To improve their cybersecurity, many organizations are turning to endpoint security software to keep their networks safe. As employees continue to work remotely, a company’s number of endpoints grows and they become more vulnerable. Hackers can use smartphones, laptops, and even printers to access company data. To help you protect your network, we’ve provided a list of the top endpoint protection software.
Also Read: Antivirus vs. EPP vs. EDR: How to Secure Your Endpoints
Top Endpoint Protection Software
- McAfee Endpoint Security
- Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business
- Falcon by CrowdStrike
- Symantec Endpoint Protection
- Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection
- VMware Carbon Black Cloud
- Bitdefender Gravityzone Enterprise Security
- Sophos Intercept X
McAfee Endpoint Security
McAfee Endpoint Security prevents malware and breaches with antivirus protection, behavioral analysis, and robust firewalls. The antimalware feature is continually updated as threat intelligence evolves, and it works on a variety of operating systems, including Windows and Mac. It also automates device scanning, analytics, remediation, and application containment to make recovery simpler when you do have a breach. The program includes artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to provide threat scores and begin triage of affected areas.
Pros
- Efficient at identifying and containing threats
- Intuitive
- Can be added to Androids and iPhones for remote workers.
Cons
- AI can sometimes deliver a false positive
- Depending on the size of your network, it can also take a while to complete a full scan
Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business
Kaspersky Endpoint Security for Business offers multi-layered security with a low impact on system performance so users can keep working even while the software is running. If a breach does occur, the Automatic Rollback feature can undo most malicious actions, so your security team has less cleanup to do once they remove the threat. After the threat has ended, Kaspersky’s EPP offers behavior detection and machine learning to help your security team determine what went wrong and fortify your network against future attacks.
Pros
- Flexible settings
- Straightforward policy configuration and deployment
- Powerful firewall
Cons
- The software will flag some false positives
- Learning curve with installation and management console.
Falcon by CrowdStrike
Falcon by CrowdStrike offers three levels of protection, allowing you to choose the one that best fits your company’s budget and needs. Even the most basic level includes next-generation antivirus protection with the option to add threat intelligence and firewall control. At higher levels, endpoint detection and response (EDR) is integrated into the software automatically, and you can add threat hunting capabilities. At the highest level, Falcon is a fully managed endpoint protection platform delivered by CrowdStrike security experts.
Pros
- Falcon’s Spotlight feature highlights known vulnerabilities in software installed on user devices
- Shows both the risks associated with the vulnerability and the steps needed to fix it
- User-friendly UI
Cons
- Cost is based on the number of endpoints
- No way to remotely uninstall a crowdstrike sensor from a machine
Symantec Endpoint Protection
Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) is available as an on-premise, hybrid, or cloud-based solution, protecting your endpoints whether they’re in the office or at your employees’ homes. The software reduces the size of the attack surface through robust firewalls and antivirus protection to keep malware and attackers out of your network. SEP offers security protocols for every phase of a breach, including breach assessment and device control for before a breach happens and threat hunting and targeted attack analytics to fortify your defenses after an attack.
Pros
- Added email security (if employees receive an unverified email, the software alerts them and prevents them from seeing the content)
- Easy to deploy
- Takes care of most tasks in the background without interrupting user experience
Cons
- Doesn’t support remote installation on devices running OS Linux
- Support is not very responsive
Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection
Malwarebytes Endpoint Protection offers both protection and remediation from malware that could infect your devices. The program is built for speed to keep devices running smoothly even while it’s scanning them. The easy to use dashboard provides a real time look into the health of your endpoints, combining events and alerts into a single console. Malwarebytes whitelists known code from familiar vendors and codes that pass a rigorous inspection. That code is then omitted from future scans to save time and prevent false positives.
Pros
- Speedy virus detection
- Ability to view the entire network’s traffic through a single dashboard
- Blocks unauthorized access and downloads from suspicious websites and applications
Cons
- Doesn’t always explain what the flagged access attempt was
- The free version sends users popups to upgrade quite often
VMware Carbon Black Cloud
Because attackers are constantly updating their malware to get around security measures, VMware continually updates Carbon Black Cloud to account for these minor changes. Carbon Black not only blocks known malware signatures, but it also analyzes user behavior to spot attackers trying to pose as normal users to bypass security measures. The software combines next-generation antivirus, EDR, managed detection, audit, remediation, threat hunting, and containment into a single platform to simplify your security stack.
Pros
- Adept at spotting and preventing even unknown threats
- Threat indicators are updated daily
- Enables incident response teams to quickly access an infected host, push/pull data for forensic analysis, and remediate an infection
Cons
- Sometimes the software causes virtual machines to run slowly
- The software changes often and can be difficult to get used to
Bitdefender Gravityzone Enterprise Security
Bitdefender Gravityzone Enterprise Security identifies, assesses, and resolves endpoint weaknesses through intelligent AI and automated responses. Bitdefender has invested years into perfecting their AI, so you won’t have as many false positives. The software also offers layered endpoint protection with malware blocking, disinfecting, quarantining, and rollback capabilities. You can even install the program remotely to protect employees working at home.
Pros
- The software is always improving
- Little effort required to manage or update it.
- Scalable and includes many features that competitors upcharge for
Cons
- The management console is not necessarily intuitive
- Exporting data is too manual and takes a long time
Sophos Intercept X
Sophos Intercept X combines EDR, anti-ransomware, managed threat response, exploit prevention, and deep learning technology into a single platform. The software uses deep learning technology to detect malware without relying on known signatures, so it can root out even malware that it hasn’t encountered before. The anti-ransomware feature identifies malicious encryption attempts and blocks them from spreading throughout your network. If any files were encrypted, it rolls them back to a safe state, preventing interruptions and thwarting the attacker.
Also Read: How to Prevent and Respond to Ransomware
Pros
- Support team is helpful when answering questions and implementing products and updates
- Immediate threat notifications across devices
- Covers antivirus, site-level malware, ransomware, privacy, and malicious traffic detection
Cons
- Price per user is higher than some of the other products on this list
- Sometimes tough to remove software from endpoints that no longer need it
Choosing the best Endpoint Protection Software for your organization
Endpoint protection platforms are crucial in keeping your network safe while your employees work from home and even when they come back to the office. Organizations won’t have the same needs when it comes to their EPP. To find the best EPP for your company, you’ll need to consider your budget, the number of endpoints you need to cover, and which functions are most important to you. Do you need a large threat intelligence database? Maybe AI and automation are at the top of your list. Use free trials to test products when they’re available, and if they’re not, talk to support and make sure the features you need are included.
Also Read: EDR vs. EPP? You Really Need Both
