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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pros and cons

Vendor: Microsoft
4.1 out of 5
Badge Ranked 1

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides valuable real-time protection features, including the ability to detect and quarantine malware and ransomware effectively.
Integration with Windows and other Microsoft products is seamless, eliminating the need for extensive configuration.
It offers automatic updates and advanced threat protection features, thereby minimizing the administrative overhead.
Built-in threat intelligence capabilities and automated investigation features reduce the workload on security teams.
Comprehensive analytics and reporting enhance security posture by providing valuable insights into threat management and vulnerability assessments.

CONS

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint could improve its ransomware protection and overall performance to prevent device slowdowns.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has slow update release cycles, which hinders product development.
There is a lack of third-party integrations, making it challenging to work seamlessly with other enterprise tools.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's central management features are lacking, complicating the process of overseeing multiple endpoints.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint requires a more comprehensive approach to cybersecurity, including advanced behavioral analytics.
 

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Pros review quotes

MN
IT Security Analyst at Ingenium Group
Feb 24, 2019
Ensures that I'm working with a product that gets updated regularly without me having to remember to do it. Since it's a Microsoft product, I'm confident that it requires a low use of system resources. The benefit of that being that my computer isn't constantly being drained.
II
COO at Floating-Dot Technology LTD
Jun 27, 2019
It's free. There is no additional cost. It's part of Windows.
Defendwind677 - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate System Engineer - Security Services at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees
Jun 30, 2019
Within its class I think, it has a high and decent detection rate.
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,371 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user964356 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Help Desk at Elsewedy Electric Algerie
Jul 9, 2019
I like the real-time protection features. Windows Defender will detect if there's a threat like a Trojan or something like that but Kaspersky lets it run normally.
InfosecAn677 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Jul 9, 2019
This is a very go, proactive solution to threat protection using advanced analysis.
SG
‎Microsoft Enterprise administrator at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Jul 16, 2019
It's really stable. I've used a lot of stuff, a lot of products, like ESET and Kaspersky. None of them are comparable with this one. This one is much better.
GP
Program Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Sep 8, 2019
Defender is integrated into the operating system. It's integrated with everything. You don't have to spend time analyzing what you have to do to be sure that the integration is okay between the security tool and all the other apps. This, from my point of view, is the main advantage.
JN
Deputy Director at BG Service
Sep 22, 2019
The most valuable features are that it's easy to use and the updates are very simple.
it_user826284 - PeerSpot reviewer
MIS Director at a real estate/law firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Oct 2, 2019
The most valuable feature is that we can use the solution right out of the box without too much configuration.
JM
Navision Consultant and user support at NCPD
Apr 16, 2020
Automatic scanning and cleaning of viruses is the best and most valuable feature helping this tool to thrive. If any viruses are found, they are cleaned automatically.
 

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Cons review quotes

MN
IT Security Analyst at Ingenium Group
Feb 24, 2019
It would be nice to have a paid upgrade that would provide additional screening of the day-to-day activities.
II
COO at Floating-Dot Technology LTD
Jun 27, 2019
Microsoft Windows Defender doesn't have a game mode.
Defendwind677 - PeerSpot reviewer
Associate System Engineer - Security Services at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees
Jun 30, 2019
There's a lot of manual effort involved to configure what we need.
Learn what your peers think about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,371 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user964356 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Help Desk at Elsewedy Electric Algerie
Jul 9, 2019
The system can always be simplified and have a better integration check. More detailed reports would be good. When it does the integrated check, it just shows if the system is okay but I want to know what happened.
InfosecAn677 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Analyst at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Jul 9, 2019
Updates are not coming out of preview quickly enough and it is holding back on the development of the product.
SG
‎Microsoft Enterprise administrator at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Jul 16, 2019
The end-user also cannot do some advanced actions on it. It's a little bit complicated for our end-user, so it needs to be simplified.
GP
Program Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Sep 8, 2019
The solution needs to improve its ransomware. It's not so good. It could also use some general performance optimization for the computers the solution operates on, to ensure it does not slow down the devices.
JN
Deputy Director at BG Service
Sep 22, 2019
I would like to be able to set up any kind of protection I want in the firewall, any IP address or any number.
it_user826284 - PeerSpot reviewer
MIS Director at a real estate/law firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Oct 2, 2019
There's scanning going on that occasionally topples the memory, causing everything to freeze. This should be fixed.
JM
Navision Consultant and user support at NCPD
Apr 16, 2020
With increase of cyber threats and cybersecurity issues, I would recommend that the product be developed like an AI product with more features which can counter any threat in the coming eras.