EDR vs Antivirus: What You Actually Need on Your PCs in 2025

A few years ago, if you told your broker "Yeah, we've got antivirus everywhere," that sounded responsible.

But over the last few years, Canadian security agencies and industry groups have been saying the quiet part out loud: basic antivirus isn't enough anymore.

In early 2024, a Canadian cybersecurity association newsletter literally titled a piece "From Antivirus to EDR" and walked through why companies are moving away from the old tools. A year before that, a Montreal-based provider published "Antivirus or EDR?" and made the same point for small businesses.

So let's cut through the vendor noise and talk like we're sitting at a diner off the QEW.

Antivirus vs EDR in One Sentence Each

Traditional antivirus: Checks files and programs against a big list of known bad stuff (signatures). If it matches, it blocks it.

EDR (Endpoint Detection & Response): Actually watches what's happening on the machine—behaviour, not just files—and can detect, alert, and sometimes automatically contain suspicious activity.

Antivirus asks: "Is this file on the bad list?"

EDR asks: "Is this thing acting like an attacker?"

Big difference.

The federal Cyber Centre's own guidance now groups antivirus and EDR together as the kind of security software organizations should be using on endpoints.

Why Antivirus Alone Is Struggling

Most modern attacks don't look like the old viruses we remember from the 2000s:

• Ransomware strains change constantly
• Attackers use legit tools (PowerShell, remote management, even built-in Windows stuff)
• Malware can live in memory without dropping obvious files

Signature-based tools miss a lot of that. They still have a role, but they're not enough by themselves.

Several Canadian articles aimed at SMBs have pointed out that relying on antivirus alone leaves you blind to lateral movement and targeted operations, especially when remote work and cloud services are in the mix.

What EDR Actually Does for You

Think of EDR like having cameras and motion sensors in the building instead of just locks on the doors.

Good EDR will:

• Monitor processes, connections, and behaviour on each device
• Spot suspicious patterns (e.g., encryption of many files, strange scripts)
• Alert someone (your IT team or a security operations centre)
• In some cases, automatically isolate a machine from the network

Some Canadian guides aimed at MSPs describe EDR as "advanced antivirus that can isolate infected devices," which is a decent way to think of it.

Do You Need EDR as a Small Business in Hamilton?

Short answer: Probably, but not everywhere and not at any price.

Let's break it down by scenario.

You absolutely want EDR if:

• You handle sensitive data (medical, legal, financial, HR)
• You have remote staff connecting into core systems
• You're going after or renewing cyber insurance with higher limits
• You run servers or key systems on-prem instead of entirely in the cloud

You can maybe get by with strong AV + other controls if:

• You're mostly SaaS and cloud-based
• Devices are well-managed, patched, and locked down
• You have strong MFA and backups
• Your risk tolerance is higher (and you accept longer downtime if something slips through)

But here's the trend: more Canadian institutions, from universities to mid-sized enterprises, are starting to require EDR on managed devices as standard.

What About Cost?

This is where the "We're not Bay Street" reality kicks in.

Typical options:

Standalone EDR agent:

• Per-device monthly fee
• You or your MSP handle alerts

EDR with managed detection & response (MDR):

• Higher fee
• 24/7 team watches alerts and helps respond

Real talk:

• For a 10–30 person shop along the Escarpment, you're often looking at tens of dollars per device, per month, not hundreds
• Some MSP bundles now include EDR by default for all managed endpoints

Before you say "too expensive," compare that to:

• A week of downtime
• Paying for forensics and cleanup
• Possible regulatory or contractual trouble if client data is involved

How to Make a Call Without a PhD in Security

Here's how I'd tackle it if you called me from a shop in Stoney Creek:

List critical devices:

• Servers (on-prem, cloud VMs)
• Owner/finance laptops
• Machines with access to line-of-business systems

Ask your current IT team or MSP:

• "Is what we're running right now just traditional antivirus?"
• "Do we have EDR anywhere? If yes, where?"
• "Who watches alerts and how fast do they respond?"

Decide on a minimum standard:

• At least EDR on all servers and remote-capable laptops
• Strong antivirus on everything else, plus good patching and MFA
• Check alignment with your insurance broker's expectations

Some of the cyber insurance guidance I've seen given to Canadian SMBs explicitly mentions "advanced endpoint protection" as a control they like to see, even if they don't always use the term EDR.

Don't Let Perfect Be the Enemy of Protected

You don't have to go from "free antivirus" to "enterprise-grade EDR with 24/7 SOC" in one step.

A realistic path for a Golden Horseshoe SMB:

Quarter 1:

• Standardize antivirus and patching across all devices
• Turn on MFA everywhere you can

Quarter 2:

• Add EDR to critical endpoints (servers, finance, remote workers)
• Make sure someone is actually watching alerts

Quarter 3+:

• Consider expanding EDR to all managed devices
• Tie it into your incident response plan

Bottom line: if your security plan in 2025 still starts and ends with "We've got antivirus," that's a risk decision—whether you meant to make one or not.