Meet Malware’s Sworn Enemy

• Traditional antivirus tools detect malware only after it’s in your system.
• Symantec IPS stops malware before it hits your endpoints.
• Three key steps can help you get the most powerful protection and coverage from IPS.

The malware epidemic isn’t going anywhere. How’s your antivirus (AV) solution holding up on its own? Let’s face it—probably not so hot. Traditional endpoint protections like AV rely heavily on detecting malware only after it has been dropped or executed on a system—which is why reactive protections shouldn’t be your first line of defense.

When it comes to endpoint security, you need a comprehensive that goes beyond a traditional antivirus solution. Thanks to Symantec, Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) have emerged as a critical tool to safeguard endpoints by blocking attacks early in the attack chain—before they even reach your disk. (Que sigh of relief.)

Here’s the system you’re looking for

A one-of-a-kind protection delivered by Symantec, an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) should be your real first line of protection against malware (after the firewall on Windows and Mac clients). Symantec IPS proactively blocks over 95% of all the attacks visible to IPS. And if malware does find its way in, IPS can detect it in the infestation and exfiltration phase—even as it travels through your network—and shut it down.

IPS may be considered an optional layer, but it’s essential for an effective endpoint security strategy. And that’s what we all want, right? Here’s why every organization should prioritize deploying IPS:

• Prevent over remediate. By stopping attacks early in the attack chain, IPS eliminates the need for costly and time-consuming remediation efforts.
• Cover all your bases. From desktops to servers to browsers, IPS delivers comprehensive protection across all endpoints.
• Hunt threats proactively. With audit logs and customizable signatures, IPS enables organizations to identify potential threats proactively and adapt their defenses accordingly.

If that’s not convincing enough, here are your five reasons to install IPS everywhere. 

3 steps to get the most out of your IPS

So, you’ve deployed IPS (as you should). Now what? To fully leverage its capabilities, you need to configure and optimize it strategically—that means honing in your settings beyond defaults, and expanding your coverage. Let’s walk through three key ways to ensure your deployment earns you the strongest possible protection for your network:

Enable browser protection

As employees increasingly rely on web-based applications for work, browsers have fast become a common attack vector. Web-based threats, including malicious redirects, cryptojacking, phishing scams and drive-by downloads, pose a big risk to your endpoint users—and that means you, too. 

Extend IPS's protective shield to your users’ online activities and block these threats in real time through browser extensions or network-level filtering. In 2024 alone, Symantec IPS blocked 312.5 million web-based attacks, without disrupting end users’ productivity. 

Activate IPS across all your devices

IPS is not limited to desktops and laptops. Its protective shield can extend to servers and other critical systems within your ecosystem. Enable this silent sentinel on both desktops and servers to ensure you have comprehensive coverage.

End-of-life (EoL) servers represent a significant security risk as they no longer receive updates or patches from their vendors. These systems are often targeted by attackers exploiting known vulnerabilities. In 2024, Symantec IPS stopped 437 million attacks targeting servers, with 75% of those on EoL servers. When you deploy IPS across all endpoints, you’re making sure all your bases are covered.

Review audit logs

Audit logs and customizable signatures give you the chance to identify potential threats proactively and adapt your defenses before the punch lands. 

Here’s how that works: Regularly analyze these logs, identify potential threats then convert audit signatures into blocking rules—enabling you to stop more threats before they affect devices. Symantec IPS blocked an astounding 2.7 billion attacks last year, preventing potential breaches and eliminating the need for post-infection cleanup. 

Trust us, you want to neutralize threats at this early stage. Our proactive IPS reduces your risk of system compromise and minimizes alerts sent to Security Operations Centers (SOC), allowing your security teams to focus on more pressing issues.

We can help—few can

Backed by one of the largest civilian threat intelligence networks in the world, we at Symantec know our stuff when it comes to catching and stopping threats. We’re also relentlessly innovating, and developed IPS from the ground up as an exclusive capability for Symantec Endpoint Security (SES). 

Our silent protector is one piece of a multi-faceted strategy to lock down your endpoints and stop the invisible threats, so you can focus on your core operations with peace of mind. To see how it works in your SES platform, watch this quick video.

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