The antivirus that came with your laptop is built to recognize viruses somebody has already caught and catalogued. Ransomware crews know that. They tweak their code every few days and walk right past it. Endpoint detection and response, usually shortened to EDR, watches what programs actually do on a computer and steps in when one starts acting like an attack. We set it up and run it for Monterey businesses of every size.
When You Need Endpoint Detection and Response
If basic antivirus is all you have, you're due. That describes most small offices we walk into.
Some signs it's overdue. Somebody opened a strange attachment last year and you still don't know what it did. Staff take laptops home, to clients, to the coffee shop. You keep patient records or controlled defense data on local machines.
That last group comes up a lot around here. Contractors who work with the Naval Postgraduate School or the Defense Language Institute have to meet NIST 800-171, and a CMMC assessor will ask how you spot and respond to threats on each computer. "We have antivirus" won't get you far. EDR keeps a running record of what happened on every device, which is the evidence they want.
Ransomware rarely shows itself early. If you want to see why, read how a ransomware attack usually unfolds from first click to locked files.
How EDR Works on Your Computers
We install a small agent on each Windows and Mac computer and on your servers. It reports to one central console. It watches for behavior that doesn't fit: a Word document launching a script, a program suddenly rewriting hundreds of files, a background process trying to grab saved passwords.
When it sees one, it can kill that process and cut the computer off the network by itself, in seconds. Everyone else keeps working. A technician then reviews the alert, connects through ScreenConnect if needed, and traces how the attacker got in so that door gets closed.
Plenty of early alerts are false alarms from normal software doing odd things. Tuning those out is part of the job. It's also the part most offices skip when they buy EDR on their own.
Endpoint Detection and Response Cost in Monterey
The price mostly follows how many computers and servers need the agent. Older machines that can't run it, or a mix of operating systems, add setup work. If you're already a managed IT client, endpoint protection went in at onboarding and is part of your flat monthly fee, so ask us what level you have. Everyone else gets a quick device count on a call, then a monthly price in writing before anything is installed.
Why Local Offices Hand Us Their Alerts
Software by itself doesn't stop much. Someone has to read the alert and act on it.
We've been doing that from Monterey since 2008, for more than 250 local businesses. A confirmed infection is a Critical ticket with a technician on it within 15 minutes, and the 24/7 emergency line picks up on nights and weekends. Our security work follows the NIST framework, which helps when an auditor asks to see your process.
EDR guards the computers themselves. Email, logins and backups are separate ways in, and they're covered by the cybersecurity program that EDR plugs into. Call (831) 649-5050 and we'll tell you what's protecting your machines right now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is EDR the same thing as antivirus?
No. Antivirus checks files against a list of known bad ones. EDR watches behavior, so it can catch an attack that's brand new, isolate the computer, and show you afterward exactly what happened.
Will EDR slow down our computers?
Usually not enough for anyone to notice. The agent is light, and the heavy analysis happens in the console. Older machines can struggle, and if we find one we'll tell you before rollout.
Does EDR help with CMMC or HIPAA?
Yes, it's one of the pieces both of them expect. Each wants you to detect threats on every device and keep records of what happened, and EDR produces those records. We still map it against the rest of your requirements, because no single tool covers a whole framework.