Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs VirusTotal comparison

Microsoft Defender for Endp...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

VirusTotal and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint are complementary products in the cybersecurity category. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint seems to have the upper hand for enterprise environments due to its comprehensive suite of integrated security solutions.

Features: VirusTotal features an extensive virus scanning engine network, insights from multiple sources including crowdsourced input, and integration with over 70 antivirus scanners. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers integration within Microsoft's ecosystem, advanced threat protection, and automated investigation and remediation capabilities.

Room for Improvement: VirusTotal could improve by adding dedicated customer support, expanding its integration services, and enhancing its threat behavior analysis. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint can enhance its deployment simplicity, reduce the resource impact, and improve its user documentation quality.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: VirusTotal requires minimal setup and is accessible via a web-based platform but lacks dedicated customer support. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint requires a more detailed deployment process typical for enterprise software, providing substantial support for enterprise IT environments.

Pricing and ROI: VirusTotal offers a free base version but incurs additional costs for premium services. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint involves setup and subscription fees as part of Microsoft's subscription services but provides a strong ROI through comprehensive protection and integration, maximizing security investment in enterprise settings.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. VirusTotal Report (Updated: January 2025).

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. VirusTotal

January 2025

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Helped 839,422 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Endp...

Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

190

Ranking in other categories

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) (2nd), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (6th)

VirusTotal

Ranking in Anti-Malware Tools

3rd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Threat Intelligence Platforms (3rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 17.2%, down from 22.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VirusTotal is 5.5%, down from 7.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Anti-Malware Tools

Featured Reviews

AnuragSrivastava

Information Security Engineering Lead at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees

Provides detailed visibility into threats but the ability to add exceptions needs improvement

One major item for improvement is the ability to add exceptions. We can add some exceptions, but not at the level we need to. The second major area for improvement involves enhanced capabilities for different operating systems or platforms. That is, even though we have coverage for different operating systems or platforms such as Linux, we don't get all of the controls and enhanced capabilities that are available with Windows devices. Reporting could also be improved because, at present, we get limited results at times. For example, in an environment with more than 100,000 devices, you may just get 10,000 results when you run a report.

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Chinmay Banerjee

Advisor Adtech/Martech/API product/project Engineering at Fiserv

Helps businesses collect threat data while keeping privacy in mind and apable of detecting, blocking, and removing viruses and malware

There are two gray areas I still need to explore. I have worked with VirusTotal because it easily integrates with over seventy antivirus scanners and blacklisting services. In addition to those there is much scope to improve and add other services or integrations. The areas for improvement are that VirusTotal is not using much AI or generative AI models, while other competitors are starting to build them. For example, VirusTotal's work is based on the setup done by their engineers. If you want to do scanning or protection activities for a specific site, app, or device, that is the area VirusTotal is currently focused on. But other competitors are building AI models that can do things like left-side scanning and provide auto-generated reports. VirusTotal has predefined reports, but there is a lot of manual effort involved. Secondly, the API is very limited if I want to integrate VirusTotal with other applications. They need to build more connectors and provide support for Webhook connectors for the API. If you can't build your own connector, it's always good to have provisions for Webhook setup connectors across platforms. Thirdly, Kaspersky, a competitor of VirusTotal, is using a methodology called "gatekeeper." A gatekeeper is a security system that protects the inside of a building from outside threats. This is the model Kaspersky is currently using. You have your website set up, but the entire army of VirusTotal or Kaspersky is standing guard, protecting you from the first gate itself. Right now, VirusTotal detects threats from your domain, but it is always better to verify inside the domain and protect it from the first level when people or malware are entering. This first level of protection is lacking in VirusTotal right now. The security bridge and protection gate are missing.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is its ability to bring together all the data, providing more information than just antivirus hits."

"We can react to threats faster and stop them from spreading from one machine to another. It protects from suspicious email attachment downloads. It will lock down the SOC and the workstations."

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easy to load and it runs quietly in the background, unlike other solutions."

"The performance of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has been good."

"The most valuable feature is that it comes with the package, so there is no additional installation of third-party software. It's also easy to use."

"We had certain compliance and usage issues. For example, our company wanted to go with CIS, but we didn't have a proper way of measuring whether the endpoints have the right standards in place or whether they were compliant with CIS. Microsoft Defender was like a one-stop for most things because it gave us the vulnerability and patching scores so that our vulnerability management teams can focus on covering up the vulnerabilities and the patching team can check the vulnerable versions and deploy the right versions."

"The integration of Defender, Security Center, and the Microsoft compliance score, is the feature we use most to share the results with our clients and to create a roadmap together."

"It is a very advanced system based on AI. It has a very large database of places or sites on the internet where you should not go. It is continuously online."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pros

"I have never had any problems with stability or bugs while using VirusTotal."

"The product is easy to use with coding, such as Python or Java, via its API."

"With VirusTotal, I can check for any hash, malware, file, domain, IP URL, or malicious URL, and Kaspersky stays clean."

"VirusTotal provides 95% to 98% accurate information."

"The feature I like the most is the ability to see the MD5 or SHA-256 signature of the file, and also the composition of the file according to its segments."

"It gives detailed information about suspicious IPs, which is one of its most valuable features."

"The most valuable feature is the worldwide malware information database."

"It provides detailed insights into possible malicious behavior, dropped files, and TCP connections."

More VirusTotal pros

Cons

"The major area for improvement is the integration with a managed service provider."

"The product development team makes frequent changes that affect the stability of the solution."

"Reporting could be improved. I would like to see how many security incidents occurred in the last six months, how many devices were highly exposed to security risks, and how many devices were actually compromised."

"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."

"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."

"Its price could be better."

"It seems there are challenges associated with IP addresses at times."

"It would be nice to have a paid upgrade that would provide additional screening of the day-to-day activities."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint cons

"They can improve the telemetry. Whenever we handle a sample, they cannot provide any information about a victim."

"VirusTotal is hard to understand because you need to know Google Docs to create queries, and it doesn't have documentation for that."

"I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy."

"There is room for improvement, particularly in making some of the most useful features more accessible in the non-paid version."

"VirusTotal has different versions, and sometimes the parameters of the API are not very clear."

"I would like to see improved correlation with other threat intelligence sources, not just reliant on its own database, to enhance the database of threat intelligence that VirusTotal offers."

"VirusTotal needs better advertisement and promotion, especially in the Middle East, since it is not yet widely recognized or popular in that region."

"I would like to see an improved user interface and some automation."

More VirusTotal cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"There is no license needed, the solution comes with Microsoft Windows."

"I got it with the Microsoft Windows license."

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comes with Windows 10, and it's free. But for you to be able to manage it in the cloud and use the console, you need to have either an Office 365 E5 subscription or a Microsoft M365 subscription. You need to buy an extra license."

"I pay for it through the Windows Professional or Standard license. It is a one-time cost for me, and I use the same license."

"The solution comes as part of Microsoft Windows."

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is more affordable compared to some other endpoint solutions."

"If we are acquiring everything in a single place, the front end becomes cost-effective."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is very economical."

"The pricing is reasonable."

"We are using VirusTotal with free licenses, managing the license limits across three or four accounts, thus incurring no costs."

"VirusTotal is an expensive solution."

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839,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

28%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface, applies behavioral-based endpoint protection and response, and includes risk-ba...

Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?

We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior solution. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security s...

How does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compare with Crowdstrike Falcon?

The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never push your machine hardware to "test", you don't have the usual "scan now" feature ...

What do you like most about VirusTotal?

With VirusTotal, I can check for any hash, malware, file, domain, IP URL, or malicious URL, and Kaspersky stays clean.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VirusTotal?

I do not know about the pricing or licensing as our organization services VirusTotal for our clients.

What needs improvement with VirusTotal?

I would like to see improvements in the score consistency and accuracy. VirusTotal should add more details like those from competitors such as URL Void or Symantec URL Checker, which show the categ...

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Comparisons

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Compared 5% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 5% of the time

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

F-Secure Total vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Competitors

MetaDefender vs VirusTotal

Compared 15% of the time

ANY.RUN vs VirusTotal

Compared 13% of the time

Cuckoo Sandbox vs VirusTotal

Compared 10% of the time

Recorded Future vs VirusTotal

Compared 7% of the time

ReversingLabs vs VirusTotal

Compared 6% of the time

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Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

February 2025

Download Microsoft Defender for Endpoint product report

Download VirusTotal product report

Anti-Malware Tools

January 2025

Also Known As

Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus

No data available

Interactive Demo

Microsoft

Demo not available

Overview

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a comprehensive security solution that provides advanced threat protection for organizations. It offers real-time protection against various types of cyber threats, including malware, viruses, ransomware, and phishing attacks.

With its powerful machine-learning capabilities, it can detect and block sophisticated attacks before they can cause any harm. The solution also includes endpoint detection and response (EDR) capabilities, allowing organizations to quickly investigate and respond to security incidents. It provides detailed insights into the attack timeline, enabling security teams to understand the scope and impact of an incident.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint also offers proactive threat hunting, allowing organizations to proactively search for and identify potential threats within their network. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security solutions, such as Microsoft Defender XDR, to provide a unified and holistic security approach. With its centralized management console, organizations can easily deploy, configure, and monitor the security solution across their entire network.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a robust and scalable security solution that helps organizations protect their endpoints and data from evolving cyber threats.

Microsoft

VirusTotal is an essential tool for gathering malware information, analyzing compromised data, and monitoring malicious campaigns.

VirusTotal enables users to examine malware hashes, create alerts for targeted attacks, and utilize IOCs and YARA rules to detect threats. Its private scanning capabilities ensure discreet file analysis, while the API assesses IP address threats. Widely used in sectors like retail and FinTech, VirusTotal significantly boosts productivity.

What are the most valuable features of VirusTotal?

Worldwide malware information database: Extensive global repository of malware data.
Integration with 70+ antivirus scanners: Collaborates with numerous antivirus and blacklisting services.
API systems for reputation checks: Multiple API systems to verify reputations.
Detecting, blocking, and removing threats: Robust threat mitigation capabilities.
Blocking phishing attempts: Effective in preventing phishing attacks.
Scanning the dark web: Monitors dark web for compromised emails.
Privacy in threat data collection: Ensures privacy while gathering threat data.

What benefits should users look for in VirusTotal reviews?

Enhanced threat detection: Improved accuracy in identifying threats.
Increased productivity: Streamlined processes and faster incident response.
Seamless integration: Compatibility with existing security frameworks.
Comprehensive threat intelligence: Access to extensive threat data.
Privacy assurance: Ensures user data confidentiality.

VirusTotal is highly valued in industries like retail and FinTech, where it assists in examining malware hashes, creating alerts, and utilizing IOCs and YARA rules for advanced threat detection. Despite its valuable features, there is room for improvement in its interface, automation, AI integration, and API connectability, areas where competitors sometimes offer more advanced solutions.

Sample Customers

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health

Information Not Available