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reviewer1473762 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head Of Information Technology at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Dec 17, 2020
Integrates very well with all Windows workstations, works very well, and has good stability and scalability
Pros and Cons
  • "It integrates very well with all Windows workstations or other Microsoft Endpoint products. It also works quite well. So far, I have not had any issue that hasn't been sorted out. It doesn't use too many resources, so you don't have to install different things."
  • "Its price could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We replaced our antivirus with Microsoft Defender, and we are implementing three products. We have Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, which is deployed on all our endpoints. We also have Microsoft Defender for Office, which works very well to protect Office documents. 

We are using this solution for MDM and MAM for the endpoints. We are using its latest version.

What is most valuable?

It integrates very well with all Windows workstations or other Microsoft Endpoint products. It also works quite well. So far, I have not had any issue that hasn't been sorted out. 

It doesn't use too many resources, so you don't have to install different things.

What needs improvement?

Its price could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using it for three months. 

Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
January 2026
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable for Windows. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It has very good scalability. We have 151 users.

How are customer service and support?

I have not directly interacted with them. My colleagues have interacted with them.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using another solution that was number three in the market according to Gartner 2019.

How was the initial setup?

There wasn't really much that we had to do because we have Intune, so it was very easy to deploy. We used the Control Panel, and it was deployed on the rest of the machines. What took longer was the onboarding of the machines to Intune, but once they were there, they were all protected. We, of course, had to remove the old antivirus.

What about the implementation team?

We used a partner. We had two people for this.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is within the same range as other products. It is not too expensive, and it is also not cheap. Its price can be better, but, well, it is Microsoft.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others. I have a lot of good things to say about it. We are still navigating through it, and it has been working very well. We will absolutely keep on using it. 

I would rate Microsoft Defender for Endpoint an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1464093 - PeerSpot reviewer
Co-Founder at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Real User
Dec 6, 2020
Stable, easy to use, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "It is stable and very easy to use."
  • "It can be more secure."

What is our primary use case?

It is installed on my personal computer. I use it to protect my personal computer.

What is most valuable?

It is stable and very easy to use.

What needs improvement?

It can be more secure.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for more than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

I didn't use their technical support.

How was the initial setup?

It came with Microsoft Windows.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I got it with the Microsoft Windows license.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others. It is very easy to use.

I would rate Microsoft Defender Antivirus an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
January 2026
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2026.
881,114 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1432815 - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Director at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Dec 2, 2020
Quite effective for preventing virus infections, data leak, or other security breaches
Pros and Cons
  • "I am using it for very simple purposes. It is perfect and quite effective. I have been using it for a while, and I have never had any virus infection, data leak, or other security breaches. It works fine for standalone purposes. If you log on to OneDrive, it has ransomware protection."
  • "Windows Firewall is integrated with Windows Defender. Over the last few days, I have had a problem with defining a wildcard on Windows Firewall. For example, I wanted to pull out the connection of my program and install a software package with a lot of executable files. I wanted to prevent it from accessing the internet. I could not select executables by using a wildcard. I had to select a single executable with its full name."

What is our primary use case?

Windows Security Essentials is available on Windows 7 and Windows 10. I'm using Windows Defender, and the agent is deployed on-premises on my laptop. I don't know if it has some background cloud services.

I use it for flash memories, portable memories, real-time scanning, threat protection, and capturing the data downloaded from the internet.

What is most valuable?

I am using it for very simple purposes. It is perfect and quite effective. I have been using it for a while, and I have never had any virus infection, data leak, or other security breaches.

It works fine for standalone purposes. If you log on to OneDrive, it has ransomware protection.

What needs improvement?

Windows Firewall is integrated with Windows Defender. Over the last few days, I have had a problem with defining a wildcard on Windows Firewall. For example, I wanted to pull out the connection of my program and install a software package with a lot of executable files. I wanted to prevent it from accessing the internet. I could not select executables by using a wildcard. I had to select a single executable with its full name.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for five years or more. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I don't know about scalability because I have always used it on a single laptop, but I'm sure that there are business options, and you can use it on Windows 7 computers. It must be very scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

I live in Iran, and there is no product support in Iran. If there is a technical issue, I prefer to use online information and resources, such as forums and Wiki pages, to resolve the issue. 

How was the initial setup?

It is very easy to install. It is preinstalled when you install Windows. If you install other antiviruses, you have to deactivate it in order to use third-party products.

What other advice do I have?

Microsoft has started to integrate the interface with new Windows 10 settings. Previously, there was a lack of information. Users weren't aware of the status of the product in terms of what it was doing on your computer and whether it was actually protecting you or not. In the background, it must have been doing its job, but you couldn't be very well aware of the status of the software. All those issues are now resolved. The information now is very handy, and the user interface is also great. I would recommend this solution to others.

I would rate Microsoft Defender Antivirus a nine 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.
PeerSpot user
it_user1185051 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director, IT at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Real User
Nov 24, 2020
Flexible, well-integrated with Microsoft products, and the security profile it provides is insightful
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features are that it is flexible, and it is integrated with Microsoft products."
  • "I would like to have additional features such as DNS lookup, which would help for detecting malicious sites."

What is our primary use case?

We have this security solution activated on 10 different Windows PCs, and we have it for Office 365 products as well.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are that it is flexible, and it is integrated with Microsoft products. That gives us peace of mind.

I like the security center, as well as the full picture of our security profile and insights.

What needs improvement?

I would like to have additional features such as DNS lookup, which would help for detecting malicious sites. This is a key part that I would like to have, and other products already have it implemented.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Windows Defender for approximately five months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Windows Defender is a stable product and we plan to continue using it in the future.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a scalable solution. We have between 120 and 140 users right now.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have not had any problem with the support from Microsoft.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used a different product prior to this one, but I switched because I have a unified security overview of the corporation. The Security Center is key for being able to work everything from one console.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy and the installation for the cloud-deployment took no more than an hour.

What about the implementation team?

We deployed with our in-house team. We have two people, not full-time, who take care of deployment and maintenance. They are engineers.

What other advice do I have?

This is a good product and I can recommend it to others.

I would rate this solution 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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1442253 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at a pharma/biotech company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Nov 9, 2020
Good support and it comes included with the operating system
Pros and Cons
  • "The biggest benefit to Windows Defender is that it is built-in to the operating system by Microsoft."
  • "I would like to see improvements made to how it secures activities on web pages."

What is our primary use case?

Microsoft Windows Defender is used to protect against malware.

What is most valuable?

The biggest benefit to Windows Defender is that it is built-in to the operating system by Microsoft.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see improvements made to how it secures activities on web pages.

Web security in general should be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Windows Defender for three years.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support from Microsoft is good.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1007844 - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
Reseller
Oct 29, 2020
Good management over endpoints but the technical support needs to be improved
Pros and Cons
    • "The scanning is slow when it is working with incoming emails."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are a system integrator and I specialize in practically everything that is security-related. This is a product that we sell as part of Office 365, and rarely as a standalone solution.

    Usually, if we have a customer with Office 365 and they need this type of solution then we increase the subscription to a point where it is included.

    From the user's point of view, this is classic anti-virus software. From a management point of view, this product gives better control over endpoint devices because some processes can be stopped remotely. If you have a person that is watching over the system then they have a higher level of control over endpoints.

    What is most valuable?

    This is a cloud-based product so it is always updated by the end-user.

    What needs improvement?

    They have to improve the email scanning where email is coming from somewhere other than our private network. The scanning is slow when it is working with incoming emails. Often, I can see the email but the scanning process is not finished and I cannot open the attachment. In general, the scanning has to be faster.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This solution looks stable. Provided that Windows 10 is updated, everything is okay.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I have not been in contact with technical support in regards to this product. However, technical support for Microsoft products is always of bad quality. In my experience, if you cannot find the solution yourself then you will have a huge problem because it is not an easy task to have them understand and support you.

    You can lose a lot of time explaining the problem before you receive something that works.

    My advice to is look for a good support library and try to find the solution yourself. This means that you don't need to contact support.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We have worked with many different security solutions. For example, we are selling a Security Operations Center as a service. We implement EDR, Privileged Access Management, Identity Management, anti-fraud solutions, web application firewalls, database security, and more. We are working with practically everything in cybersecurity.

    We are working with between 10 and 15 different vendors. Sometimes, this is too many, but it is useful to have information about each product, its quality, and how it compares to others. Two products that we are working with now are Cisco AMP and Carbon Black.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    There is a free version of Windows Defender, although the paid version has EDR functionality. We sell this product as part of Office 365 and it is not expensive.

    What other advice do I have?

    I have never touched this product. I'm just selling it, and I don't recommend it to anybody as a standalone solution.

    I would rate this solution a five out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud

    If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

    Microsoft Azure
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1238874 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Network Administrator at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
    Reseller
    Oct 24, 2020
    Easy to use, comes included with windows, and it's a good way to secure your PC
    Pros and Cons
    • "This software is easy to use."
    • "It could be easier when it comes to managing exceptions."

    What is most valuable?

    I like that this product comes included with Windows.

    This software is easy to use.

    What needs improvement?

    It could be easier when it comes to managing exceptions.

    In the future, I would like to see better integration with web browsers.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Windows Defender for three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Windows Defender is very stable. We have not experienced bugs or glitches at a rate higher or lower than other software.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability is good. Most of the people in the company use it, for a total of about 30 users.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have not needed to contact technical support.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Microsoft Windows Defender was the first solution of this type that we used. However, we also use the Sophos EPP Suite for endpoint protection.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    This solution is part of Windows and comes included with it.

    What other advice do I have?

    My advice for anybody who is looking into using this product is that it's a good and easy way to secure your PC.

    I would rate this solution 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.
    PeerSpot user
    Senior IT Manager at a pharma/biotech company with 1-10 employees
    Real User
    Top 10
    Oct 21, 2020
    Good protection against phishing attacks and spam, but seamless integration with EDR is needed
    Pros and Cons
    • "What I like most is the protection against phishing emails and anti-spam."
    • "If they integrate with the EDR then it will benefit this solution."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using Microsoft Defender ATP to prevent anti-phishing, malware transportation, and unwanted spam emails.

    What is most valuable?

    What I like most is the protection against phishing emails and anti-spam.

    What needs improvement?

    The integration of the defense features is something that they are working on but it still needs improvement.

    In the next release, I would like to have additional features integrated with DNS security and DNS resolution. It will add to the solution and work more like a firewall.

    If they integrate with the EDR then it will benefit this solution. 

    I would like ATP to be integrated with the EDR as one single license.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with Microsoft Defender ATP for three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is stable, but it depends on how you configure the existing ATP and what existing features you need to enable it.

    Based on the features that are enabled, it will work perfectly. 60% to 80% will depend on the configuration that is done for the ATP trade products.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Microsoft Defender ATP is scalable at any point of time.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support was good. 

    I would rate technical support a four out of five.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was not easy but not complex. It was somewhere in between.

    There were many things that needed to be integrated with the existing solution, which took some time. It took us a week to deploy this solution.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    When compared with other vendors, the pricing is very high.

    There are several other features that can be integrated with Microsoft Defender ATP such as EDR. But, it doesn't already come integrated with ATP. It's available at an additional cost.

    If you want the EDR feature, you would have to purchase an E-file license. The cost is three times higher to have more productivity with the dashboard.

    What other advice do I have?

    It's a good solution. I would recommend Microsoft Defender ATP to anyone who is interested in using it.

    I would rate Microsoft Defender ATP a seven out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Private Cloud

    If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

    Microsoft Azure
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: January 2026
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.