CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection Antivirus Expert Review

Overview of CrowdStrike

CrowdStrike’s mission statement is to protect customers from threats before they develop, and their products reflect this. They also boast plenty of awards and third-party validation. 

Clearly, if you’re looking for in-depth online security, CrowdStrike is the way to go. Just keep your budget in mind; this option could be more than you actually need.

How to Set It Up and Uninstall

1. Activate your account via email.
2. Download and install the agent from the main website.
3. Confirm that the sensor is running (use command prompt and ‘$ sc query csagent’).
4. Verify sensor visibility in the cloud via the main website.

Uninstallation is done via the add/remove programs section on Windows, and via command input on Mac.

Features

With CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection, you’re not just getting antivirus protection, but access to a whole fleet of security updates and modules. If you’re only concerned with standard online protection, the Falcon Pro subscription is a basic option. 

Otherwise, there are several other modules, all with progressively more detailed protection.

General

Threat Protection

Scanning

Since CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection is available in several flavors, the scanning options differ. Generally speaking, the software constantly scans for threats to take preemptive action.

Pricing

Discount

No discounts were available at the time of writing. However, it’s possible to request a free trial of the next-generation antivirus. Keep in mind, this request can take upwards of three days to process.

Privacy and Security

Privacy - All levels of CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection offer excellent privacy settings, from basic passive scanning to threat management detection.

Security - Simply put, the more money you spend, the more secure your system will be. The Falcon Pro Antivirus tier provides straightforward protection, whereas Falcon Complete is practically impenetrable.

Performance and Protection

Depending on how much you spend affects the level of protection available.

Malware Protection

CrowdStrike implements machine learning to counter malware threats.

Ransomware Detection

Endpoint Protection ensures ransomware doesn’t get a foothold on your system.

Phishing Detection

Behavioral detection helps keep your browsing safe from cyber attacks.

Spyware Detection

Part and parcel of the Falcon Next-Generation Antivirus.

Firewall Protection

Advanced Indicator of Attack (IOA) techniques provide security online.

Lab Test Results

CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection is rated as a top-performing EDR solution in MITRE

ATT&CK Adversary Emulation Tests. Gartner also named it a leader in the 2019 Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms.

Ease of Use and Interface

CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection Antivirus relies on cloud technology, so you have to access the user-interface via the main website. Once you have that, you’ll find a clean, sleek UI design. Main functions (eg. dashboard, search) are displayed along the left-hand side, which in turn opens up further options in the central section.

Customer Support

CrowdStrike Falcon Endpoint Protection comes with various customer support options, from live chat to a dedicated phone line. There’s also an urgent hotline available for different countries, which is especially handy.