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Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs ThreatLocker Protect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Defender for Offi...
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
1st
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
Email Security (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (10th)
ThreatLocker Protect
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
8th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (5th), Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (13th), Application Control (4th), ZTNA (8th), Ransomware Protection (6th)
 

Featured Reviews

Luis-Brown - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 8, 2023
Allows for easy reporting of problems, valuable anti-phishing, and anti-malware support
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 lacks proactivity in assisting us with preparing for potential threats before they occur. While they employ a substantial amount of threat intelligence to preemptively prevent incidents, their effectiveness diminishes when it comes to delivering proactive threat intelligence alerts from Microsoft. Their focus primarily revolves around managing the internal environment. On the other hand, my other vendor, Check Point, along with my membership in MS-ISAC, supplements me with this type of information. The phishing and spam filters could use some improvement. It is adequate, but it doesn't match the quality of Proofpoint or Mimecast. However, it comes close in effectiveness. Plus, if we're obtaining it for free, investing in the other products seems impractical.
Roy Richardson - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 28, 2023
Integration is simple, deployment is straightforward, and extensive well-written documentation is available online
We use ThreatLocker's Allowlisting to whitelist specific applications and prevent unauthorized software from running. We utilize Ringfencing to establish guardrails around implementations, ensuring that applications operate within defined boundaries. We leverage network access control to granularly control interactions between computer systems and servers. This enables us to restrict communication between specific applications, even within a locked-down environment. We employ storage control to impose additional security measures on data storage. This includes controlling access to network shares, network files, and folders, as well as USB storage devices. We can whitelist specific devices based on their serial numbers or allow access based on predefined conditions. We rely on ThreatLocker's Cyber Hero support, which provides exceptional assistance and responsiveness. At any time, we can initiate a chat session and receive immediate support. If the issue requires escalation, it is promptly handled. Cyber Hero support also plays a crucial role in vetting application updates. When a user attempts to install or update an application, and the update has not been approved from a security standpoint, it is blocked by ThreatLocker. A notification is presented to the user, informing them of the block and providing an option to justify the application's need. These requests are then reviewed by ThreatLocker's Cyber Hero support team, who evaluate them against our security criteria and make an informed decision to allow or deny the application. We utilize ThreatLocker's elevated control feature for applications that require administrator-level access. We avoid granting full administrative privileges to end users, as this elevates the risk of compromise if the device is infiltrated. Instead, elevated control allows us to precisely define the execution conditions for specific applications, such as QuickBooks updates. By verifying the application's signature and certificate, we can enable the update to run with administrative privileges while restricting the user's overall administrative access. Integrating ThreatLocker with other products is simple and only requires a few clicks. ThreatLocker's deployment is also very straightforward. The company provides extensive and well-written online documentation, which is continuously being improved. They also offer a variety of training resources, including university courses, training videos, webinars, and conferences. I have no complaints about the level of support and knowledge transfer provided by the company. ThreatLocker is also developing a new reporting tool, which I had the opportunity to beta test. The company has also been showcasing the new reporting tool at conferences. The new reporting tool provides a level of detail that is unmatched by any other product on the market.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is straightforward. You just add the license, click it, and then you can set up the rules. It is quite simple."
"The email protection is excellent, especially in terms of anti-phishing policies."
"We use Microsoft Defender for its ability to integrate with existing business technologies, which is beneficial for protecting business areas."
"One of the best features of the tool is its capability to aggregate insights from different workloads, basically from the Office 365 and endpoints part."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365's most valuable features are safe attachments and safe links."
"The basic features are okay and I'm satisfied with the Defender."
"The product's scalability is good."
"Defender helps us prioritize threats across our organization."
"While it can be frustrating at times, we appreciate the low-level security provided by the application whitelist."
"The sandbox functionality is fantastic."
"The biggest improvement has been knowing that something unauthorized isn't going to get installed on anyone’s machines."
"The most valuable feature is probably the ability to block programs from running. ThreatLocker has some built-in features that make it super easy. You can also contact their support within the program. If you're having issues, you can click on that button and connect with someone in five to 10 seconds."
"Allowlisting, in general, is valuable because it allows us to have a lot more granular control over what is executed on a desktop. We are also able to ringfence known vectors of attack through Office applications, email, browsers, etc."
"Application control, ring-fencing, and storage control are the most important features, followed closely by elevation."
"The most valuable feature is selective elevation, which allows elevating an individual process to admin privilege without granting admin privilege to that user, which has been by far the most useful feature outside of the overall solution itself."
"ThreatLocker provides visibility into user activity and application usage, empowering organizations to define acceptable applications and web browsers."
 

Cons

"The product must provide better malware detection."
"I'd like some additional features any product can give me to protect our environment in a better way."
"The UI needs to be more user-friendly."
"The company should focus on adding threats that the solution is currently unable to detect."
"You should be able to deploy Defender for every subscription without the need to add servers."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 must improve the overall management style, including the GUI. It also needs to change the filters so that it is easy to whitelist and blacklist data."
"Too many false positives and lacks an accurate capability to detect malicious SharePoint sites."
"We are always looking for others tools to increase automation on tasks. There can be better integration with other solutions, such as PowerPoint and email."
"ThreatLocker Allowlisting needs to improve its user interface and overall workflow."
"There are some times when applications get submitted, the hashes don't really line up."
"We identified several areas that we would like to see improved."
"It would be beneficial to have a tighter integration into PSA systems so that approvals can be done directly without having to leave the PSA."
"From a reporting perspective, enhancing the ability to customize reports would be beneficial."
"A valuable addition to ThreatLocker would be a column in the audit page displaying a VirusTotal score for each file."
"One area I see for improvement is in the visibility of support tickets within the ThreatLocker ticketing system."
"Something we have come up against a couple of times is that we have two clients that are software developers. They create software that doesn't have digital signatures and that's not easy to categorize or whitelist with ThreatLocker. We have to go in and make custom rules to allow them to do their work and to be protected from malicious threats."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Compared to other brands, Microsoft Defender for Office 365's pricing is competitive."
"I know that the product is incredibly expensive."
"I was working in the government and it was too expensive for us to use our Microsoft products."
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
"The solution could be better by simplifying the business model of their licensing. It was hard to figure out how to get the licensing done for the environment, initially."
"It is much more expensive than using another solution because we have had to include some options and upgrade our license."
"It's a user-base subscription."
"While Microsoft Defender for Office 365 necessitates pricier E3 or E5 subscriptions, the extensive functionality offered by these licenses across various Microsoft products justifies the investment."
"The price of ThreatLocker Allowlisting is reasonable in the market, but it is not fantastic."
"I believe ThreatLocker's pricing model is fair and flexible, allowing account managers to offer customized deals based on our specific needs."
"The pricing works fine for me. It's very reasonably priced."
"I find ThreatLocker's pricing to be reasonable for the services it provides."
"The pricing is fair and there is no hard sell."
"Considering what this product does, ThreatLocker is very well-priced, if not too nicely priced for the customer."
"I can't complain. Cheaper would always be nice, but I think it's reasonable compared to other software in the cybersecurity market."
"The price is very reasonable, and we have been able to integrate ThreatLocker with all of our clients."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
37%
Retailer
7%
Government
5%
Financial Services Firm
5%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of various email campaigns, pinpointing where they emanate from, and identifying the indi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
The pricing is reasonable since it comes integrated with our Office 365 license.
What needs improvement with Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
Sometimes, phishing emails manage to pass through the filter, so the system needs to enhance its phishing email detection capabilities. We also need alerting features for abnormal actions like unus...
What do you like most about ThreatLocker Allowlisting?
The interface is clean and well-organized, making it simple to navigate and find what we need.
What needs improvement with ThreatLocker Allowlisting?
I'm not sure if I'm using it wrong; however, I find that I have to babysit it too much. I've found that if a user opens a file from another location, it might trigger an approval process. The same ...
 

Also Known As

MS Defender for Office 365
ThreatLocker Allowlisting, ThreatLocker Network Control, ThreatLocker Ringfencing
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
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Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Office 365 vs. ThreatLocker Protect and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.