FortiGuard Web Filtering Service vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

FortiGuard Web Filtering Service is well-suited for an organisation that is able to funnel all its Internet connectivity through one device, i.e., the office environment - or perhaps where WFH workers are using a remote desktop or VPN. It allows management/IT to minimise risk by blocking websites that may be harmful, as well as websites that may enable data leakage, or even are websites that people ought not to be visiting in the workplace.

Incentivized

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easy to deployed across the entire organization. Having a cloud based solution with a single pane of glass to manage all assets is a real no-brainer. Being able to receive immediate alerts when suspicious activity occurs is extremely helpful in keeping risks at a minimum. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint management is also smart enough to not send several alerts when an attack could be hitting multiple targets within a certain time frame or when it's the same attack multiple times. However, be prepared to click through multiple pages all over the site to figure out what happened when an attack occurs.

Incentivized

• FortiGuard Web Filtering Service effectively protects websites. There is no need to install the root certificate on all PCs inside the network.
• The database signature updates every hour, so we don't need to spend time updating the website to blacklist or whitelist.
• It can protect very well. Whereas, some traditional proxies can not do that. For example, others can not block Youtube or Facebook.
• It can also protect the search keyword, like in Youtube or other social media, Google, etc.

Incentivized

• One, it's crazy lightweight, so compared to some of the competitors that we also have used with our security services, it's really lightweight and so I don't have a lot of overhead on the system that it's running on.
• It does really fantastic PowerShell integration.

Incentivized

• Some websites are classified as Meaningless content, especially links used in emails to unsubscribe from lists. Luckily FortiGuard Web Filtering Service is responsive about reclassifying those quickly.

Incentivized

• It would be good to continue to minimize the amount of resources needed during a scan
• Provide more integration with Outlook to scan attachments with a notification that everything is good
• Provide a Click to Fix option when listing issues or high-risk problems on systems

Incentivized

Cost add-ons for Security features is nickel and diming the process to keep pace with cybercrime. Limited Education budgets require us to be more pro-active in finding cost-effective measures to protect our devices, staff and students. Defender is a strong, well-featured product that is pricing itself out of the education market

Incentivized

It offers multiple security features and integrates well with Microsoft ecosystems. A workflow for threat detection, investigation, automated remediation, and a centralized dashboard is an added advantage. This application is mainly designed for experienced users; new users may feel challenged.

Incentivized

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint chugs along just fine no matter what we throw at it and what systems it's running on. It doesn't take up a lot of resources either, so that's welcomed.

Incentivized

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easy on memory and resources on clients.

Incentivized

Took a little longer for support to get our problem solved, but when the upper tier tech support was involved, we got excellent customer support.

Incentivized

The first time I tried to onboard my macOS endpoints to MDE I struggled for quite a bit. I had to reach out to Microsoft's MDE support team. The tech was very helpful in walking me through the steps during a screen share session

Incentivized

Deployment was handled by our team here and everything went pretty smoothly. We did have a few hiccups in our test group, but that only took a bit to get ironed out.

Incentivized

We selected FortiGuard Web Filtering because it came in the service bundle with our FortiGate unit. After testing the service for a couple of months, we disabled the web filtering that was running on our client machines and have not looked back. It's been easy to manage, effective, and fast. There isn't much more you can ask for from a filtering solution.

Incentivized

Defender is far easier to deploy and manage than Sophos and tends to work without as many issues. The threat assessment portal provides an in-depth view of the organization's security posture, whereas Sophos only shows the patching status of the PCs. We did need Intune to get many of the control features (disabling USB drives) that Sophos offered out of the box.

Incentivized

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easily scaled from small orgs to giant enterprises.

Incentivized

• We can be confident staff cannot inadvertantly or deliberately access websites that contain porn, or other non-safe for work content
• We can be confident staff cannot inadvertantly or deliberately access harmful and malicious websites
• We can be confident data leakage is minimised

Incentivized

• Reduced incidents of security breaches lead to lower remediation costs and avoid potential financial losses and reputational damage.
• Reduces the need for additional third-party security solutions and training, thereby lowering overall security management costs.
• Increased efficiency and productivity of IT staff lead to better allocation of resources and cost savings.
• Reduces the risk of fines and sanctions associated with non-compliance, ensuring business continuity and protecting revenue.

Incentivized