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

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Helped 831,997 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 January 2025, in the Anti-Malware Tools category, the mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 19.5%, down from 23.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VirusTotal is 6.8%, down from 7.8% 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

"It depends on the licensing. Most of the customers have got at least a 365 E3 license, and they can use most of the features of Windows 10 Defender. So, anyone who has got an enterprise license can start using those features. Some of the customers have got E5 licenses, and they can use all advanced features. Customers with E5 licenses use the advanced site protection (ATP) features and web content filtering without going via a proxy, which gives the benefit of replacing the proxy. They can get the benefit of MCAS and integration with Intune and the endpoint manager. It is a kind of single platform for all 365 technologies. It helps customers in managing everything through a unified portal."

"It's not really visible for the user - which is a benefit."

"A few years ago, when I was using a different product, I was affected by a virus that destroyed everything. Since using Microsoft Defender, I have not had this kind of problem."

"We have just started to implement it. It is useful for protection from malware and ransomware."

"Defender for Endpoint has one dashboard with security-related information, vulnerability-related information, and basic recommendations from Microsoft, all in different tabs. That's helpful because if we want to fix only the recommended ones, we can go fix all of them..."

"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 does not make Windows slow, as compared to all of the third part antiviruses."

"Defender is stable, I haven't had any problems with viruses when using it, and it's easy to update."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pros

"It is quite simple for anyone if they just want to check some suspicious URLs."

"It allows us to see if there have been previous reports on certain indicators of compromise, providing insights from other security professionals."

"The initial setup is easy."

"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."

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

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

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

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

More VirusTotal pros

Cons

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could improve by providing more user-friendly dashboards. They may be complicated for some."

"The deployment of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Windows 10 is not quite so straightforward. This could be made easier."

"Right now, the solution provides some recommendations on the dashboard but we don't have any priorities. It's a mix of all the vulnerabilities and all the security recommendations. I would like to see some priority or categorization of high, medium, and low so that we can fix the high ones first."

"It needs to improve the cybersecurity for lateral movements. For example, when a hacker tries to enter a machine, they try to get the password by doing a lateral movement."

"The onboarding and deployment could be more user-friendly, and there is room to grow in some of the reports. I don't want them to be oversimplified or overly complex, but there is room for improvement in the reporting it can do. It's relatively minor."

"A concern is ransomware, whether people can penetrate and encrypt my data or steal my credit card/banking information."

"The solution could be even more secure and provide an even higher level of security."

"We would like more customization."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint cons

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

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

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

"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."

"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."

"There should be room for improvement, particularly in the API side of things."

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

More VirusTotal cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license cost is around $35 per machine, which is not expensive compared to other products."

"If you don't purchase the advanced threat protection then there is no additional charge."

"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 product is free of charge and comes integrated into Windows."

"The solution is free."

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

"The cost is high, compared to other products in the market, if you look at it as a separate product. If you look at the cost where it is part of a bundle, the cost is okay."

"For me, the pricing is very good, but for management it's very expensive. Other solutions are less expensive. But when I present all the information and all the reports they say, "Well, it's expensive, but the cost-benefit is very good.""

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pricing and cost advice

"VirusTotal is an expensive solution."

"The pricing is very economical."

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

"The pricing is reasonable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

27%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

10%

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

Compared 8% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 5% of the time

Microsoft Intune 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

Trellix Endpoint Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 4% of the time

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Competitors

MetaDefender vs VirusTotal

Compared 13% of the time

ANY.RUN vs VirusTotal

Compared 12% of the time

Cuckoo Sandbox vs VirusTotal

Compared 11% of the time

Recorded Future vs VirusTotal

Compared 7% of the time

ReversingLabs vs VirusTotal

Compared 6% of the time

More VirusTotal Competitors

Product Reports

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Download Microsoft Defender for Endpoint product report

Anti-Malware Tools

Download VirusTotal product report

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

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. VirusTotal