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Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Microsoft Windows vs. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

    Score8.8 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft Defender for Endpoint (formerly Microsoft Defender ATP) is a holistic, cloud delivered endpoint security solution that includes risk-based vulnerability management and assessment, attack surface reduction, behavioral based and cloud-powered next generation protection, endpoint detection and response (EDR), automatic investigation and remediation, managed hunting services, rich APIs, and unified security management.

    $2.50

    per user/per month

    Microsoft Windows

    Score8.2 out of 10
    N/AWindows is an operating system with editions to support business workstations.N/A

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/ARed Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux distribution mainly used in commercial data centers.N/A
    Pricing
    Microsoft Defender for EndpointMicrosoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Editions & Modules
    Academic
    $2.50
    per user/per month
    Standalone
    $5.20
    per user/per month
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Microsoft Defender for EndpointMicrosoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Free Trial
    YesNoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details———
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Microsoft Defender for EndpointMicrosoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Considered Multiple Products
    Microsoft
    No answer on this topic
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft Windows
    Windows runs literally every piece of software I need to work. Installations are usually quick and uncomplicated, and configuration is usually quite simple, rarely requiring finding config files and editing them manually.

    I chose Windows only because I had no other choice, …
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Windows
    Windows is fundamentally different from Linux, each shines in their own spots and has cons as well.
    Incentivized
    Chose Microsoft Windows
    Because of its compatibility with third-party software requirements.
    Incentivized
    Red Hat
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is better than all of the operating systems I've used, except for macOS. macOS gives the best of both worlds, smooth and clean GUI with tabs for everything you could possibly need, along with the strengths of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) with …
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    In our experience, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) support structure is highly stable and dependable.
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Sun Microsystems was the best but a decades ago and since then I have used Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) for few of the production deployments and so have found this to be best. As mentioned earlier, the best is the security of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and the light …
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    RHEL provides more support and has a bigger community, RHEL is a more mature product and has Fedora and Centos as upstream products to help make it more stable.
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Windows 11 has more stability and great functionality compared to older windows versions, and the gap between windows and Linux has shortened. You can pick from different OS’s to build enterprise level software on nowadays. But Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is still among the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    I much prefer Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) over Windows. There is way more customization and flexibility, and being able to use Linux as the OS over Windows gives additional flexibility for various use cases. I prefer the intuitive use cases of Mac, but the lack of …
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Easy to customize. Open source
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    supporting case, patching and updates solution
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    We also still have older Unix systems like Solaris. But Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) is much easier to use.
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    RHEL is the most reliable and what our organization prefers
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Red Hat provides excellent support for RHEL.
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Dependable product and easy access to support.
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Me are migrating to Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) from AIX
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    RHEL is easier to use and more configurable.
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    They work well together and we use both of them.
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    We selected RHEL because it is a supported platform from our ISVs, because of the Enterprise-level support, and because of the long history of Open Source involved and community contributions.
    Incentivized
    Chose Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    RHEL provides the customization and open source that we need to keep our end users on the bleeding edge.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    96%
    Would buy again
    157 Answers
    90%
    Would buy again
    9 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    295 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    146 Answers
    80%
    Delivers good value for the price
    8 Answers
    99%
    Delivers good value for the price
    253 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    95%
    Happy with the feature set
    155 Answers
    90%
    Happy with the feature set
    9 Answers
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    289 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    130 Answers
    80%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    4 Answers
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    188 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    95%
    Implementation went as expected
    140 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    9 Answers
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    253 Answers
    Features
    Microsoft Defender for EndpointMicrosoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Endpoint Security
    Comparison of Endpoint Security features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Microsoft Windows and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Feature
    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
    8.7
    79 Ratings
    2% above category average
    Microsoft Windows
    -
    Ratings
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    -
    Ratings
    Anti-Exploit Technology9.075 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)9.179 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Centralized Management8.679 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Hybrid Deployment Support7.110 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Infection Remediation9.077 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Vulnerability Management8.774 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Malware Detection9.278 Ratings00 Ratings00 Ratings
    Operating System
    Comparison of Operating System features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Microsoft Windows and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Feature
    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
    -
    Ratings
    Microsoft Windows
    -
    Ratings
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    8.4
    78 Ratings
    4% below category average
    File Management00 Ratings00 Ratings8.073 Ratings
    Software Application Management00 Ratings00 Ratings8.075 Ratings
    System Update Frequency00 Ratings00 Ratings8.276 Ratings
    Operating System Security00 Ratings00 Ratings9.378 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Microsoft Defender for EndpointMicrosoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Small Businesses
    SentinelOne Singularity
    Score9 out of 10
    CentOS Linux
    Score8.9 out of 10
    CentOS Linux
    Score8.9 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    BlackBerry Protect (CylancePROTECT)
    Score9.1 out of 10
    IBM AIX
    Score9.4 out of 10
    IBM AIX
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    ESET PROTECT
    Score8.8 out of 10
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Ubuntu
    Score8.2 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Microsoft Defender for EndpointMicrosoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.9
    (169 ratings)
    9.2
    (10 ratings)
    8.8
    (302 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.4
    (10 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    Usability
    8.6
    (40 ratings)
    8.4
    (7 ratings)
    8.5
    (194 ratings)
    Availability
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.0
    (7 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.2
    (9 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.1
    (3 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.1
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Microsoft Defender for EndpointMicrosoft WindowsRed Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Microsoft
    If you have multiple endpoints in your environment, if you're looking to understand what your environment looks like, if you're trying to identify the health of your environment, or identify any risks or vulnerabilities in your environment pertaining to your endpoints and devices.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    I think for every business in the world Microsoft Windows is a good use as standard OS system. It’s easy to use and a lot of other company's use it which make it very appealing for user to learn more about Microsoft Windows. The Office 365 suite is really good as a free feature and used a lot by every user of Microsoft Windows. If you got a designer business I would recommend other brands that are specialized in that kind of work. I feel Windows will come short on that end.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    There's a lot of things that can and can't be discussed. But as I mentioned earlier, cloud computing and on-prem, and very much like in the cloud, having a standard image ISO, deploying that, the configurations with Ansible or packages installed via Ansible, instead of just a Kickstart script, you have a set of scripts that run in a pipeline that deploy Red Hat. So I'd say the environments, every time I've used Red Hat Enterprise Linux as a computing solution has been, like I mentioned, reusable, scalable, positive. And I don't think I've ever found any situations where I wish I were using something other than Red Hat Enterprise Linux, because the support is not there for anything else as much as it is for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Microsoft
    • The big thing for us is on endpoint, it kind of integrates with everything else that we already have because we use Microsoft completely. And so that helps us with being able to integrate, and send things over to Azure Sentinel as we need to as well.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • It is very easy to use, can be picked up by a novice in minutes.
    • It is aesthetically pleasing, and appears clean and modern.
    • Most programs that people use in their day to day run on windows natively.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    • Virtualization, like the operating system level task. I see this product is very good and it blends very well with the middleware components like all the JBoss and other things. And other than that, either you install it or a virtual machine or physical servers, it works seamlessly anywhere. And if you want to go further, like Red Hat OpenShift or those things also work very nice with it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Microsoft
    • I'd say building out summaries and log reviews for analysts reviewing incidents. So, pivoting from the alerts themselves to actually getting the detail underneath. Trying to understand what caused an alert, where they went from there, et cetera, et cetera. And then trying to get into deeper log review to take that investigation further can be a pain point.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Forced updates occasionally have bad timing when ignored for too long
    • Microsoft Edge Web Browser is a bit clunky
    • The 3D desktop still needs some improvement
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) needs better built-in developer-centric tooling.
    • The desktop experience is too barebones, which makes it less attractive for developer workstations.
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) needs to be integrated and available in GItHub Actions as a supported platform so code developed on GitHub can be tested and qualified there.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Microsoft
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Red Hat
    We find RHEL to be a superior OS with stable operations and long life. It is also easier to use and fix then most other OS's.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Microsoft
    Because it's hard to find things sometimes. I can find things now because I know where they are. But you have to work with it a little while to figure out how. I'd basically say it was a security tool designed by developers. So you have to get that mindset to find things. So a new hire, a new person in the SOC would have a difficult time. I know that's sitting in here, or that screen is in here somewhere. So it's gotten better.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    It's easy to use, very straightforward, and user-friendly. It has improved over the years, but you still need to be careful not to shut it down improperly because that may lead to corruption and Windows being unable to boot. There is plenty of software available that covers most needs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    It's pretty intuitive and easy to use. Everything is adjustable; everything is customizable through a set of yaml's and everything can be undone and re-done. Doing items such a modification and restarting the single app doesnt take down the whole operating system like one of the more popular GUI based operating systems. We can work on live production systems without breaking into a sweat.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Microsoft
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Red Hat
    Product support and regular patches.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easy on memory and resources on clients.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Red Hat
    As with any OS enhanced testing will need to be done prior to application integration.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Microsoft
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    support remains spotty, researching online articles are a pain
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    Red Hat support has really come a long way in the last 10 years, The general support is great, and the specialized product support teams are extremely knowledgeable about their specific products. Response time is good and you never need to escalate.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Microsoft
    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
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    MDT helped deploy OS to users machines via PXE boot.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    Don't be afraid of it, its easy to install and configure for the tasks needed.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Microsoft
    Particularly, we're evaluating Symantec Endpoint Protection, the commercial version. We've looked at eSet, a couple of the others, and it's much too heavy or difficult to manage, things like that. Ease of use, ease of integration. It's already there. It's super easy to update it with the regular OS updates and everything. So we can manage it whether we're using SCCM or Intune or Dato, it's very easy to deploy updates and manage things.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Windows and macOS are both useful operating systems. There are businesses who much prefer macOS and some that prefer Windows. Businesses that revolve around industries such as game design, art design, graphic design may opt to use macOS due to its optimization with programs that revolve around these topics. Other businesses that are more focused towards Data or text processing may opt to use Windows due to its familiarity across the world and ease of access.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    Windows Server can take a long time to patch, waiting for the patch to install, then waiting to apply, after the OS is rebooted it can also take additional time to apply the update. Often times Windows Server patches can fail, leading to long troubleshooting times and application outages. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) Patching is extremely quick, I've honestly not seen a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) update fail to install in many years of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) patching.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Scalability
    Microsoft
    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is easily scaled from small orgs to giant enterprises.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Red Hat
    Operational ease of use backed by support
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Microsoft
    • I think the positive impact overall is that we do a lot of sitting in front of assessors- federal assessors, government assessors. And it really comes down to when the assessor has to think about another product that you're bringing in that's not Microsoft, it creates a lot of confusion, more paperwork, more explanation. But the positive impact is that they know it, everybody kind of knows Microsoft. And so when you tell them you have this endpoint for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, they're like, okay. The questions go away, and it makes the overhead a lot less during an assessment.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Positively effects our easy of use of other programs
    • Take it for granted because it is so transparent in use
    • Definitely worth the price.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Red Hat
    • It has done wonders for my career because I come from a Linux background, HPUX, Solaris and AIX. So made this transition to Linux 20 years ago. So it has really put my career at the forefront of what we do in the company. We're still primarily a window shop, but with Red Hat and what they're doing with the Kubernetes integration with OpenShift, with the East Satellite Management, the Ansible stuff, all based on Red Hat. It's taken off at my company and we're very happy about it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Screenshots

    Screenshot of blocked activitiesScreenshot of Detects & respondsScreenshot of discovers vulnerabilityScreenshot of Eliminates blind spotsScreenshot of Risk management