EventSentry File Monitoring vs ManageEngine ADAudit Plus

EventSentry File Monitoring tracks file additions and removals, size and SHA-256 checksum changes, and transaction-log tampering. It can gather digital certificates and entropy, which may help detect certain ransomware outbreaks. Changes can be logged to the Application event log with customizable severity and previous and new sizes or checksums. The current status of monitored files can be consolidated in the EventSentry database for comparisons across computers.

Notifications and integrations can go to email, MSSQL, PostgreSQL, MySQL or Oracle databases, HTTP(S), Syslog, SNMP traps, and executable processes. Exported text event logs can be cryptographically signed and timestamped to help identify tampering. EventSentry says its file integrity monitoring helps with PCI requirement 11.5. The full edition is an on-premise perpetual license listed at $85 per Windows device; EventSentry Light is free for five machines. A 30-day trial is listed. The feature is listed for Linux, macOS, web, and Windows, while the detailed supported operating-system list names Windows versions from NT 4 SP6 through Server 2025.

ManageEngine ADAudit Plus is an on-premises auditing and monitoring tool for Active Directory environments. It provides real-time alerts, configuration monitoring, compliance reports, and agentless monitoring. Listed platforms include Windows Active Directory, Microsoft Entra ID, AWS Managed Microsoft AD, AD FS, Azure, AWS, GCP, Windows Server, Windows and macOS workstations, Windows file servers, Windows failover clusters, and supported NAS devices. The product is available for web and Windows. Its free edition covers 25 workstations. The 30-day trial lists limits of five domain controllers, two file servers, one NetApp or EMC file server, ten member servers, and 100 workstations. Standard costs $595 a year and lists two domain controllers; Professional costs $945 a year and also lists two domain controllers. ManageEngine was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California, United States.