A big part of cybersecurity relies on software to detect, contain, and eliminate threats. Most people believe an antivirus has that part covered. However, EDR is a relatively new concept that could change how we see security, especially when it comes to protecting a network. So, what’s the difference between EDR and antivirus?

An antivirus will search for threats on a device, looking for similar or exact matches in its malware database. EDR will monitor a system to look for unusual activity it can contain, meaning it can adapt to new threats in real-time, unlike an antivirus.

Will EDR replace antivirus since it can update in real-time? Figuring out who to trust to protect your network is a big choice, so you’ll have to learn about both before making a decision. We’ll make a detailed comparison between EDR and antivirus below.

EDR vs. Antivirus: A Comparison

Antivirus and EDR are both protection tools that work to keep your network safe from harm. However, they have different approaches to achieving that goal. Antivirus relies on EPP (endpoint protection platform), while EDR is based on endpoint detection and response (hence the name).

Similarities Between EDR and Antivirus

• System Protection. The goal of both EDR and antivirus is to protect your system from harm. We’re speaking about two necessary lines of defense that prevent malware from penetrating your network and jeopardizing your work.
• Threat Elimination. Both EDR and antivirus will contain and eliminate any threats they find. The way these two options find and deal with threats is different. However,  both will actively look for any malware on your device or network to prevent it from compromising your security.

That’s as far as these two approaches go when it comes to similarities. The differences are much more important.

Differences Between EDR and Antivirus

• Dealing with silent threats. EDR can deal with fileless malware and any other threats that make their way inside a device and lay dormant until it’s time to act. An antivirus usually has no resources or recourse to deal with such a thing.
• Studying the issue at hand. One of the best things about EDR is that it will study a system to better spot unusual activity. In contrast, antivirus software will only recognize threats it’s familiar with, leaving new threats undetected.
• Reporting vulnerabilities. Since EDR monitors a network to look for unusual behavior, it can also compile a report to let you know where your vulnerable spots are. At the same time, it’ll let you know which devices are problematic. More importantly, it can also tell you how a breach happened, starting with how a device or file first got infected. Unfortunately, antivirus will only contain and eliminate threats without doing any extra work.
• Resource efficiency. Most EDR software is lighter than any antivirus alternative, requiring fewer resources to act.

What’s EDR?

EDR is a holistic approach to threat detection. It scans the entire network looking for unusual behavior to prevent attacks from happening. This approach continuously scans your system and will contain and study anything that appears to be a threat (to then eliminate real threats).

One of the biggest advantages EDR presents is the way it deals with threat prevention and its aftermath. Instead of stopping the attack and calling it a day, this software will study how and why it happened to better understand what to improve.

At the same time, since EDR considers each endpoint (e.g., a computer, phone, TV, etc.) connected to a network as an individual, it can isolate any vulnerable device until it’s safe to connect it back to the main network.

How Does EDR Work?

• Monitoring. EDR is constantly monitoring your network for suspicious activity. It looks for trouble in real time and provides solutions right when an issue is happening. There’ll be no alarms if everything works the way it should. However, it’ll act as soon as it detects a spike in unusual activity.
• Detection. Once EDR detects something unusual, it will further investigate. That abnormality could be something as small as a one-minute spike in resources, such as an app doubling resource use (which could indicate malware behavior).
• Containment. As soon as EDR detects something wrong, it’ll contain that part of the network. That way, it prevents ransomware and other threats from spreading to every device you have in place.
• Investigation. EDR has a vast toolset that helps investigate threats. Once it contains the problematic device or area, it’ll start investigating what you’re dealing with.
• Elimination. After EDR has compiled all the information it needs, it’ll eliminate the threat from your device, fixing every infected file. It’ll also study what happened before those files were infected to figure out where the issue came from.

Who Needs EDR?

Anyone working with a network will benefit from using EDR protection. A network could be anything from two devices connected to each other or a huge 2000-device system.

In other words, you probably need EDR if you have more than two computers in your household. You definitely need it if you love IoT devices, considering they’re extremely vulnerable to ransomware.

Companies need EDR the most, considering one ransomware attack could bankrupt a business. This threat-prevention approach will quickly contain any possible threats, reducing possible risks.

What’s an Antivirus?

An antivirus is a form of endpoint protection, commonly referred to as the lowest common denominator in cybersecurity. An antivirus will scan a device looking for known threats to contain and eliminate them once it finds them.

This software will routinely scan your computer to look for any issues. It can only deal with suspicious activity from files, which is not the only way you can compromise a network. However, it is not a bad tool to stop threats such as trojans, keyloggers, and similar problems.

One of the sticking points all antivirus have is the way they identify threats: this type of software will look for issues based on its database. In other words, it can only identify threats it knows of or suspects of – but can’t recognize new threats until its developers release an update.

How Does an Antivirus Work?

An antivirus will scan your device, looking for threats based on what it has on its database. In other words, this software looks for countless forms of malware, trying to find an exact or similar match to contain and eliminate.

In a way, an antivirus is like a man who walks around the city with a long list of things he needs to be alert of. If he finds something that looks or acts like one of the items on his list, he will alert you and stop the threat on the spot. Unfortunately, that means he won’t look at anything that’s not on his list.

In contrast, EDR is like a man who takes the time to study how a city behaves to be aware of anything that deviates from the norm, meaning he’ll adapt over time and recognize new threats without having to update his list.

Who Needs an Antivirus?

Although the antivirus approach is becoming outdated (as threat actors are doing everything they can to bypass it), some users, such as young and elder people, could still benefit from having it on their devices.

Having EDR in place if you have one device makes no sense since this approach is used for networks. Young kids and elders often have one device that’s not part of a bigger system. In those scenarios, having an antivirus wouldn’t hurt.

In fact, installing a good antivirus on a standalone device will be the perfect line of defense to prevent malware issues. However, it’s always a good idea to teach cybersecurity best practices to young and old alike to prevent phishing attempts and similar threats.

Nevertheless, you should think about whether to get EDR or antivirus if, for example, your kids have access to a broader network. At that point, can an antivirus protect every device individually and the network as a whole?

Should I Get EDR or Antivirus?

That depends! Do you have a standalone device you don’t connect to anywhere but the internet? An antivirus is the perfect choice for you – and using EDR would be pointless. However, if you work from home, own a lot of IoT devices, or similar, having EDR protection in place is better than downloading antivirus software.

The best way to decide between EDR and antivirus is to see how far your devices go. You don’t need EDR software if your computer is connected to wi-fi and nothing else. Then again, if your wife and kids are using separate devices connected to the same router, you are running a complex network that needs EDR.

Nowadays, most devices are interconnected. You probably have an app for your coffee maker, which could be an unusual getaway for hackers to infect your entire network.

In other words, if you’re running an old-school house with one computer connected to the internet, get an antivirus. If you have (or will have) several devices connected to the internet and interacting with each other, get EDR protection. That doesn’t mean you can’t use both.

Do I Need Both EDR and Antivirus?

It doesn’t hurt to set up two lines of defense to protect your network, so having both EDR and antivirus in place will be better than having one of them alone. Antivirus is an Endpoint Protection Platform (or EPP for short), which deals with threats differently than EDR.

EDR will study your system and be ready to alert you when unusual activity is on the rise. EPP has a list of malware to listen to, alerting you when something meets that criteria. As you can see, they have different approaches to dealing with threats.

For that reason, it’d be smart to set up both. However, that doesn’t mean you need to look for EDR and EPP separately: some EDR solutions come with an antivirus, so you know it’ll take care of everything.

Is EDR Better Than Antivirus?

EDR is better than antivirus software. This new way of dealing with threats is more efficient and provides better results, especially when dealing with the latest malware. However, there’s still a place for antivirus in certain systems.

Most companies and households have many devices connected to the same network, meaning there are multiple points of entry for a threat actor to compromise, even if we’re talking about a house with a few computers and TVs connected to the same router.

EDR is the best tool possible for threat protection in those cases. Since the EDR approach is becoming the go-to choice for most systems, where does that leave antivirus software?

Can EDR Replace Antivirus?

The latest EDR software is making a push to replace antivirus software. However, whether you can uninstall your old antivirus and replace it with a brand-new EDR approach depends on how you choose to defend your computer.

Certain EDR options come with antivirus software, meaning you can delete your old antivirus in exchange for this new and improved approach. However, different solutions have different features, and your EDR of choice may not come with an antivirus.

Let’s put it this way: should you delete your firewall after you install an antivirus? Probably not – unless your antivirus of choice comes with a firewall included. So, before you decide to uninstall your antivirus, find out whether it works to complement or detriment your EDR.

For now, antivirus and EDR deal with different threats, so they complement each other. In the near future, EDR will replace old antivirus software, paving the way for something better called next-generation antivirus.

Conclusion

An EDR does a more active and thorough network scan, while an antivirus will look for known threats on one device alone. As technology and threat actors advance, the classic antivirus becomes increasingly outdated, leaving EDR software to protect your system. However, relying on both choices wouldn’t be a bad idea until EDR can successfully replace older technologies.