What's the difference between Endpoint Security and antivirus?

"We already have antivirus" is often no longer a sufficient answer today. In the modern threat landscape, antivirus, endpoint protection (EPP) and endpoint detection & response (EDR) denote different layers. To make the right decision, these concepts need to be clarified.

Classic antivirus (AV)

Software that detects and blocks known malware on a signature basis. When a new threat appears, it can't detect it until the vendor adds a signature. For years it was the only defense layer; it's still valuable today but insufficient on its own.

Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)

The evolved form of modern antivirus. In addition to signatures:

• Behavioral analysis (watches what a process does)
• Cloud-based threat intelligence
• Exploit prevention
• Web and email protection
• Device and application control

Avast Business Security, Kaspersky Endpoint Security and Microsoft Defender for Business fall into this category.

Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR)

EPP focuses on "blocking the attack"; EDR enables "seeing and responding when an attack happens." It continuously records the activities on devices, flags anomalies and provides tools for the security team to investigate and respond to incidents.

Typical EDR features:

• Incident timeline (who did what, and when?)
• Root-cause analysis
• Isolate / kill / delete actions
• Threat hunting

Kaspersky Next, Kaspersky EDR and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 fall within this scope.

Which one suits whom?

Is classic antivirus alone enough?

For very small businesses (1-5 users) that carry no critical data and have a low risk profile, consumer antivirus is enough up to a point. But as they grow, or as ransomware and fraud cases appear, it becomes insufficient.

EPP is generally the minimum acceptable level

For any business with 10+ devices that processes customer/financial data, at least EPP should be the standard today. Avast Premium/Ultimate or Kaspersky Endpoint Security are good options.

Who needs EDR?

• Those with regulatory compliance needs (finance, healthcare, critical infrastructure)
• Targeted-attack risk (high-value clients, intellectual property)
• Organizations with an in-house security team or a managed security service

EDR is powerful but produces logs and requires management. Buying EDR and having a system no one watches is the biggest waste.

How do Avast and Kaspersky position in practice?

Avast Business Security

• Essential: classic EPP — core protection
• Premium: EPP + VPN + privacy tools
• Ultimate: Premium + Patch Management (automatic patching)

Avast doesn't have an "EDR product" in the narrow sense; but combined with Patch Management it offers a strong EPP+ experience for SMBs.

Kaspersky

• Endpoint Security: mature classic EPP
• Kaspersky Next: EPP + EDR Foundations — a modern start for growing businesses
• Kaspersky EDR: fully featured EDR — for organizations with a security team

To determine where you stand, we can do an endpoint security assessment. We recommend the most suitable layer based on your device count, sector and current setup.