Blog | August 5th, 2022
Traditional Antivirus vs. Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR): Which Solution is Best for You?

Cyber security vulnerabilities and attacks are becoming more frequent. The world of cyber-attacks can be daunting, but don’t worry! We’re here to help recommend which solutions will best suit your needs moving forward. In this blog post, we’ll be discussing the difference between two main types of software: Traditional Antivirus and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) like SentinelOne. Traditional antivirus is the older type of software that has been used for many years. Meanwhile, SentinelOne is a newer type of antivirus that has been gaining in popularity recently because it is seen as being much better than traditional antivirus.
What is Traditional Antivirus?
Traditional antivirus is a type of software that uses signatures to detect malware. It works by scanning files and identifying patterns that match known viruses. If a match is found, the traditional antivirus will attempt to remove the virus or block it from running. While traditional antivirus can be effective at times, it has several major drawbacks.
- First, traditional antivirus relies on signatures to identify viruses. This means that it can only detect viruses that have already been identified and cataloged. Newer viruses may not be detected because they don’t match any known signatures.
- Second, even if a virus is detected, traditional antivirus may not be able to remove it completely. This can leave your system vulnerable to further infection which can be difficult and costly to fix.
- Third, traditional antivirus can be expensive. Some antivirus programs can cost hundreds of dollars per year. This can be a significant expense, especially for small businesses or individuals.
- Finally, traditional antivirus can slow down your system because it has to scan every file that is accessed. This can be a major problem if you are trying to run resource-intensive applications.
If your present IT firm is still discussing antivirus and not Endpoint Detection and Response, please contact us immediately so we may assist you through the conversation.
What is SentinelOne?
SentinelOne is a type of EDR software that uses behavior-based detection to identify malware. It works by constantly monitoring the behavior of all processes on your system. If a process exhibits suspicious behavior, it will be flagged for further analysis. This allows SentinelOne to effectively detect both known and unknown viruses without slowing down your system.
There are several advantages that SentinelOne has over traditional antivirus:
- First, SentinelOne can detect both known and unknown viruses. This is because it uses behavior-based detection instead of signatures.
- Second, SentinelOne is much more effective at removing viruses. This is because it can identify and remove all traces of a virus instead of just blocking it from running.
- Third, SentinelOne is much more affordable than traditional antivirus. Many programs charge monthly or yearly subscription fees, but SentinelOne only charges a one-time fee. In the long run, this can save you a significant amount of money.
- Fourth, SentinelOne is much easier to deploy and manage. This is because it is a cloud-based solution that can be easily managed from a central location. This also allows us to see the status of your entire environment at a glance.
- Fifth, SentinelOne uses Data collection and analysis to determine threat patterns and alerts organizations to threats before they happen. This helps to keep your system secure and avoid any costly downtime.
- Lastly, SentinelOne doesn’t slow down your system because it only monitors suspicious behavior. This means that you can run resource-intensive applications without any problems. It also works on all operating systems with minimal performance impact on a system.
What is the difference between SentinelOne and Traditional Antivirus?
While Traditional Antivirus uses signatures to attempt to detect malware, it is only effective against known threats, it can be expensive, and it can slow down your system. Meanwhile, SentinelOne also uses these same techniques to detect and remove malware. However, it goes one step further by also incorporating machine learning into its detection engine. This means that SentinelOne is constantly learning and evolving so that it can more effectively detect and block new threats.
One of the main advantages of SentinelOne over traditional antivirus is that it is much better at detecting and blocking zero-day threats. Zero-day threats are new viruses or malware that have not been seen before, so there is no signature for them in traditional antivirus databases. Because SentinelOne uses machine learning, it is able to quickly adapt and learn about new threats, so that it can protect your computer from them.
Another advantage of SentinelOne is that it does not slow down your computer like traditional antivirus can. This is because traditional antivirus has to constantly scan all of the files on your computer for malware signatures, which takes up a lot of resources and can slow down your computer. SentinelOne only scans files when they are accessed or executed, so it has a minimal impact on your computer’s performance.
The main disadvantage of traditional antivirus is that it can often miss new threats because it is relying on a database of known malware signatures. This means that if a new virus comes out, it may not be detected by traditional antivirus until after it has already caused damage to your computer. SentinelOne, on the other hand, is much better at detecting and blocking new threats because of its use of machine learning.
If you are looking for an antivirus solution that is better at detecting and blocking new threats, then SentinelOne is a good option for you. It is also more affordable than traditional antivirus and does not slow down your computer. However, if you are only concerned about known threats, then traditional antivirus may be a better option for you.
The Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) requirement is a critical part of any cybersecurity insurance policy. Without it, you’re left vulnerable to ransomware attacks that can cause irreversible data loss or privacy breaches — which means more money out-of-pocket if there’s an attack!
If your current IT company is still talking about Antivirus and not Endpoint Detection and Response, definitely give us a call so we can help guide you through that discussion.
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