We compared ESET PROTECT Enterprise and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint based on our users' reviews in six categories. We reviewed all of the data, and you can find the conclusion below.
Features: ESET PROTECT Enterprise is praised for its performance and intuitive, powerful management interface, with dynamic folders and group capabilities. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint excels in file protection, encryption, and ransomware defense. It integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security products. Users appreciate its user-friendly interface and scalability.
Room for Improvement: ESET PROTECT Enterprise users have suggested that file downloads should be enabled in ESET File Security. They also want more automation and better dashboard reporting. Users say Microsoft Defender for Endpoint should improve its central console and auto-recovery feature. Users also requested better reporting capabilities and integration with third-party platforms.
Ease of Deployment: ESET PROTECT Enterprise is generally considered easy to set up, but some users struggled with proxy configuration. On-prem setups take longer and require additional configuration, but cloud setups are problem-free. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's setup is straightforward. While it can be more complex for larger organizations, it is generally considered simple, particularly for smaller companies or those familiar with Microsoft environments.
Service and Support: Customers have had positive experiences with ESET’s customer service, rating it highly. Microsoft customer service garnered mixed feedback. Some praised the fast response times and expertise of the support engineers, while others were dissatisfied with slow replies and a lack of coordination among the support teams.
Pricing: ESET PROTECT Enterprise offers low licensing costs. Users find its pricing reasonable. Reviewers say Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is fairly priced, noting that it is typically included for free with Windows or Microsoft Office 365 subscriptions. However, some users believe that Microsoft's pricing could be more affordable, and others noted that their licensing models can be complex.
ROI: Users said that ESET PROTECT Enterprise delivered a positive ROI. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint delivers cost savings, enhanced efficiency, and heightened threat management.
Comparison Results: ESET PROTECT Enterprise is an affordable solution that is highly regarded for its impressive performance, resource efficiency, and hassle-free setup. At the same time, users say ESET PROTECT Enterprise could enhance its file downloading capability and automation. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers sophisticated protection against ransomware, easy deployment, and smooth integration with Microsoft solutions. However, Microsoft’s customer support has received middling reviews, and users would like better compatibility with third-party solutions.
"The most valuable feature of ESET Protect is the security while accessing any transaction, such as online banking systems. When I access a banking website a new browser opens which is more secure, which I find very useful."
"The solution provides EDR. You can customize how you prepare the endpoint for clients and the dashboard alerts."
"We can easily manage resources, disable or enable clients and update them."
"The most valuable features of ESET File Security are the performance and it doesn't take too many resources."
"I like the dynamic groups feature. They give the ability to filter endpoint machines by any parameter, software, or hardware inventory, and that's a significant advantage when you need to, for example, automate a secondary firewall profile for endpoints outside your network. Or if you want to automatically isolate the computer from the rest of the network if the ransomware is found."
"The solution doesn't have high memory usage."
"The solution offers a lot of configuration capabilities."
"The solution provides EDR. You can customize how you prepare the endpoint for clients and the dashboard alerts."
"It is already integrated with Windows 10, so you don't need to worry about that."
"There are some competitive products on the market, but the best is Microsoft Defender because it's very easy to integrate. That's one reason a lot of clients want Microsoft Defender. It's also very easy to implement compared to other solutions."
"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."
"The solution's threat protection is mostly AI and machine-learning based. That is the most important feature of the product. It also offers centralized management so I can remotely manage devices."
"It's free. There is no additional cost. It's part of Windows."
"The fact that it's from Microsoft, you don't have many false positives, unlike products from other vendors might have."
"The features I have found most valuable are the ransomware and malware protection. The solution detects malware live and whenever it detects suspicious activity, it quarantines it."
"Provides good security features and you can view it in the central console."
"In terms of management accounts, there's a lot of manuals that seem to be mixed up. Sometimes, it's a little bit confusing."
"ESET Protect could improve the performance. The performance of the home computers and laptops becomes slow due to their heavy software load. It would be a benefit to make a lighter version of the software which does not have any impact on the performance of the computer's hardware."
"In the current version of ESET File Security, you cannot download a file, it always wants the real-time upload which you have to wait until the file is ready. This is annoying. In previous versions, you were able to use the downloaded engine."
"Its automation can be improved."
"Sometimes, the connection to the machine requires troubleshooting."
"The tool is complex and expensive."
"I would like to see more in managing mobile devices in an on-premise solution. The latest news I've heard is that ESET drops mobile management module development for the on-prem version. It's moving to the cloud. Like in endpoint client protection, I would also like to see more of the vulnerability management features and additional app control functionality in ESET Protect."
"The solution can be quite technical and therefore is challenging for new users."
"I miss having an executive dashboard or a simple view for viewing things. Everything is extensive in this solution. Everything is configurable and manageable, but the environment of Microsoft 365 has about 13 administrative dashboards, and in each of the dashboards, there are a gazillion things to set up. It is good for a large enterprise, but for a 200-seat client, you need to see 5% of that."
"There is room to improve the security of the solution."
"They should bring back the feature of a dedicated proxy device for communication to the cloud. As of now, all the agents are required to send the logs directly to the cloud. There should be a solution where you can put a proxy and all the logs are consolidated, like a forwarder."
"The deployment of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint on Windows 10 is not quite so straightforward. This could be made easier."
"The anti-ransomware features need to be improved upon."
"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."
"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint does not provide much flexibility in terms of threats."
"Other vendors provide a lot of customization when it comes to integration, which every big organization requires. No big organization depends on one particular tool. Defender lacks that at this point."
More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Pricing and Cost Advice →
ESET PROTECT Enterprise is ranked 14th in Anti-Malware Tools with 11 reviews while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is ranked 1st in Anti-Malware Tools with 182 reviews. ESET PROTECT Enterprise is rated 9.0, while Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of ESET PROTECT Enterprise writes "Constantly improving their online resources to make it easier for new users to work with it". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint writes "Eliminates the need to look at multiple dashboards by automatically providing one XDR dashboard to show the security score of each subscription". ESET PROTECT Enterprise is most compared with ESET Endpoint Protection Platform, Wazuh, Avira Antivirus, Cybereason Next-Generation Antivirus and F-Secure Total, whereas Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is most compared with Symantec Endpoint Security, Intercept X Endpoint, CrowdStrike Falcon, SentinelOne Singularity Complete and Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks. See our ESET PROTECT Enterprise vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint report.
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