by Scott Jack
Content Contributor, E-N Computers
More than a decade of experience in technical support including end user support, mobile device management, application deployment, and documentation.
It’s more important than ever to have a strong antivirus solution. With the rise of AI-powered attacks, ransomware, phishing, and increasingly complex compliance requirements, you need a solution that can keep up.
After using various solutions, we’ve found that Microsoft Defender Plan 2 is the best option for businesses. It’s a cloud-based solution that offers unified protection for endpoints, email, collaboration tools, and identity management.
QUICK ANSWER:
What antivirus do you recommend?
We recommend Microsoft Defender Plan 2. It’s an affordable add-on for Microsoft 365 Business Premium customers and is included with Microsoft 365 E5 plans. It gives protection for endpoints and cloud services with automated investigation and response tools. Its unified management and billing improves efficiency for IT staff and accounting. If you’re not using Microsoft 365, you may consider another option like Bitdefender or Sophos.
Why malware protection matters
Before we dive into why we recommend Microsoft Defender, it’s worth reviewing why malware protection matters.
Modern threats can wreak havoc on your organization. Ransomware locks important files away until you pay up. Paying a ransom is no guarantee the files will be unlocked or that other threats will not remain on your systems. Phishing can result in user credentials and other sensitive data being exfiltrated. Malware creators now use AI to generate malicious programs that are not very human-readable. If you’re subject to compliance standards, you may need a certain level of malware protection to avoid fees and penalties.
Without malware protection, you run the risk of financial loss, data loss, downtime, reputational damage, and regulatory non-compliance.
Why we recommend Microsoft Defender
When we say Microsoft Defender Plan 2, we’re including both Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 and Defender for Office 365 Plan 2. The first protects your endpoints, like computers and servers, and the second protects your cloud services, like email and collaboration tools. Plan 1 of these products detects threats but requires manual intervention; Plan 2 automatically remediates threats, keeping you fully protected 24/7.
Here are four key benefits of Microsoft Defender:
- Comprehensive protection: Defender offers protection against a wide range of threats, including malware, phishing attacks, and ransomware. It integrates with various systems to provide a comprehensive view of your security posture. Defender also uses machine learning and AI to proactively identify and block new and emerging threats.
- Ease of use: Defender is easy to set up and manage, even for businesses with limited IT resources. It offers a centralized management console that makes it easy to monitor your security posture and take action on threats.
- Cost: Defender P1 comes with Microsoft 365 Business Premium (the license we recommend to our clients, at $22/user/month), and P2 is an affordable add-on at about $5/user/month. For companies with strict compliance requirements, a Microsoft 365 E5 license provides the features you will need and includes Defender P2. On top of its competitive pricing, Defender’s unified management and billing provides labor cost savings.
- Performance: We have found Defender to be equal to or better than our previous favorite, Blackpoint MDR. It is effective at catching and remediating threats, with few false positives or unnecessary alerts.
Our experience with other antivirus solutions
Before we moved to Microsoft Defender, we used a combination of Webroot and Blackpoint MDR. Webroot was our endpoint protection solution, but it was limited in what it could defend against. We became concerned about its ability to handle modern threats around cloud services and credentials.
To compensate for that, we recommended Blackpoint MDR to our managed services clients that needed greater protection. Blackpoint takes care of most configuration for us and support is responsive. While Blackpoint dependably identifies risky login attempts, we find that it produces too many false positives and non-critical alerts.
These tools filled an important gap for us while Defender was not as capable as it is today. With the improvements Microsoft has made, though, we think Defender’s unified approach is superior.
Who should use Microsoft Defender?
We recommend Microsoft Defender for most businesses, especially if you:
- Are already using Microsoft 365: Defender integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365, providing a single pane of glass for managing your security. This can save you time and money, as you don’t have to manage multiple security products.
- Need to meet compliance requirements: Defender can help you meet a variety of compliance requirements, such as FedRAMP, HIPAA, and PCI-DSS.
- Are looking for a cost-effective solution: Defender P2 is already included with the E5 license that compliance-driven organizations will need, and it’s an affordable add-on to the Business Premium licenses we recommend to everyone else.
- Need to secure a variety of devices: Defender can protect a wide range of devices, including desktops, laptops, mobile devices, and servers. It supports Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.
- Want to automate your security: Defender automates many security tasks, such as threat detection, investigation, and response. This frees up IT staff to focus on other tasks.
What If I Don’t Use Microsoft 365?
If you don’t use Microsoft 365, or if you’re looking for a solution with a different set of features, you might consider Bitdefender or Sophos. These aren’t applications we have extensive experience with, but they are well regarded.
Bitdefender
Bitdefender is a popular antivirus solution that offers excellent protection against a wide range of threats. It’s also very user-friendly, making it a good choice for businesses with limited IT resources.
Sophos
Sophos is a good choice for businesses that need a solution that is easy to use and manage. It offers features like advanced threat detection, endpoint detection and response, and web filtering and application control, that can help you improve your overall security posture.
What If I use Microsoft 365 but don’t want to pay extra for Defender?
If you use Microsoft 365 but don’t want to pay extra for Defender, you can still use the basic version of Defender that comes with Microsoft 365 Business Premium. This version of Defender doesn’t have all of the features of the paid version, but it still offers decent protection against threats. In particular, you’ll miss out on 24/7 automatic investigation and remediation of threats, something that we think is essential today.
Next Steps
Antivirus is only one tool for keeping your systems safe. Along with keeping your antivirus updated, it’s important to regularly update your operating system, limit the ability of users to make system changes with their primary account, and avoid opening links and attachments from untrusted sources. In case your malware prevention fails, it’s good to have a strong backup and recovery plan in place in case your systems are ever infected with malware.
When you have the right people working together, you can implement systems and processes that actively help you reach your business goals. We sometimes call this IT maturity. But for many organizations, something is off when it comes to their partnerships, strategy, systems, and settings. How can you know what’s working well and where you have room for improvement? Start by taking our free IT Maturity Self-Assessment. You’ll walk away with some pointers and, if you want, a free appointment to discuss your results.
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