, and we could not replicate what ThreatLocker gives us in manpower with that kind of money.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform has been pretty good. We are in education and typically get education discounts. We signed a five-year agreement, and while there may have been price increases, for us, it has been great. I am going to talk to my account rep later about the changes announced today.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
In the consideration process before getting ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform, I looked at Arctic Wolf on the MDR side and possibly another solution. Before buying anything, I check reviews, especially on Reddit in the K-12 university sector. I did not get the warm fuzzies on Arctic Wolf, and while the proof of concept looked okay, nothing wowed me. I can see ThreatLocker working; we have not had anything get through, and I have tested it personally. I have received calls from their team, even at 3:00 a.m. It is fantastic.
What other advice do I have?
Using ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform, we were able to replace a particular solution that was overcharging us for the elevation module, which was about half the cost of ThreatLocker's base module. It was a little bit more money, but we got a whole ton more capability out of the product. You could probably consolidate some tools, but I would to think of ThreatLocker as the first stage of your multi-layer security stack, but it is also the last. It is a nice security blanket at the beginning and the end. You can have other bits in there to cover maybe your network monitoring on your firewalls and things, but when it comes to the actual endpoints and your servers, it is a fantastic product.
The allow-listing feature of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform is pretty fantastic. It can be a bit of a pain if you are having to implement something new, but honestly, the day-to-day operations are not all that bad to set up. If you go through the actual recommended process with installation mode or monitoring mode and watch the files you need, it is not hard to set up. You see in the Unified Audit everything that it is catching, so you really do get that granular view of what processes are calling what exactly. You tie it to a hash, and as long as it stays to that hash, you really do not have to worry if someone comes in and renames a process. If someone were to come to my machine and rename it to whatever that process was, example.exe, because the hash is different, theirs is not going to be able to run even if it is called the same thing. So there is no need to worry about that.
Controlling the behavior of approved applications tends to be pretty good with ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform. There are sometimes where it annoys you, but I would rather deal with that small annoyance than deal with an attack later. It is not hard to manage; if something gets caught, you go to the Unified Audit, check the logs, and make approvals or exemptions as needed. Some things do change in your environment, but overall, the process is very simple.
I do not use the Network Control feature of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform as much as we should. We have looked at it and want to get there, which is one of those things we want to return to. The features announced for Zero Trust Network Access are very interesting to me just because we are transitioning more towards remote work. One of the use cases I am looking at is Zero Trust Network Access for our SMB shares and file shares, which could solve a problem for us, so I am very interested and looking into that.
ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform facilitates just-in-time administrative access for approved applications, and that is great. It is very simple whenever it is an application you have already approved or if it is a new one. While setting it up, there is a little slider bar down at the bottom where you can set a time of "Okay, this needs to be permanent, this needs to be only an hour, a day." Fantastic.
I use the Storage Control feature of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform slightly. The only one we are currently utilizing is that we block USBs from being run. We are in the process of testing just cutting off autorun; if you plug in a USB, you cut off the autorun. So far, that has worked, but I am at the conference and did not want to cut it on while I am not there. I do not cause trouble, but when implementing any kind of security feature, you do not want to just throw a grenade and walk off.
I do not use the DAC dashboard of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform yet, as I learned about it at this conference. I am very interested in it along with the ZTNA because of defending against misconfigurations. I was at another conference where a gentleman from the FBI talked about how misconfigurations often lead to compromises, and it is nice to have that in a portal. It is definitely something we are going to look at.
I do not use the Web Control feature of ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform.
I would rate ThreatLocker Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform a 10 out of 10 overall. If I had to suggest it to another company, I would say that, another product, you will get out of it what you put in. It takes a little time to onboard and monitor. Some customers want to just pay to make problems go away, but this product can help you do that. I suggest trying it, but with realistic expectations, as no product can automatically make bad actors go away. You do have to put in a little work, so go through it, do a proof of concept, and give it a shot; it is a great product.