Endpoint Protection Services

User workstations and notebooks are essential tools that enable staff to communicate and collaborate effectively with colleagues, students, and external partners—whether on campus or working remotely. These devices are critical to daily productivity, but they also represent potential entry points for cyber threats if not properly secured.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE) is the default security client deployed across University-managed devices, providing advanced threat protection, real-time monitoring, and automated response capabilities to safeguard institutional data and systems.  The advanced security protection and management benefits of MDE included:

• Regular System Patch Updates
• Centralized Desktop Management Support
• Advanced Threat & Malware Protection
• Firewall Control & Policy Enforcement
• Attack Surface Reduction (ASR)
• Endpoint detection and response (EDR)
• Vulnerability Management (Threat & Exposure Management)
  

There are two ways to enable MDE:

1. By joining PolyU domain – Currently, over 4000 workstations and notebooks have joined the PolyU domain with MDE enabled.
2. For workstations/notebooks that have not joined the PolyU domain, users can join the PolyU domain through a simple enrollment process

For devices with special technical/operational reasons or licensing issues, that cannot enable MDE, users are advised to enable the built-in Microsoft Defender Antivirus from Microsoft Windows. The built-in Microsoft Defender Antivirus provides:

• Real-time protection against viruses, malware, and ransomware
• Automatic scanning of downloads, apps, and attachments
• Basic firewall and network protection features
  

User can refer to this link for the usage of Microsoft Defender Antivirus.

While Microsoft Defender Antivirus offers basic security protection, it is highly recommended to join the PolyU domain and enable MDE for enhanced and comprehensive endpoint security.