Antivirus for SharePoint 2016/13 on-premise

Copper Contributor
I know in the past Microsoft recommended having Antivirus (AV) solution for SharePoint(SP). I wonder how common or uncommon it is installing SP specific AV programs into your SP 2016 or 2013 on-premise environment. I look forward to hearing your experience on this.
3 Replies
I would strongly recommend installing a SharePoint-specific A/V solution for on-premises deployments.
SharePoint Online already has this in the background, but for on-premises you need to stay protected as it scans files as they get uploaded - something that should always be on for every server.

@Astatke Belay  I think that you have to protect your PC with the best antivirus in any case, even if you use SharePoint or not. The software developers tell that their software is safe and protected but it is better to get more protection for your system. 

@Astatke Belay 

 

This is an old thread, but I am curious what the current consensus is, among experts, regarding SharePoint Server-integrated antivirus usage?

 

In my experience (10+ years) is that it's pretty rarely used. I recall old opinions that it affects performance too much to be worth it, especially with everyone having AV clients deployed on clients and servers already. But the IT security threat landscape of today is a lot different than it used to be, maybe priorities have changed?

 

Also, there's also the difference between purely internal vs. public-facing SharePoint Server websites (if the latter still exists?) to consider.

 

An interesting recent development is the possibility for integrating anti-malware applications, such as Microsoft Defender (or compatible 3rd party applications), via the new AMSI (Anti-Malware Scan Interface). Since Defender is built-in, it sounds like an easy no-brainer to just use by default, but note that it's not an AV replacement but an addition.

 

All thoughts welcome!