Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can be used for protecting personal information and file in my organization.
IT Engineer at a real estate/law firm with 201-500 employees
Effortless updating, full operating system integration, and secure
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is beneficial because we are using Microsoft Windows and all the core solutions are made by Microsoft, such as the authentic platform, operating system, and antivirus protection. It is a heterogeneous environment. We had to use third-party solutions before and update everything separately. For example, the policy for antivirus. With Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, when Microsoft Windows receives updates it will update with it. This is one main advantage of this solution."
- "Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can improve by making the reporting faster. It takes some time to reflect back to the administration portal of what has been updated. For example, out of 100 Computers, approximately 90 computers received updates, but when you check the administration portal over one or two days, you will only see 75, even though 90 were updated."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
The solution has saved us time by not having to install separate third-party antivirus solutions.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is beneficial because we are using Microsoft Windows and all the core solutions are made by Microsoft, such as the authentic platform, operating system, and antivirus protection. It is a heterogeneous environment. We had to use third-party solutions before and update everything separately. For example, the policy for antivirus. With Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, when Microsoft Windows receives updates it will update with it. This is one main advantage of this solution.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can improve by making the reporting faster. It takes some time to reflect back to the administration portal of what has been updated. For example, out of 100 Computers, approximately 90 computers received updates, but when you check the administration portal over one or two days, you will only see 75, even though 90 were updated.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
June 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2026.
900,838 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has been scalable.
We have more than 200 users using this solution in my organization.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously we used McAfee and Symantec Endpoint. Every five years we change the solution. However, this time we changed to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint because we wanted a unified platform.
How was the initial setup?
When you install Microsoft Windows 10, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comes with it. There is no installation of the solution other than installing Windows 10. It saves time because you do not have to use any new kind of policy or deployment.
What about the implementation team?
We have a team of three that do the management of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution comes free with Microsoft Windows 10.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Defender for Endpoint a ten out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Good alert chaining and tool compatibility for endpoints with helpful heuristic capabilities
Pros and Cons
- "We are able to productively integrate with existing on-prem, hybrid, or cloud applications."
- "The solution comes with SIEM-ingestion-ready features for extensive visibility, automation, and integration, including advanced hunting, threats and vulnerability management, embedded simulation for end-to-end testing, ransomware prevention (Controlled Folder Access), and Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules."
- "Features like device inventory continue to lack essential workstation drill-downs showing the entire device information with the least effort."
- "Service Requests. Noncritical cases with MDE technical support teams tend to be queued for over a week before the first customer engagement."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily used the solution as Endpoint Detection and protection (EDR, EPP) with secondary benefits of threats and vulnerability management, security incident response, automated query and real-time device monitoring, and with the capability of email security, identity management (DFI), and task automation (Power automate). We used respective licenses where required.
The solution was also used for an endpoint antivirus for workstations in a multi-OS environment, including Windows and Mac OS. We had file, device, and user trajectory monitoring for the security operations team.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution benefited the company via:
- OS-level/Tool compatibility for endpoints running Windows (since both are Microsoft products and Defender core files are included in Win10 or later delivery).
- Heuristic capability. Consistent usage of MDE indicates that the tools are continuously learning new prevention techniques by pulling real-time up-to-date cloud resources.
- Alert chaining. The solution makes security Incidents, events, and alerts less tedious from a Security Operation Center standpoint. This can result in false negatives or detriment for small to medium-scale firms running no or semi-automated threat response features.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable aspects of the solution include:
- Advanced hunting. The product offers flexibility, visibility, and automation capability using a user-friendly query language (KQL).
- Reporting. Clear and concisely plotted graphics show real-time data representation - which is valuable to upper management.
- Scalability/API. We are able to productively integrate with existing on-prem, hybrid, or cloud applications.
- Great OOB features. The solution comes with SIEM-ingestion-ready features for extensive visibility, automation, and integration, including advanced hunting, threats and vulnerability management, embedded simulation for end-to-end testing, ransomware prevention (Controlled Folder Access), and Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) rules.
What needs improvement?
Improvements could be made via:
- Clicks. There's a poor user experience with lots of optimizable opportunities of user interface particularly on the newly improved portal (https://security.microsoft.com/). Features like device inventory continue to lack essential workstation drill-downs showing the entire device information with the least effort.
- De-centralized console features. Discrepancies with enabling core features at the click of a button within the MDE portal is mostly due to prerequisites that are tied to the functionality or partial enforcement requirements from other Microsoft tools (Group policy, Azure, Sentinel, SCCM, Intune). EDR in block mode requires Intune security baselines and tamper protection requires MAPS enabled. Web content filtering also has security baseline dependencies
- No single pane of glass. There are too many loose ends with tiny bits and pieces to enforce essential security policies compared to other EDR solutions within the same caliber. A typical example is having to create exclusions in different locations for entirely different functionalities, such as: automation folder exclusion, group policy exclusions (per tenant), Controlled Folder Access (ASR) Allowed application, and Attack Surface Reduction (ASR).
- Service Requests. Noncritical cases with MDE technical support teams tend to be queued for over a week before the first customer engagement. Most of these tickets also end up in the hands of temporary or contracted non-Microsoft employees who are scripted and offer little attention to unique incidents.
Suggested additional features that should be included in the next release include:
- Digestible interface/filter for crown-jewel capabilities like ASR, CFA and Exploit mitigation occurrences.
- Restoration of an always visible search bar from the previous console view (https://securitycenter.windows.com).
- A definitive action plan for Secure Score recommendations and deduplicate of controls.
For how long have I used the solution?
We were using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint prior to its change of name from Defender ATP. We experienced a plethora of GA changes including, but not limited to, IOS/multiple OS support, device discovery, web content filtering, API updates, and continuous integrations with existing security tools.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
June 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2026.
900,838 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Cyber Security BA/BSA at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Straightforward to set up with good technical support and good stability
Pros and Cons
- "Technical support is good."
- "The initial setup is not difficult or complex; it's very simple and straightforward."
- "There are likely some technical improvements or features that could be added, however, I cannot say, off the top of my head, what they would be."
What is our primary use case?
Usually, the solution is used in relation to keys management. We implemented a program for it, for the lifecycle of the keys. We've also used it for certificate management.
What is most valuable?
The initial setup is very straightforward.
The stability is very good.
Technical support is good.
The solution is in good condition and offers good functionality.
What needs improvement?
There are likely some technical improvements or features that could be added, however, I cannot say, off the top of my head, what they would be.
For how long have I used the solution?
I used the solution in relation to scoping a project. I was doing business analysis.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution was very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support for Microsoft is very good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not difficult or complex. It's very simple and straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I do not know how much it costs per month. I cannot say how it compares against the rates of the competition.
What other advice do I have?
We are a Microsoft Customer.
I'm not sure if I would recommend the solution to others. It depends on their requirements. It needs to fit a company's use cases.
I would rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Manager of Information Systems at a engineering company with 51-200 employees
Easy to scale, reliable, and extremely easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "We like that it has a free version available."
- "We had absolutely no issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint."
- "The frequency of the patching, and the frequency of the updates, are not included with the free version."
What is our primary use case?
We use it at home on some personal machines at home, and there are a few machines inside of the Enterprise that has it.
We use this solution for general antivirus protection.
What is most valuable?
We like that it has a free version available.
What needs improvement?
The frequency of the patching, and the frequency of the updates, are not included with the free version.
The platform I used in the past would check every hour and deploy every two hours down to the client, every patch that came through.
It was actively looking for updates, the latest threats, which is something that the Microsoft Defender product did not have in the free version.
The Enterprise version that we had, didn't have visibility. If somebody were to uninstall it or turn it off, I'd have trouble seeing that easily. There are tools that I can install, but from a reporting standpoint who has it on and off is included with the Enterprise package that you pay for, or it comes included with Office 365 Enterprise, but not in the free version.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for two and a half years.
We are using the latest version. It is always up-to-date.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We had absolutely no issues with the stability of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. We did not experience any bugs or glitches.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is pretty easy to scale. it was basically one click to agree that you wanted to use it.
How are customer service and technical support?
We did not contact technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we were using another solution and were forced to uninstall it to patch Windows. It was an annoyance to reinstall it.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. It was extremely simple.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are using the free version.
When you are centrally managing it, you can't get there without a much more expensive Microsoft solution to control the rollout and to make sure that it is up-to-date.
We didn't research that, it was a stop-gap measure until we figured out what we're going to do in the long term.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We are looking into a product that gets into the EDR, XDR, the fully managed patching, and everything else, versus just the anti-virus that package includes.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Security Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Makes monitoring a lot easier and minimizes on-prem administration
Pros and Cons
- "DFE organizational security posture has been a positive experience. We're a Microsoft house. It works. Once it's deployed and once it's configured, it works and our clients tend to be happy with it. I haven't really experienced anyone who has been so unsatisfied with the platform that they wanted to go a couple of different directions, that has never happened to me."
- "Monitoring can always be better, onboarding can be a little bit faster, log collection could be easier, they could streamline the dashboard. They could maybe split it up into different workspaces and have the ability to segment groups a little bit more."
- "Microsoft has some creative accounting when they promise an SLA of 99.99%. But it is generally good."
What is our primary use case?
The area that I focus on the most is Endpoint Protection. We use Intune to build custom devices and configurations, to push out group policies, and do quite a bit with Azure Log Analytics.
I'm writing a script from a multi-home deployment of the MMA Agent. The use case varies a lot, depending on the clients' needs. Our clients tend to be pretty big companies. The smallest client I have is about 600 people. Our biggest client is about 50,000.
How has it helped my organization?
DFE organizational security posture has been a positive experience. We're a Microsoft house. It works. Once it's deployed and once it's configured, it works and our clients tend to be happy with it. I haven't really experienced anyone who has been so unsatisfied with the platform that they wanted to go a couple of different directions, that has never happened to me.
What is most valuable?
It's Microsoft native. Microsoft is the corporate default, so it makes sense to use security platforms that are baked into the Microsoft platform. That's probably the most valuable aspect of it.
It has specific features that improve our customer's security posture. It makes the monitoring a lot easier and minimizes on-prem administration. A lot of the administrative stuff is all folded into Azure. It makes things easier.
The platform just makes things easier compared to on-prem or hybrid solutions because if you start working in an on-prem solution, most of the time it's going to be a battlefield.
DFE affects the end-user experience when it's deployed. The more freedom a user has on the device, the more they're used to doing things their own way. By locking things down, by having device configurations, you disrupt the workflow. You need a lot of user education where you have to explain why you're doing these things. I'm a part of security. It's twofold, in that users have to get used to the new configurations. And the reason why we might take a little bit longer with pilot phases is that we have to identify how it'll affect the users and how the differences of different business units will be affected. Developers need a more open environment than other solutions.
What needs improvement?
Everything can always be improved. Improvements would depend on the client.
Monitoring can always be better, onboarding can be a little bit faster, log collection could be easier, they could streamline the dashboard. They could maybe split it up into different workspaces and have the ability to segment groups a little bit more.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on and off for about three or four years.
It's only the last two and a half years that it's been a big part of my job.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft has some creative accounting when they promise an SLA of 99.99%. But it is generally good. There's always going to be a problem with the cloud. If it works 99% of the time, that's great.
The frustrating thing is, you're not sure if there's a problem with your configuration or if the service itself is down because Microsoft tends to only report that the service is down much later than when you started experiencing things. So sometimes I have to jump onto a private forum or a Slack channel and ask other consultants if they experienced something similar. But when it works, it works. There's never going to be a cloud solution that has 100% uptime.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is fine. I mainly work with implementation, so I haven't really had to mess around with the scalability. I'm responsible for setting up security policies, and then if they want to do scalability, that's another team. I sit in security.
How are customer service and technical support?
I haven't worked with support. I generally don't use Microsoft Support.
We were Microsoft partners last year. We're gold partners where we won security partners of the year, so we have an account manager. If it really hits the fan, then I would just talk to him.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've been an IaaS specialist since I began my career. I've done Apple MDM solutions and I've done Google Workspace, but when it comes to actual IaaS, I can't really compare. Because we're a Microsoft house, we generally don't use third parties or competitors.
How was the initial setup?
The complexity of the setup depends on the environment. If it's Greenfield, it's super easy. I've been doing this for two to three years now. Most of the time it's easy. The larger companies have more complex networks and systems. The smaller the company, the easier it is to deploy.
The beginning of the project, like scoping, implementation, the entire process, or just the actual deployment depends on the size of the company. For smaller companies, we'll push some policies out. We'll do a week or two of a pilot phase where we identify different stakeholders and different business units. We collect feedback from them, keep an eye out on the audit logs and if that goes well, then we go into phase two, which takes another week or two where we slowly push out, if it's an accounting department with 60 people, then we'll do batches of 20. We'll have a pilot group of five and then we'll push it out to 20 people at a time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The project managers worry about the licenses. I get my scope, I know the limitations I have to work with, and then I just make a solution based on that. I'm a very technical consultant and I don't really care about licenses, that doesn't really have anything to do with me.
What other advice do I have?
My advice would be to start small, don't start a project thinking that it's the best solution, and bowl it out straight away. Take your time. Don't think that you'll be able to incorporate the platform within a month, although that would depend on the size of your business. Take your time, there's no rush, be patient. Because there will always be some problems.
I would rate it an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Senior System Administrator at Debre Markos University
Easy to use interface, user-friendly, and stable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has an easy-to-use interface, is always updated, and is user-friendly."
- "The solution could improve by providing more integration."
What is our primary use case?
I use Microsoft Defender for Endpoint protection on my personal computer.
What is most valuable?
The solution has an easy-to-use interface, is always updated, and is user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by providing more integration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable and secure.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found the scalability quite good.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is simple.
What about the implementation team?
I did the implementation of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is free and comes with Windows.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Microsoft Defender for Endpoint a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Works at Systex Software
It comes preloaded with Windows 10. It does not have a central console.
Pros and Cons
- "Microsoft Defender can block some viruses or malware, so it can protect my files, and it can save files on Office 365 OneDrive, where I use encryption for some files and can then recover them from OneDrive."
- "The central console needs improvement. Both McAfee and Symantec antivirus have dashboards. These integrate with a server and work on my antivirus or some other product. However, with Microsoft Defender, you use Microsoft Group Policy Object. Defender does not provide a central console. Therefore, if you implement Defender, then maybe use another tool for the central view."
- "The central console needs improvement."
What is our primary use case?
I am a Taiwan sole company reseller. We sell commercial software to enterprise customers.
I use the Microsoft Defender for scanning the antivirus or some hacker tools.
How has it helped my organization?
We sell the Microsoft solution for enterprise customers. We recommend to customers that they can use Microsoft Defender Antivirus.
What is most valuable?
Microsoft Defender can block some viruses or malware. So, it can protect my files. It can save files on Office 365 OneDrive. I use encryption for some files, then I can recover them from OneDrive.
What needs improvement?
The central console needs improvement. Both McAfee and Symantec antivirus have dashboards. These integrate with a server and work on my antivirus or some other product. However, with Microsoft Defender, you use Microsoft Group Policy Object. Defender does not provide a central console. Therefore, if you implement Defender, then maybe use another tool for the central view.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Defender Antivirus for more than two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In general, Defender Antivirus can work with my operating system. So, its performance is okay.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Defender can integrate with other Office 365 security products.
How are customer service and technical support?
We just search for knowledge from Google.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
My company deploys Symantec antivirus. However, when we buy a laptop, it includes Windows 10, which has Defender antivirus installed. Therefore, we use both antivirus software, Symantec and Defender.
How was the initial setup?
We did not deploy Microsoft Defender Antivirus. It simply came preloaded with Windows 10.
I would recommend using Group Policy Object to deploy this solution and enable some functions.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You just pay Windows 10 prices, then you have antivirus software. As a price comparison, Defender's costs are very low.
What other advice do I have?
We sell the Microsoft 365 solution to customers. If a customer wants Windows 10 Defender, they can choose Defender ATP in Office 365.
I would rate this solution as a five or six out of 10.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
Managing Director at FORESEC
Fair price and useful for protection, but should have the ability to recover data from the last normal copy
Pros and Cons
- "We have just started to implement it, and it is useful for protection from malware and ransomware."
- "Auto recovery is the most important feature that we would need from this solution. For decryption, similar to Malwarebytes, there should be something to be able to recover the data up to the last normal status. Its ability to recover data to the last normal copy must not exceed 5 to 10 minutes."
- "Their support could be faster through the phone. The support through chat is very unuseful; it takes a lot of time and effort and does not help in any way."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for protection. We had a request from one of our customers, and we just started to implement it. We don't have any great idea about it. We are in the process of implementing it for the first time.
We are using its latest version. It is on-prem. The problem with going for a cloud version is that most of our customers prefer to work with on-prem solutions. So, we need all the features to be available on-prem as well as on the cloud.
What is most valuable?
We have just started to implement it. It is useful for protection from malware and ransomware. We are not exactly sure about zero-day, but we are trying to see if it will be effective for everyday antivirus purposes.
What needs improvement?
Auto recovery is the most important feature that we would need from this solution. For decryption, similar to Malwarebytes, there should be something to be able to recover the data up to the last normal status. Its ability to recover data to the last normal copy must not exceed 5 to 10 minutes.
For how long have I used the solution?
We just started to use it.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We need to test its functionality in heavy environments.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their support could be faster through the phone. The support through chat is very unuseful. It takes a lot of time and effort and but does not help in any way. We provide the first line of support to customers, so it is not a big issue for us.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We work on most of the protection products, such as Kaspersky, Malwarebytes. We normally use a lot of them. We had a request from one of our customers, so we started to implement Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
How was the initial setup?
Its initial setup is straightforward. The solution itself doesn't take more than 15 to 20 minutes, but the configuration duration depends on the environment, such as the number of policies, users, etc. It will vary according to the environment in which you are doing the implementation.
What about the implementation team?
We implement it ourselves. Currently, we have only one customer of this solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its price is fair. It has approximately the same price as the other products such as Kaspersky. It is much cheaper than Malwarebytes.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Microsoft Defender for Endpoint a seven out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
IT Manager at SAI Systems
Reduces admin overhead and allows us to define and roll out policies from a central console
Pros and Cons
- "The best part is that it is built into Windows, whether it is a server base or a desktop base, which gives more control over the operating system. Because Defender, the operating system, and the Office solution are by Microsoft, everything is working like hand-in-glove. Its administrative overhead is less because a desktop user has already got some experience of how to handle a Microsoft Defender notification or administer it."
- "This is the best feature of having OneDrive backup on the fly and recovery on the fly."
- "Its user interface (UI) can be improved. Currently, in the console, you have to dig down for certain things. They've got many different layers to get to things instead of having it all on the surface. You have to go three folds lower to get to specific functionality or click a particular option. It would be good if we can manage the console through menus and instead of three clicks, we can do things in one click. They need to change the UI and work on it in terms of a better user experience."
What is our primary use case?
It comes inbuilt with Windows Server and Windows 10, so we are using its latest version. It is deployed centrally on all the platforms, whether it is a virtual environment, a BYOD device, or an office device. It is deployed everywhere.
All of our users are on Office 365. By default, every user is getting Office 365, and we are also incorporating this into data leak prevention. We have also enabled Azure Active Directory, so policies are deployed directly from our active directory.
How has it helped my organization?
It has reduced admin overhead. Because it comes inbuilt with Windows, we don't have to deal with the complication of using a third-party solution. We stopped using Symantec Antivirus three years ago. Previously, we had to find a person who knew how to manage Symantec Antivirus. Now, we don't have that overhead. It is also less taxing on the admins because they don't need to license an extra software every year and then deploy and manage those licenses. Everything is seamlessly managed from a central application.
Our full backup is on OneDrive. We had deployed separate storage area networks to back up important data for off-site users, not on-site users. In the current scenario of work from home, users need to establish a VPN connection to run our backup system. When they are at home, we cannot back up their systems if they don't have good connectivity. We also can't tax their broadband connections. Incorporating OneDrive as a backup solution with Windows Defender and Windows 10 has helped us immensely. We were not prepared for having people working from home because we always worked from the office, and 100% office attendance was required, but due to the pandemic, people moved to their hometowns, and we could no longer manage those systems. It became a headache for us when people used to report that their Windows got corrupted. Because they were working from home and there is a big problem of electricity in India, if electricity is not there, the systems suddenly shut down, and the registry gets corrupted. All these things are difficult to handle when you're at a remote location and you don't have your eyes and hands on that particular location. In such times, Windows Defender became a very big helping hand in managing the recoveries of such systems. The backups managed from OneDrive were very helpful. It has saved hundreds of hours of restoring the system in case something goes wrong. There was an instance where a user opened a spam message, and a ransomware attack was done on that system. Because the backup is managed by OneDrive, within 17 hours, this user's whole laptop was recovered without physically working on that laptop. Because of slow connectivity, it took time, but we were able to recover. This is the best feature of having OneDrive backup on the fly and recovery on the fly. These 17 hours were peanuts as compared to the data that we were able to save. This is the best selling point of having OneDrive as a backup with Windows Defender and Office 365.
What is most valuable?
The best part is that it is built into Windows, whether it is a server base or a desktop base, which gives more control over the operating system. Because Defender, the operating system, and the Office solution are by Microsoft, everything is working like hand-in-glove. Its administrative overhead is less because a desktop user has already got some experience of how to handle a Microsoft Defender notification or administer it. While working on Windows 10, every now and then, users might have seen it popping up, and they know how to do certain things. So, it is not too taxing from an administration point of view where we have to tell users what to do.
Centralizing policies and rolling everything out is done only from one console. We are able to provide restrictions based on what we want to filter, such as certain apps should not run and certain things should run. Because we are also into website development and code development, sometimes, users need to run certain software or their own build application, which is not possible to specify with an antivirus solution. With Defender, we can centrally deploy a policy where certain parts are excluded, and they can run their code in those particular parts. This is a very nice feature where we don't have to micromanage developers' PCs or exceptions.
Data leak prevention is something that our company requires, and it is incorporated in this solution. Because we are using Microsoft OneDrive, and it is easy to take the backup to OneDrive via Microsoft Defender.
It has helped in improving our security posture.
What needs improvement?
Its user interface (UI) can be improved. Currently, in the console, you have to dig down for certain things. They've got many different layers to get to things instead of having it all on the surface. You have to go three folds lower to get to specific functionality or click a particular option. It would be good if we can manage the console through menus and instead of three clicks, we can do things in one click. They need to change the UI and work on it in terms of a better user experience. For example, user management should be in one menu, license management should be in one menu, and backup management should be in one menu. Currently, if you click on a user, you will get some devices there, and some devices will be on the other menu. Its UI is complicated. In terms of functionality, everything is okay. We don't want anything to be changed in it.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is highly stable. We don't even have to look into it to see if it has stopped working, or whether it is doing its job well or not. We have around 500 devices in our organization, and all devices do the regular login with the logs. It is immensely stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Its scalability is immense. There is no device, user, or policy limit. You install a device, and it is automatically configured because the policy is deployed from the centralized policy server or active directory.
We have around 500 devices in our organization, and all devices are using it. We have all kinds of devices such as laptops, desktops, notebooks, surface devices, etc. We also have in-house virtual servers on the AWS cloud and in-house physical servers. We also recommend enabling it for our client servers, and we configure policies for them.
Every person in our organization is using this solution. We have approximately 380 users. Its users include everyone from a new joiner to our management president. Last year, our strength was 260, and this year we have 380 users. We are growing, and by 2022, we should have more than 600 users. We are growing in a very good manner, and a group target is there. We are definitely going to grow.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have been using Microsoft products since the commencement of Windows 95. We have rarely used their support because they make their products in a way that makes them easy to use. Sometimes, there are flaws and issues, and because we are also a Microsoft Partner, we get support on priority. They take a case at the level where they think it will be resolved, and if someone is not able to resolve it, it automatically gets escalated.
We mostly use our in-house support. In the past 20 years, we have used their support twice. When I used their support last time around four to five years ago, they were really very helpful. They were good and very professional. I cannot comment on how their support is now with the current pandemic and people not working from the office.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We were using Symantec Antivirus three years ago. When we were using Symantec Antivirus, users used to report that certain popups are there, and what should they do with them. They used to ask, "Is my system infected?" They used to panic on seeing those pop-ups. Most of them were unnecessary and would say that they need to have admin access or a particular software is trying to open a port. Because we are into development, it is a requirement of a developer to open certain ports and to make that application listen on certain ports. Such requirements were very difficult to configure in Symantec. It was difficult to make it understand that these ports are going to be used by developers, and they are going to be opened, and it is not a virus activity. Sometimes, the temporary folder of users used to get infected, and it used to give hundreds and hundreds of pop-ups. We didn't know how to close all those pop-ups in one go because they were not in a group. Imagine sitting and closing a hundred pop-ups. We had to click the Close button on each and every pop-up.
With Microsoft Defender, we can control notifications. We can tell which notifications should go to the users and which shouldn't go to the users and should be forwarded to the admin central console. In terms of user experience, users are happier with less annoyance of pop-ups that they used to get with Symantec Antivirus. They do not need to know each and everything that is going at the backend. Only the admins need to know certain things, and they should know them. With Microsoft Defender, users don't even get to know that they have an antivirus solution on their system because they never get any irritating pop-ups or notifications or slowness of the system. We configure everything from the backend, and we are managing their systems from one console, which is the biggest plus point of Microsoft Defender.
How was the initial setup?
Its initial setup is very easy. It took us just a couple of hours to deploy it on remote devices.
Our implementation strategy was to deploy group policies and manage the DLP policies from the central console.
What about the implementation team?
We did our own research, and because it was a lockdown, we had resources on our hands. We asked one of our system admins to look into the options and the policies that we need to deploy and what we need to do. He went over it for a month and trained the rest of the team. Within one and a half months, it was fully operational on each device, and my whole team was trained on it.
The whole job of its deployment was done by one person, and for maintenance, we have got a five-person team because we have 380 users across the clock and across the globe.
What was our ROI?
We have very much seen an ROI.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licenses depend upon what you are looking for and what kind of security do you want to implement. There are costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.
When we used to buy Symantec, we used to spend on 100 licenses. We used to spend approximately $2,700 for those many licenses, and they came in packs. To add one more license, I had to buy a pack with a minimum of 10 licenses. I had to spend on nine extra licenses because I can't get a single license, whereas when we go for Microsoft, we can get as many licenses as we want.
If I have 100 users today, and tomorrow, I have 90 users, I can release my 10 licenses next month. With any other software vendor, you buy licenses for one year, and you have to stick with that. If today you have 100 licenses, and tomorrow, you have 50, you have already paid for one year's license. You can't go back and tell them that I don't require these 50 licenses because I have lost my 50 users, but with Microsoft Defender, licensing is on a monthly basis. It gives you both options. You can go yearly and save on it, or you can go monthly. You will, again, save on it. It is very fair everywhere.
What other advice do I have?
My advice is, "Try it, and you will love it." If you go for any other product, you will have to manage everything separately, which becomes an overhead. You will have a separate console, separate licensing, and a separate vendor. You will also get a piece of software that is going to have a layer in between the operating system and your applications, whereas Defender incorporates itself onto the layer where the operating system is sitting. So, you don't tax your resources to manage a product that is already incorporated into all systems. Everybody knows how to use Windows and Defender, so the learning curve is also not there. It is very easy, and it offloads a lot of things such as tech requirements, separate licensing requirements, and separate vendor management.
I am not advising you to go ahead and discard whatever you are using. You should implement it in a test environment and see what your requirements are because the requirements will definitely impact the licensing. If your requirements are met, and then compare the time required to manage Defender versus the current solution that you are using. You should compare how many hours are you putting in managing both solutions with a different skill set. Only after such evaluation, you should deploy it.
The biggest lesson that I have learned from using this solution is to always keep it simple. Don't complicate.
I would rate Microsoft Defender Antivirus a nine out of 10. If they can make the UI more systematic, I can give it a 10 out of 10.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Technical Team Lead at Alepo
Effective firewall capabilities, regular antivirus updates, and it is preinstalled with Windows
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features are the Windows Firewall and the regular virus definition updates. These features are very helpful and have helped to improve our security."
- "We rely on this product for endpoint protection in our organization because we have not subscribed to any antivirus, apart from Microsoft Defender, and it has improved the way our organization functions because there have been no virus attacks to date on our laptops and it has not negatively affected our end-user experience."
- "This solution needs to move beyond relying on virus definitions alone and protect the system using behavioral analysis of the processes that are running."
- "Microsoft Defender protects the computer by using virus definitions that we download through regular updates but nowadays, cybersecurity attacks have become more intelligent."
What is our primary use case?
We use Microsoft Defender Antivirus for antivirus protection as part of our endpoint security solution. It protects our systems against attacks from any virus, malware, or trojan.
How has it helped my organization?
We rely on this product for endpoint protection in our organization because we have not subscribed to any antivirus, apart from Microsoft Defender. It comes for free with our Windows subscription and it has improved the way our organization functions because there have been no virus attacks to date on our laptops.
It has not negatively affected our end-user experience.
What is most valuable?
This solution takes care of most of the infections that are found in the system, and it comes included with Windows. These are the two main advantages of using it.
The most valuable features are the Windows Firewall and the regular virus definition updates. These features are very helpful and have helped to improve our security.
What needs improvement?
Microsoft Defender protects the computer by using virus definitions that we download through regular updates but nowadays, cybersecurity attacks have become more intelligent. This solution needs to move beyond relying on virus definitions alone and protect the system using behavioral analysis of the processes that are running. These can be vulnerable points and if a process causes a glitch in the system, it should be quarantined. Moreover, enhancements of this type should not detract from system performance. There should be no slowdown on the laptop, for example.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Defender Antivirus since I started using Windows 7, more than eight years ago.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, it is good, and it performs very nicely.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is fine. We had more than 300 devices that are being protected.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have never had an opportunity to speak with technical support because everything has always worked very smoothly. As we have experienced no issues at all, we never contacted support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to using Microsoft Defender, we used McAfee and Avast Antivirus.
One of the main reasons that we switched away from McAfee is that it required purchasing a subscription. With Microsoft Defender, it is included with Windows. When we install the operating system, it is already there and we don't have to purchase an additional antivirus product.
For security, aside from a traditional antivirus, we have purchased the SentinelOne Endpoint Security solution. This product is more enhanced when compared to an antivirus product. It is modern and has better threat intelligence than other products. I don't know SentinelOne very well yet, as we have just purchased the subscription, but I know that the difference between products is not based on virus definitions.
SentinelOne has intelligence on the cloud and many other security features including the blocking of domain names, and the blocking of USB drives that users plug into their laptops. Although it has many more features than legacy antivirus software, I have no complaints about the performance of Microsoft Defender.
One of the reasons we are more heavily relying on endpoint security is that everybody is working from home and using the internet for work. This transition was made within the last two or three months. When people were working in the office, the firewall afforded them protection. However, as it is now, the endpoints are more vulnerable to attack. This is why we now rely more heavily on SentinelOne.
How was the initial setup?
Microsoft Defender comes preinstalled with the Windows operating system, so we do not have to deploy it separately.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The subscription is part of Windows, so we don't have to pay anything extra for this product.
What other advice do I have?
This is definitely a product that I recommend people use because first of all, you do not have to pay anything extra to use it. The performance is very smooth and it protects your system, which is very much needed. All in all, I would say that this is a good antivirus solution.
I would rate Microsoft Defender Antivirus an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Updated: June 2026
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