Malware Protection vs. Endpoint Protection: They’re Allies, not Rivals

Malware is constantly evolving and becoming more sophisticated presenting one of the most significant security challenges for businesses. It can lead to the exfiltration of sensitive data, physical damage to computer systems, or even render a network temporarily unusable. Clearly, businesses need to invest in robust security measures to protect against these pernicious threats. 

Yet when it comes to defending your business from malware attacks, we don’t recommend relying solely on endpoint protection. Instead, we suggest viewing desktop security suites as a final point of defense in a multi-layered security strategy.

Additional defenses mean better overall protection making it less likely that malware will slip through undetected. That’s why Perimeter 81’s Malware Protection is a significant enhancement to your security. Our solution stands guard against malware infections at the most common entry point: the web. Designed to intercept dangerous http/s-based traffic from third-party ads to files downloaded via webmail, Malware Protection helps protect user devices against devastating infections. 

The Advantages of a Multi-Layered Approach to Security

Endpoint protection is a key tool in the fight against malware, but it’s focused on defending user devices such as laptops or desktops after malware is already on the device. 

Perimeter 81’s Malware Protection, on the other hand, focuses on detecting malware delivered via the web but before it can interact with the device. Our solution uses advanced threat detection methods at the delivery stage such as sandboxing technology and code emulation to analyze files for malicious activity, as well as the more common detection methods such as signature-based analysis.

Together these two layers–Malware Protection and endpoint protection–provide a better defense against various forms of malware attacks including viruses, worms, and Trojans, among others. They also help secure corporate networks in less obvious ways that go beyond just stopping malware infections.

Our Malware Protection event logs, for example, can improve visibility into what’s happening within an organization’s network. This allows businesses to more easily discover suspicious behavior indicating a potential breach. This can improve response times to major security events, which helps limit how damaging a potential breach can be.

Employing Malware Protection that monitors incoming traffic is also critical for businesses that rely on remote workforces, as they can be ripe targets for malicious actors. During the height of the pandemic, for example, companies were scrambling to create secure remote solutions quickly. At the same time, malicious attacks increased as cybercriminals saw an endless well of potential targets.

Finally, a multi-layered approach can improve a company’s compliance posture for regulation such as HIPAA and GDPR where customer and client data protection is paramount.

The Benefits of Perimeter 81’s Malware Protection

Perimeter 81’s Malware Protection solution offers several key benefits to businesses: 

  • Real-time protection against malware, preventing infections before they can infect user devices
  • Out-of-band protection so that managed devices are protected whether employees are connected to the company network, or not.
  • Simplified management with a centralized console that allows businesses to monitor the entire network from a single location
  • Automatic updates ensure timely protection against zero-day exploits, advanced persistent threats, Trojans, ransomware, and more
  • Award-winning 24/7 support for configuring and deploying your network security solution
  • Reduced TCO. As with the rest of our cloud-based solution, Malware Protection is easily scalable as your company grows with no long-term fixed costs. It’s also seamlessly integrated with the rest of our networking and network security platform that includes ZTNA, FWaas, and Web Filtering.

The Bottom Line

Malware and endpoint protections complement each other rather than compete, because each service performs different functions. 

As we said at the top they’re allies, not rivals.  Together they provide comprehensive coverage against all forms of cyber-threats while also offering enhanced visibility, improved compliance adherence, better incident response capabilities, and reduced operational costs. 

Getting started couldn’t be easier, book a demo today to see how Perimeter 81 can protect your network from the worst the web has to offer.