What is the difference between EDR and antivirus?
AV looks for known malware signatures, EDR watches behaviour on an endpoint and correlates events. EDR catches what AV misses and can roll back. In 2026 AV-only in an SMB with customer data is no longer enough.
support/beveiliging/edr-versus-antivirussteps: 4
Try this first
- Antivirus: identifies file X as malware Y because the hash is on a list. Fine against mass-malware, fails on targeted or polymorphic attacks.
- EDR: watches what happens on the endpoint. PowerShell launched by Office that downloads a script? Suspicious. Encrypts a thousand files in two minutes? Killed.
- In practice: Microsoft Defender for Business is EDR. SentinelOne, CrowdStrike, Sophos Intercept X are EDR. Windows Defender on consumer Windows is mostly AV.
- Insurers and NIS2 increasingly require EDR with central management and logging, not just AV. For most SMBs that is the upgrade trigger.
When to bring us in
EDR rollout across all laptops without false positives stopping work needs tuned policies. We roll it out gradually and shadow the console the first week.
See also
- I think I clicked a phishing linkNo shame, happens to everyone. The next fifteen minutes matter.
- A colleague's account is acting strangelySending mail in their name, rules hiding folders, unusual sign-ins. Suspicious.
- Lost the MFA app: new phone, no backup codesClassic problem after a phone upgrade. You are not the first to be locked out.
None of the above fits?
Describe your situation below. We pass your input plus the steps you already saw to our AI and return tailored next-step advice. If it's too risky to DIY, we'll say so.
Or skip the DIY entirely
Our Managed IT clients do not look these things up. One point of contact, a fixed monthly price, resolved within working hours.