Explanation of how to configure and use Windows Defender
Defender for real-time protection against malware and threats.
Here’s the big three security tools to protect Windows
- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (the one everyone still calls “Defender ATP” out of habit) This is your laptop/server/phone protection. It watches Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS — everything. Does proper EDR, auto-investigates alerts, blocks ransomware before it encrypts, and gives you those sweet Threat & Vulnerability Management dashboards. If you ever wanted to know “which of our machines are still missing the latest Chrome patch?” — the tool that tells you in two clicks. Comes free with Microsoft 365 E5 or you can just buy it standalone (Plan 1 = basics, Plan 2 = the full hunting goodies).
- Microsoft Defender for Identity (used to be Azure ATP) Pure Active Directory bodyguard. It sits on your domain controllers (tiny sensor, no big deal) and screams the second someone runs net group “domain admins” from a weird workstation or starts spraying passwords. Catches Golden Ticket attacks, DCSync, pass-the-hash, all the classics. If you still have on-prem AD (and most of us do), you want this.
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365 (the old Office 365 ATP) Stops the crap that arrives in email and Teams/SharePoint/OneDrive.
- Safe Attachments blows up sketchy files in a sandbox
- Safe Links rewrites URLs so even if someone clicks, they’re still safe
- Plan 2 gives you campaign view (see the whole Russian phishing wave in one screen) and attack simulation tools. E3 gets you Plan 1. E5 (or the add-on) gets you Plan 2.
Quick cheat-sheet on who gets what:
- Microsoft 365 E5 → all three, full versions, no extra cost
- Microsoft 365 E3 → decent AV + Office 365 Plan 1; the rest you pay extra for
- Smaller companies → grab Defender for Business or the individual standalone plans
Honestly, if you’re already paying for E5 you’d be crazy not to turn these on — they all dump alerts into the same portal and talk to each other. If you’re on E3 or less, just buy whichever piece hurts the most right now (for most people that’s Endpoint or Office 365).
That’s it. No more “ATP” confusion — everything’s “Defender for Something” now. Go poke the trial buttons on Microsoft’s site if you want to kick the tires.
Additional Notes from Description
- Rebranding confirmation:
- Microsoft Defender ATP → Microsoft windows Defender for Endpoint
- Office 365 ATP → Microsoft windows Defender for Office 365
- Azure ATP → Microsoft Defender for Identity
- Links provided for Microsoft 365 business/enterprise plans and the host’s Twitter.
endpoint security platform developed by Microsoft. It is part of the Microsoft 365 Defender suite and is designed to prevent, detect, investigate, and respond to advanced cyber threats on devices (endpoints) such as laptops, desktops, servers, and mobile devices.
Key Features of Microsoft Windows Defender for Endpoint (formerly Advanced Threat Protection):
Advanced Threat Detection
Uses behavioral sensors, machine learning, and cloud-based analytics to detect known and unknown (zero-day) threats.
Detects fileless attacks, living-off-the-land attacks, credential theft, ransomware, and advanced persistent threats (APTs).
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
Provides continuous monitoring and records detailed activity on endpoints.
Enables security teams to investigate alerts, view attack timelines, and perform deep forensic analysis.
Automated Investigation and Remediation
Automatically investigates alerts and takes remediation actions (e.g., quarantine files, kill processes, block malicious IPs) to reduce response time.
Vulnerability Management
Identifies weaknesses in software and configurations using threat and vulnerability management (TVM).
Attack Surface Reduction (ASR)
Rules and controls to block common attack techniques (e.g., blocking Office macros, script-based attacks, etc.).
Integration with Microsoft 365 Defender
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint doesn’t live in a vacuum. It plays really nicely with the rest of the Microsoft 365 Defender suite. That means it swaps intel in real time with Defender for Office 365 (email/phishing protection), Defender for Identity (on-prem and Azure AD identity attacks), and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. Put them all together and you get proper XDR – cross-domain detection and response – so a threat that starts in an email, jumps to a user’s laptop, and then tries to move laterally shows up as one incident instead of five separate alerts.
Threat Analytics – Microsoft’s Crystal Ball
One of the coolest parts is Threat Analytics. Every week or two you get fresh reports written by Microsoft’s threat hunting teams about whatever campaign is burning up the charts right now – new ransomware crews, nation-state techniques, exploit kits, you name it. It’s basically the same intelligence the Microsoft Detection and Response Team (DART) and the MSTIC researchers use, just packaged up for normal defenders. Super handy when you need to explain to leadership why you suddenly want to push out a new rule or patch.
Licensing and Where You Can Get It (2025 edition)
If you already have any of these, you’re good – Defender for Endpoint P2 (the full-fat version) is bundled in:
- Microsoft 365 E5 or E5 Security
- Standalone Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 (and Plan 1 gets you some of the basics)
- Windows 11 Enterprise E5
Smaller companies running Microsoft Defender for Business get a trimmed-down version of the endpoint protection piece, but most of the advanced EDR/XDR stuff still needs one of the plans above.
The Name Changes – Because Microsoft Loves Confusing Everyone
This product has gone through more rebrands than a boy band:
- Started life as Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP)
- Got promoted to Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection
- Finally settled on Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
You’ll still see “ATP” thrown around in old docs, some PowerShell cmdlets, and in conversations with people who’ve been doing this since 2018. Don’t let it trip you up – it’s the same thing under the hood.
Read Related: Windows Defender: Real-Time Security Guide