Microsoft’s endpoint protection software, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, now officially supports Windows 10 on Arm PCs, such as the Surface Pro X.
Windows 10 on Arm PCs from Microsoft, ASUS, HP, Lenovo and Dell have been around since 2017, shipping with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon system on chips (SoC) with LTE and longer battery life than Intel-based PCs.
The one Windows 10 on Arm PC that most people would know is Microsoft’s own Surface Pro X with the SQ1 or SQ2 processor that was co-developed by Microsoft and Qualcomm.
Microsoft has announced that Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is now generally available for these Windows 10 devices.
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Not to be confused with Microsoft Defender antivirus, which is built into all Windows 10 devices, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is the enterprise service that was formerly known as Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection.
Microsoft’s naming schemes for its security products are confusing for IT teams to deal with. At last year’s Microsoft Ignite conference, it renamed all its security products in an attempt to clarify this for IT teams. These include: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft 365 Defender, Microsoft Defender for Office 365, and Microsoft Defender for Identity.
Rather than just Defender antivirus on a PC, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint takes data from sensors on Windows 10 PCs and send it a customer’s private instance of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint in the Azure cloud for analysis. It also includes security analytics, threat intelligence, and automated investigations started by a malware alert.
Microsoft sees its push into Windows on Arm as fitting neatly with the world’s new blended mix of work from home and the office, where security needs to be prioritized.
“These devices are designed to take full advantage of the built-in protections available in Windows 10 such as encryption, data protection, and next gen antivirus and antimalware capabilities,” says the Microsoft 365 Defender Team.
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Microsoft emphasizes that general availability of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for Arm Windows 10 PCs should mean no change for security teams.
“Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is exactly the same as its always been including things like device inventory, alerts, response actions, advanced hunting, and more, including the onboarding experience,” the Microsoft 365 Defender Team says.
