Avast Essential Business Security vs PatchMon

Avast Essential Business Security is internet security for small businesses that helps protect devices and data from viruses, phishing and cyberattacks. It combines next-generation antivirus with AI-powered threat detection. File Shield, Mail Shield, Web Guard, Real Site, Behavior Shield and CyberCapture address threats from files, email, websites and emerging attacks. Real Site is designed to help prevent fake phishing pages and DNS hijacking. An endpoint firewall and Remote Access Shield help block unwanted connections, RDP exploits and brute-force attacks, with ransomware protection included. Avast Business Hub provides device health notifications, automated reports, device and policy management, network discovery, remote access and support tools. The product supports Windows 10 and 11, macOS 13 or later and specified Windows Server versions. Personal VPN and Patch Management are unavailable for macOS. Avast positions it for businesses with 11–100 devices, including those without dedicated IT staff. The listed price is $31.37 /first yr.

PatchMon provides a central dashboard for patch monitoring across Linux, FreeBSD, and Windows server fleets. Policies can schedule patches immediately, after a delay, or at a fixed time, with dry-run validation, approval workflows, and assignment by host or host group. Automated patch deployment is available on Linux and FreeBSD; Windows deployment is on the roadmap. Patch runs record who triggered and approved them, timestamps, policy details, affected packages, and command output. OpenSCAP CIS benchmark scans include per-rule results, severity, remediation guidance, and score tracking. Listed integrations span Proxmox LXC, Ansible, Docker, REST API, OpenSCAP, SSH, Windows RDP, and messaging and AI services. Monitoring agents connect outbound over WebSocket, use TLS in transit, and do not require root for monitoring operations. The free Community Edition is self-hosted under AGPLv3, with users responsible for the server, updates, backups, and uptime. Cloud plans start at $1 a month per endpoint. Cloud trials last 14 days, include Plus features, require a card at signup, and are not charged if cancelled before they end.