Microsoft Defender is a suite of security solutions developed by Microsoft to protect against various types of cyber threats.
There are three main products under the Microsoft Defender brand:
Microsoft Defender XDR
It is a unified pre- and post-breach enterprise defense suite that natively coordinates detection, prevention, investigation, and response across endpoints, identities, email, and applications to provide integrated protection against sophisticated attacks.
Microsoft Defender for Identity
It is a cloud-based security solution that helps secure your identity monitoring across your organization. It is fully integrated with Microsoft Defender XDR, and leverages signals from both on-premises Active Directory and cloud identities to help you better identify, detect, and investigate advanced threats directed at your organization.
Microsoft Defender for Business
This is a cloud-based security solution designed to protect small and medium-sized businesses from advanced cyber threats. It includes features like antivirus, firewall, endpoint detection and response, and threat intelligence.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
This is an advanced endpoint security solution designed for larger organizations. It provides endpoint protection, detection and response, automated investigation and remediation, and advanced threat hunting capabilities.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365
This is a security solution that helps protect email, documents, and other Office 365 services from phishing attacks, malware, and other cyber threats. It includes features like anti-phishing protection, anti-spam protection, and advanced threat protection.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud
This is a Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP), which is a unified solution that combines multiple cloud security tools to protect applications across their entire lifecycle. The solution provides a comprehensive view of your security posture across your cloud and on-premises resources. It also helps you secure multicloud and hybrid environments and integrates security into DevOps workflows.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps
It delivers full protection for SaaS applications, helping you monitor and protect your cloud app data across fundamental cloud access security broker (CASB) functionality, SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM), Advanced threat protection and App-to-app protection.
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management
It delivers asset visibility, intelligent assessments, and built-in remediation tools for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and network devices. Using Microsoft threat intelligence, breach likelihood predictions, business contexts, and devices assessments, Defender Vulnerability Management rapidly and continuously prioritizes the biggest vulnerabilities on your most critical assets and provides security recommendations to mitigate risk.
Microsoft Defender services
Choosing Between the Microsoft Defender Products
Microsoft Defender is not a single product. It is a family of security tools, and each one protects a different part of your business. Knowing which one covers which risk helps you avoid gaps and paying twice for the same protection.
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Defender for Endpoint protects laptops, desktops, servers and mobile devices. It detects suspicious behaviour, helps security teams investigate incidents and can respond to threats on the device itself. This is the core layer for most businesses.
Microsoft Defender for Office 365
Defender for Office 365 focuses on email and collaboration. It scans messages and attachments, checks links when users click them, and helps stop phishing attempts that reach Outlook, Teams and SharePoint.
Microsoft Defender for Identity
Defender for Identity monitors user accounts and directory activity in on-premises Active Directory. It flags signs of compromised credentials and attacks that move across your network.
How Win-Pro Helps
Win-Pro can review your Microsoft 365 licences, match each Defender product to your real risks, and set up the policies and alerts your team needs. We also handle ongoing monitoring and tuning, so protection keeps pace with new threats.
Start With a Security Review
Before you buy or switch on any Defender product, review what you already have. Many businesses on Microsoft 365 already own part of the protection they need, but the features are not turned on. A short review shows which licences you hold, which policies are missing, and where the quickest improvements sit for your team.