Microsoft Defender Antivirus Is Great. How to Make it Better

Microsoft Defender Antivirus is an excellent first layer of defense, offering built-in protection that doesn’t require extra software or additional costs. It’s trusted by businesses worldwide and has earned recognition for its AI-driven malware detection, real-time threat intelligence, and seamless Windows integration. For organizations looking for a cost-effective security solution, Defender is a smart choice and includes:

Free & Built-In Protection: Included with Windows, eliminating the need for costly third-party antivirus software.

Strong Malware & Ransomware Defense: AI, cloud intelligence, and behavior-based detection stop threats before execution.

Automatic Updates & Low Maintenance: Continuous updates ensure the latest security definitions with minimal IT oversight.

Built-In Phishing & Web Protection: SmartScreen technology blocks malicious websites, phishing attempts, and fraudulent downloads.

Top-Rated Security Performance: Recognized as a Top-Rated Product in AV-Comparatives’ 2024 Summary Report for its consistent high performance across multiple testing scenarios.

Cyber threats are evolving, faster, smarter, and harder to detect. Attackers are no longer just deploying basic malware; they’re using stealthy tactics, automation, and AI-driven techniques to bypass traditional defenses. At the same time, IT teams are stretched thin, managing countless alerts, securing endpoints, and keeping up with an ever-changing threat landscape. 

• No Advanced Threat Hunting: Cannot proactively detect fileless malware or zero-day threats. 

• Limited Ransomware Prevention: Requires manual configuration, with no automatic rollback feature. 

• No Lateral Movement Detection: Attackers can escalate privileges and move undetected within a network. 

• Heavy Alert Overload: Generates excessive alerts, making it difficult for IT teams to prioritize real threats. 

• No 24/7 Monitoring or Response: Security teams must manually investigate and react to threats, leading to delayed responses. 

Microsoft Defender Antivirus offers strong security features, but many aren’t enabled by default, leaving businesses vulnerable. Misconfigurations and overlooked settings create security gaps that require expertise to fix, before attackers exploit them. 

• Cloud-Delivered Protection: Must be enabled to leverage AI-powered, real-time threat detection. 

• Attack Surface Reduction (ASR) Rules: Requires configuration to block exploit techniques, malicious macros, and scripts. 

• Potentially Unwanted Application (PUA) Blocking: Needs activation to prevent adware, spyware, and unwanted software. 

• Tamper Protection: Should be enabled to prevent attackers from modifying or disabling Defender settings. 

• Defender SmartScreen: Needs configuration to block phishing attempts and malicious website downloads 

Think of Microsoft Defender Antivirus as a strong security lock. Now imagine pairing that lock with a 24/7 surveillance team, always watching, analyzing, and ready to respond. That’s the power of combining Microsoft Defender Antivirus with the Blackpoint Agent and its MDR service. Here’s how we do it:  

• Deeper Threat Visibility and Detection: The Blackpoint EDR Agent monitors more than basic antivirus events. It collects comprehensive telemetry across endpoints to detect the subtle signals that often precede an attack including identifying suspicious activity patterns at the endpoint level and detecting attackers who attempt to pivot across your network with lateral movement, identity compromise, and living-off-the-land attacks.  

• 24×7 SOC Expertise for Rapid Response: Blackpoint’s SOC operates around the clock, providing immediate and decisive response to threats – including those identified by Defender Antivirus. When malicious activity is detected—whether it’s malware, ransomware, unauthorized access attempts, or behavioral anomalies from any source, our expert analysts respond by isolating compromised systems and terminating suspicious activity.   

• Save 50–90% on security costs compared to third-party EDR solutions or in-house SOC staffing. 

• Eliminate third-party AV & EDR costs that typically run $6,000–$36,000 per year for 100 users. 

• Lower incident response costs by 70–90% by prevents costly breaches, downtime, and ransomware recovery expenses. 

A mid-sized financial services firm relied solely on Microsoft Defender Antivirus for its cybersecurity protection. One day, an employee unknowingly opened a phishing email, which triggered a PowerShell-based attack that deployed ransomware. Since the attack leveraged fileless malware techniques, Defender failed to flag the abnormal script execution, allowing the ransomware to encrypt sensitive financial data. By the time the IT team detected the breach, the attack had already caused major operational disruptions, financial losses, and significant downtime, highlighting the risks of relying solely on Defender without proactive monitoring and response capabilities.

With Blackpoint MDR in place, the attack could have been stopped before causing damage. AI-driven threat correlation would have detected the suspicious download, flagging it for further analysis. 24/7 SOC monitoring would have identified and blocked the unauthorized PowerShell execution in real time, preventing the ransomware from being deployed. Additionally, immediate expert response from Blackpoint’s security team would have swiftly isolated and neutralized the threat, stopping it from spreading across the network and minimizing disruption to business operations.

Many businesses assume that strong cybersecurity requires expensive tools and complex integrations, but that’s not the case. Microsoft Defender Antivirus is already built-in and free, providing a solid security foundation. Instead of investing in costly third-party solutions, Blackpoint MDR enhances Defender with 24/7 monitoring, expert threat detection, and real-time response, without adding extra software or management overhead.

For a surprisingly low cost, businesses can turn Defender into a fully managed security solution without hiring in-house security analysts or dealing with endless alerts. We handle the work, so you don’t have to stopping threats before they cause damage while keeping security simple, effective, and budget-friendly.