In short
The difference between EDR and antivirus is prevention versus detection and response. Antivirus, next-generation antivirus and endpoint protection platforms (EPP) block known and suspicious malware before it runs. Endpoint detection and response (EDR) records device activity to detect, investigate and contain attacks that slip past prevention, such as hands-on-keyboard intrusions using legitimate tools. Most business platforms now combine both in one agent.
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The short answer
Antivirus is a gatekeeper: it inspects files, scripts and behaviour and blocks what looks malicious. Endpoint detection and response is a flight recorder with an alarm and a set of controls: it records what happens on each device, raises an alert when activity looks like an attack, and lets someone investigate and respond.
They answer different questions. Antivirus asks "should this be allowed to run?". EDR asks "what is happening on this device, is it an attack, and how do we stop it?". A business needs good answers to both, which is why most current products deliver prevention and EDR in the same agent and console.
For antivirus and endpoint protection products themselves, see our sister site endpointprotection.uk. This page focuses on what EDR adds.
Antivirus, NGAV and EPP: what prevention covers
The terms overlap, so it helps to be precise:
- Antivirus traditionally matched files against signatures of known malware.
- Next-generation antivirus (NGAV) adds machine learning and behavioural detection, so it can block previously unseen malware, malicious scripts and some fileless techniques.
- Endpoint protection platform (EPP) is the broader package: NGAV plus controls such as host firewall, device control, web protection and exploit prevention, managed centrally.
The NCSC's device guidance on antivirus and other security software is a useful, vendor-neutral read on where these tools fit. Cyber Essentials requires malware protection on in-scope devices, met by anti-malware software or application allow listing; our Cyber Essentials site covers Cyber Essentials malware protection in detail.
What EDR adds
EDR builds on prevention with four things antivirus does not do:
- Continuous recording: process starts, command lines, file and registry changes, network connections and logons, kept so you can look back.
- Behavioural detection of attacks, not just malware: patterns such as credential dumping, unusual use of PowerShell or remote admin tools, and lateral movement between devices, often mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK framework.
- Investigation: process trees, timelines and search across every device, so you can see where an attack started and what else it touched.
- Response: isolating a device from the network, killing processes, removing persistence, rolling back changes and running commands remotely.
Our endpoint detection and response hub explains each of these in more depth.
EDR vs antivirus compared
| Antivirus, NGAV and EPP | EDR | |
|---|---|---|
| Main goal | Stop malware before it runs | Detect, investigate and contain attacks in progress |
| How it decides | Signatures, machine learning, behaviour of a file or process | Behaviour over time across processes, users and devices, mapped to attacker techniques |
| What it keeps | Mainly blocked detections | A searchable history of device activity |
| Typical attacks it handles | Commodity malware, malicious attachments, known ransomware | Hands-on-keyboard intrusions, stolen credentials, living-off-the-land tools, staged ransomware |
| Response | Block, quarantine, clean | Isolate, kill, roll back, remote shell, block indicators across the estate |
| Who uses it | Runs largely on its own once configured | Needs someone to triage alerts, or a managed service |
| Effort | Low day to day | Higher: alerts, tuning and investigations |
Neither replaces the other. EDR without prevention would alert on attacks that should have been blocked outright; prevention without EDR leaves you blind to anything it does not recognise.
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Why most platforms now combine both
A few years ago, EDR was often a separate product bolted on to antivirus. Today almost every vendor we supply delivers prevention and EDR in one agent, licensed in tiers. That matters for three practical reasons:
- One agent, less conflict. Two security agents on one device compete for the same hooks into the operating system. One agent avoids that.
- Shared context. When prevention blocks something, the EDR history shows what led up to it, so you can tell a one-off from the first step of a wider attack.
- Easy upgrade path. Moving from prevention to EDR is usually a licence and policy change on the agent you already run, not a reinstall.
Examples include ThreatDown EDR on the same agent as ThreatDown Endpoint Protection, Bitdefender GravityZone EDR enabled by policy on the GravityZone agent, Sophos EDR building on Sophos Endpoint, and WatchGuard Endpoint Security, where the Prime edition adds EDR to the Basic edition. See best EDR solutions for how the platforms compare.
When antivirus alone is not enough
Antivirus on its own can be a reasonable starting point for a very small organisation with tight patching and no admin rights. It stops being enough when any of these apply:
- Attackers use what is already there. Ransomware operators can sign in with stolen credentials and use legitimate remote access and admin tools. None of that is malware, so prevention has nothing to block.
- Attacks are staged. Many intrusions run over days: initial access, discovery, credential theft, then encryption. EDR can catch the early steps before the damaging one.
- You need to know what happened. After an incident, insurers, customers and auditors will want to know what was accessed, and where personal data is involved you may need to report the breach to the ICO. EDR history is how you answer.
- Insurers ask. Cyber insurance questionnaires can ask about EDR, multi-factor authentication and backups.
- You run servers or hold sensitive data. The impact of a quiet compromise is higher.
If several of those apply, EDR is worth it, and so is deciding who will watch the alerts. Our guide to EDR for small business covers the options when you do not have a security team.
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EDR vs EPP vs XDR
EPP is the prevention layer; EDR adds detection and response on endpoints; extended detection and response (XDR) adds identity, email, network and cloud signals so related alerts across those areas become one incident. A managed service can sit on top of any of them. For a fuller comparison of EDR, XDR and managed detection and response, see EDR vs XDR vs MDR on our Cloud Security site.
Not sure which you need? Contact us and tell us what you run today; we can recommend what fits, confirmed at quote.
How Forever Systems helps with endpoint security
We are an independent UK IT and cyber security provider. We supply and support endpoint security from several vendors, so we can recommend what fits your devices, your people and your budget rather than one vendor's answer to everything.
- Start with what you have: we can review your current antivirus, EDR and Microsoft 365 licences before suggesting anything new
- Vendor-aware advice on EDR, XDR and managed detection and response, including CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, WatchGuard, Bitdefender, Sophos and Check Point Harmony
- Deployment help: planning a rollout, replacing an existing product and setting sensible policies for device control, encryption and patching
- Policies and compliance: we help you map your controls to Cyber Essentials and the NCSC's device guidance
- Ongoing support options, such as policy tuning, renewals and regular reviews, agreed and confirmed at quote
We work with businesses, schools, charities and public sector organisations. Tell us about your devices and we will suggest a sensible next step.
Frequently asked questions
Is EDR better than antivirus?
They do different jobs. Antivirus prevents known and suspicious malware; EDR detects and helps you respond to attacks that get past prevention. EDR is not a replacement for prevention, which is why most EDR products include antivirus in the same agent.
Do I need antivirus if I have EDR?
You need prevention, but you usually do not need a separate antivirus product. Most EDR platforms include next-generation antivirus in the same agent. Running two security agents on one device can cause conflicts, so plan to replace or deactivate the old one.
What is the difference between EDR and EPP?
An endpoint protection platform (EPP) bundles antivirus with controls such as firewall, device control and web protection to prevent attacks. EDR adds continuous recording, detection of attacker behaviour, investigation tools and response actions such as isolation and rollback.
Can antivirus stop ransomware?
Antivirus can block known ransomware and some new variants. It is less effective when attackers sign in with stolen credentials and use legitimate tools before encrypting. EDR can spot those earlier steps, and some EDR products can roll back files encrypted by ransomware.
Does Microsoft Defender Antivirus switch off when we install EDR?
On Windows 10 and 11 devices not onboarded to Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft states that Defender Antivirus moves to disabled mode automatically when another antivirus product is installed; devices onboarded to Defender for Endpoint can keep it in passive mode. On Windows Server it does not change automatically and has to be set manually. We check this during deployment.
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