FileAudit vs Wazuh

FileAudit monitors, alerts on, and reports access to files and folders across Windows file servers and supported cloud storage. On Windows, it records access events in real time and associates them with user accounts, IP addresses, and machine names. Alerts can flag denied access, deletions, or mass file events; predefined PowerShell scripts can be configured to block or log off a user. Reports cover NTFS permissions, permission changes, ownership, and file or folder properties. Cloud auditing is an add-on for services including OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Dropbox Business, and Box. It reads provider audit logs and collects activity metadata rather than file contents; connected services need a supported subscription plan and administrator authorization. Deployment is agentless, so the software need not be installed on the Windows server under audit. Reports are described as supporting GDPR, HIPAA, ISO 27001, and PCI-DSS. Requirements include Windows Server 2012 R2 or later, Windows 8.1 or later, and .NET Framework 4. The trial lasts 20 days and is limited to three servers. Pricing is based on an annual subscription determined by users and systems audited.

Wazuh unifies XDR and SIEM to analyze security data across endpoints, clouds, and networks for threat detection, incident response, and compliance work. Its rules identify errors, misconfigurations, malicious activity, and policy violations in operating system and application logs. File Integrity Monitoring tracks changes to content, permissions, ownership, and other file attributes. Vulnerability detection compares endpoint software inventories with updated CVE databases. Built-in active responses can take countermeasures, including blocking network access from a threat source. Wazuh can monitor AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Microsoft 365, and GitHub services, virtual machines, and activity. Its integrations guide also covers Elastic Stack, OpenSearch, Splunk, and Amazon Security Lake. Default rulesets provide mappings for PCI DSS, HIPAA, NIST 800-53, TSC, and GDPR, but those mappings do not themselves certify compliance. Wazuh runs on API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web, and Windows platforms. Its self-hosted open-source plan is free; paid plans start at $571 a month, and a 14-day trial is listed. Agents support Linux, Windows, macOS, Solaris, AIX, and HP-UX and require an average of 35 MB of RAM.