Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Microsoft and Sangfor are both solutions in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category. Microsoft is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4, while Sangfor is ranked #54. Microsoft holds a 5.4% mindshare in EDR, compared to Sangfor’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Sangfor users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 8, 2026

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and Sangfor Endpoint Secure are key players in the cybersecurity market, each providing robust security solutions. While Microsoft Defender shines with its deep integration within the Microsoft ecosystem, Sangfor offers specific standout features such as honeypot detection and real-time monitoring.

Features: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides advanced security features like vulnerability management, threat hunting capabilities, and seamless integration with other Microsoft products. Sangfor Endpoint Secure, on the other hand, offers comprehensive end-to-end protection featuring file protection, AI detection, and behavior analysis.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Defender users often encounter issues with delayed threat detection, high resource usage, and a complex setup. Enhancements in third-party integration and real-time threat detection are suggested. Sangfor would benefit from improving cloud migration support, simplifying VPN setups, and consolidating its management interface.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Defender is widely deployable across various cloud environments, yet its initial setup can be complex, and customer service experiences vary. Sangfor is primarily on-premises, offering straightforward deployment but less adaptability to cloud environments, with room for improvement in support efficiency.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint offers significant value, especially for enterprises within the Microsoft ecosystem, though its licensing can be expensive and complex. Sangfor Endpoint Secure is noted for its cost-effectiveness, particularly benefiting small to medium enterprises with robust security features at lower costs compared to competitors.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Sangfor Endpoint Secure Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Sangfor Endpoint Secure

September 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Net...

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) category, the mindshare of Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks is 3.8%, down from 3.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 5.4%, down from 9.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Sangfor Endpoint Secure is 0.9%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint	5.4%
Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks	3.8%
Sangfor Endpoint Secure	0.9%
Other	89.9%

Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

Featured Reviews

ABHISHEK_SINGH

Senior Process Expert at A.P. Moller - Maersk

Gained full visibility and streamlined threat detection through behavior-based insights and AI integration

Initially, we got to have a lot of false positives when we onboarded, but nowadays it's quite smooth. We have fine-tuned our security policies and allowed different levels of policies to get rid of those false positives. Currently, we are getting a fairly good amount of incidents that are not false positives or benign, but actionable items. The process is streamlined. In the initial days, the operations used to get involved in a lot of benign and other activities, but now the process is streamlined. We are leveraging the auto-detection and remediation plans. The operations teams are now more involved in other business roles as well, not just looking into the logs and fetching out what's happening there. They have fixed a lot of things. Initially, they didn't have IAC code drift detection, cloud posture management, or security posture management, but they have those now. They purchased different vendors and did a merger with that. They have now Prisma Cloud that gets integrated and now they are working with Cortex Cloud. Everything that was negative has now been addressed, and the product altogether looks to be in a very better and mature shape now. Currently, it's more or less detecting the workloads with AI-based best practices. Since most organizations are consuming AI agents and other things, we are looking forward to seeing what other feature enhancements Palo Alto can support in that.

Read full review

Robert Arbuckle

Security Analyst III at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees

Automatically isolates threats and integrates with logging to reduce response time

Overall, I would evaluate the Microsoft support level that I receive at probably about a seven, but that depends on the day. It has been spotty. We have had issues where the urgency level of the Microsoft support is not as high as ours, especially during a data breach or potential data breach situation. We have had issues with some of the offshore support being lackluster. One specific thing that comes to mind is we were on a support call with our CISO on the call, and the Microsoft agent, who did not actually work for Microsoft, is one of the vendors that Microsoft uses for support, said, "Just to set expectations, my lunch break is in an hour and I am going to go away then." For us, it was already ten o'clock at night and we had been working on this for a couple of hours, trying to get a security engineer on with us. For him to tell us that he was going to go away and have lunch, it was, "Okay, but go find somebody else if you need to." It was just the lackluster approach, and it seemed like he did not really care. We seem to get a lot of this when we get non-Microsoft support. I can identify areas for improvement with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, as it is kind of a convoluted mess to try to take care of false positives. Especially when they have been identified as false positives but they keep going off over and over again. It is great for my pocketbook because it generates a lot of on-call action, but I would really prefer more sleep at two o'clock in the morning than dealing with false positives. I would say that the unified portal for managing Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is suitable for both teams as they are all in there. It would be great if they would stop moving things around and renaming things, which makes sense. The new XDR portal is pretty nice. Being able to have it central again inside of the regular Security Center without having to open up two windows is helpful. Overall, I think it is pretty good. There is always going to be something that could be improved, such as alerting and the ability to modify alerts would be a little bit helpful to have. Being able to add more data into the alerts and turn off alerts that are not as useful would be beneficial. It is hard to say what the quantitative impact the security exposure management feature has had on our company's security, because a lot of it is kind of subjective. I think we are sitting at around a fifty percent score still, and a lot of it is just kind of unusual circumstances that we cannot really implement without breaking the organization.

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Hasan Dawood

Cloud Engineer at REDtone Digital Services

Robust security with features like antivirus protection and centralized management, but it may have limitations in supporting migrations from public clouds

While it excels in migrating VMs from on-premises and local infrastructure, it does not provide support for public cloud migrations. Attempting to migrate from public clouds like AWS encountered challenges, and Sangfor's support team clarified that they don't offer assistance for migrations from public cloud environments. It would be much more convenient if the migration tool could be installed directly on the customer's VMs, enabling a smoother migration process to the new infrastructure, with potential restrictions addressed accordingly.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Cortex XDR is a simple platform that's easy for administrators and users. You have a lot of flexibility to change or customize the features."

"Cortex XDR is a very capable solution for protecting large networks and a lot of endpoints. It's very useful because the automation is very high, and if you combine it with the features on Palo Alto firewalls, it provides very strong protection."

"Technical support is the best in class, in my opinion, because they have invested heavily in research and development."

"Cortex is a very good total solution on the endpoints."

"The most valuable features are the fact that it was running in the background and it would intercept any weird stuff, and the fact that it would send things directly to the cloud for sandboxing. It's quite practical."

"The solution doesn't need a high level of technical training."

"The multi-layered approach to the product gives you confidence that it will stop exploits, ransomware, worms, or viruses from compromising endpoints, essentially providing peace of mind."

"There has been a significant reduction of approximately 70% to 80% in our internal MTTR and MTTD metrics, now around five to eight minutes whereas previously it was hours, which has helped tremendously."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pros

"Defender for Endpoint saves me a lot of time because I have all the alerts and information in one application."

"What I found most valuable in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is its vulnerability dashboard; it's fantastic for my clients and I."

"The attack surface reduction rules are the most valuable. We're able to have unattended remediation actions when the solution works side by side with a local antivirus like Microsoft Defender or Kaspersky. The attack surface reduction rules help us to proactively block and stop threats."

"Defender for Endpoint provides good visibility into threats and has favorable threat intelligence."

"The visibility into threats that the solution provides is pretty awesome... This is something that makes me think, "Wow, okay. If I had my own organization, I would probably get this too." It stops the threat before an employee gets phished or something gets downloaded to their computer."

"The endpoint detection of threats is valuable. The initial detection of things like ransomware and viruses and being able to shut down machines immediately and stop a threat is valuable. We can stop a threat at a source versus allow it to propagate it across the network."

"One of the valuable features of the solution is the small updates that keep my machine relatively clean from any infections."

"Its real-time security is the most valuable."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pros

"The tool's most valuable features are control access, endpoint security, and load balancing of ISPs."

"We use the product for network protection from any malicious threat."

"Sangfor Endpoint Secure has some good policy certificates."

"The most valuable feature I have found in the system is its comprehensive end-to-end protection."

"The real-time monitoring feature of Sangfor Endpoint Secure is truly real-time, with no delay compared to other solutions."

"I like the tool's honeypot feature. Some features include having a honeypot to detect attacks in a certain area. Additionally, there is RDP protection, which means that when we remote into our server or any endpoint, we must enter a password as a second layer of security. It can also integrate with next-generation firewalls."

"It has a quick response time, threat intelligence, cybersecurity features, quick report generation, behavior analysis, dynamic detection, and quarantine features."

"The tool's AI feature is helpful in endpoint security."

More Sangfor Endpoint Secure pros

Cons

"Cortex XDR could be improved with more GUI features."

"The setup is quite easy. We had appropriate support from the manager. One thing that was missing was the integration part."

"To jump from the partner to Palo Alto directly was challenging."

"I have run into some detection issues with Cortex XDR. It needs to be better at detection of internal attacks."

"When it comes to core analysis, and security analysis, Cortex needs to provide more information."

"I don't like that they have different types of licenses. For example, if users select a license, they think they will have all the platforms they need to improve their network or security. But after some time, Palo Alto Networks changed their licensing, and some of the features that, for example, were free at the beginning now have a cost. I think the integration can be improved. For example, a lot of tools are just integrated through APIs."

"Dashboards do not allow everyone to see what's happening."

"Fine-tuning the detection policy requires experience because the policy is very complex in Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks, and we get high false positive alerts."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks cons

"The management console is something that can be improved."

"Some integration components for Mac should be added. We use both Windows 10 desktops and Mac desktops, but presently, the Mac component is still lagging a bit behind."

"In terms of improvement, they update the platform it seems quite a bit. Every month something is in a new spot or something changed somewhere. There should be less of that."

"More integration with different platforms is an area for improvement for this product, and should be included in its next release."

"The interface isn't necessarily intuitive to a nontechnical person. You can get stuck in the little endpoint security portal. Sometimes, if you uninstall a competitive product, the end user doesn't always know if it's running or if they're protected even though it's silently running. There could be a notification, widget, or something that's resident on the screen for at least a bit, especially if you're doing remote support. You want to talk them through it, but sometimes, we're not allowed to look at the PCs we support."

"Sometimes it's complicated. It's not intuitive in terms of installation and deployment."

"I would like the solution to be able to prevent unauthorized programs from installing and to block unauthorised URLs which is similar to web filtering product."

"Microsoft Defender protects the computer by using virus definitions that we download through regular updates but nowadays, cybersecurity attacks have become more intelligent."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint cons

"It is complicated to establish a tunnel due to technical issues in the VPN system."

"Currently, the tool lacks reporting functionalities."

"I believe Sangfor Endpoint Secure could improve in terms of its user interface and management capabilities."

"Sangfor Endpoint Secure should include healing capabilities."

"I face issues while migrating from Kaspersky to Sangfor Endpoint Secure."

"Sangfor Endpoint Secure performs poorly."

"There are a few areas for improvement. We have encountered licensing issues on occasion, and sometimes updates don't apply properly."

"The interface has too many buttons, making it cluttered."

More Sangfor Endpoint Secure cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's way too expensive, but security is expensive. You pay for your licensing, and then you pay for someone to monitor the stuff."

"I don't like that they have different types of licenses."

"It has a higher cost than other solutions, like CrowdStrike or Microsoft’s EDR tools, but it reduces the cost of our operations because it’s a new generation antivirus tool."

"We didn't have to pay any additional fee for the cloud instance. It just came with the renewal, which was nice."

"The return on investment is from the user side because we have seen the performance of it increase the delivery time of the product if we are using too many web-based and on-premise applications. In indirect ways, we saw the return of investment in terms of performance and user satisfaction increase."

"I don't have any issues with the pricing. We are satisfied with the price."

"The price is on the higher side, but it's okay."

"This is an expensive solution."

More Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks pricing and cost advice

"It's included with the Windows Operating System, I don't pay for any licensing fees."

"Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comes with Windows 10, and it's free. But for you to be able to manage it in the cloud and use the console, you need to have either an Office 365 E5 subscription or a Microsoft M365 subscription. You need to buy an extra license."

"I do not have to purchase antivirus solutions anymore because Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is integrated into Windows and comes free."

"The E5 license is the one that I recommend because it comes with Cloud App Security, which is a good thing to have on top of Microsoft Defender."

"We have seen ROI. Most of the other competing alternatives will cost up to around $30 per user device. We average 400 devices. Therefore, the amount that we save each year is 400 times $30."

"When compared with other vendors, the pricing is very high."

"We pay a yearly license for Microsoft Defender. We also have a support contract with them."

"The license for Microsoft Windows covers Microsoft Defender for Endpoint."

More Microsoft Defender for Endpoint pricing and cost advice

"Sangfor Endpoint Secure is not a cheap solution."

"The solution is cheap. It is cheaper than other products by 15-20 percent."

"The product is expensive compared to other vendors."

"We were using Hyper-V. So, we switched to Sangfor because of the pricing."

"Price-wise, Sangfor Endpoint Secure can be considered a competitively priced product in the market as it offers quite low prices compared to other solutions."

"Its "pay as you grow" model offers cost-effectiveness compared to major cloud providers."

"Sangfor Endpoint Secure's pricing is cheap. I rate it seven out of ten."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

14%

Outsourcing Company

12%

Construction Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Comms Service Provider

13%

Media Company

Outsourcing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	50
Midsize Enterprise	21
Large Enterprise	57

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	82
Midsize Enterprise	44
Large Enterprise	97

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	3

Questions from the Community

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. Sentinel One

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. SentinelOne SentinelOne offers very detailed specifics with regard to risks or attacks. ...

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Comparing CrowdStrike Falcon to Cortex XDR (Palo Alto)

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto vs. CrowdStrike Falcon Both Cortex XDR and Crowd Strike Falcon offer cloud-based solutions th...

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How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface,...

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Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?

We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior sol...

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How does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compare with Crowdstrike Falcon?

The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never pu...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint?

We have been discussing pricing, setup cost, and licensing, and we are currently on an E3. We are discussing going to...

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Comparisons

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 5% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 4% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

Cortex XSIAM vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

Trellix Endpoint Security Platform vs Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

Compared 3% of the time

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OpenText Core Endpoint Protection vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 7% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 3% of the time

Symantec Endpoint Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 3% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 3% of the time

HP Wolf Security vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Compared 2% of the time

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CrowdStrike Falcon vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Compared 11% of the time

Kaspersky Next XDR Expert vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Compared 8% of the time

SentinelOne Singularity Endpoint vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Compared 4% of the time

TrendAI Vision One vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Compared 4% of the time

Open EDR vs Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Compared 3% of the time

More Sangfor Endpoint Secure Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks

November 2026

Download Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks product report

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

October 2026

Download Microsoft Defender for Endpoint product report

Buyer's Guide

Sangfor Endpoint Secure

October 2026

Download Sangfor Endpoint Secure product report

Also Known As

Cyvera, Cortex XDR, Palo Alto Networks Traps

Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus

No data available

Interactive Demo

Demo not available

Palo Alto Networks

Microsoft

Demo not available

Sangfor

Overview

Cortex XDR by Palo Alto Networks provides advanced threat detection with AI-driven endpoint protection and seamless integration, ensuring multi-layered security and automatic threat response.

Cortex XDR is designed to safeguard endpoints against malware and suspicious activities. It offers advanced threat detection and response capabilities using behavioral analysis, AI, and machine learning. It seamlessly integrates with security infrastructures, providing endpoint security, firewall integration, and enhanced visibility in both cloud-based and on-premises environments.

What are the key features of Cortex XDR?

Advanced Threat Detection: Uses AI and machine learning for proactive threat identification.
Multi-layered Security: Combines various security measures for comprehensive protection.
Endpoint Protection: Safeguards against malware and exploits.
Behavioral Analysis: Monitors suspicious activity for early detection.
Automatic Threat Response: Automates responses to neutralize threats.

What benefits should users expect?

Ease of Use: Simplifies security management with intuitive design.
Resource Efficiency: Minimizes impact on system resources.
Integration Capabilities: Works well with existing security setups.
Reduced Analyst Workload: Automates processes to decrease manual intervention.

Organizations in diverse sectors deploy Cortex XDR to protect against malware, leveraging its advanced threat detection capabilities. Its integration with existing security infrastructures appeals to those seeking comprehensive protection in both cloud and on-premises environments, providing enhanced visibility and threat intelligence.

Palo Alto Networks

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint provides comprehensive threat protection that integrates well with current systems, offering proactive threat detection and automatic updates while reducing manual efforts.

The platform is designed for seamless integration with Microsoft products, facilitating efficient management and use. It offers proactive ransomware protection and valuable threat intelligence, crucial for timely response and increased visibility across devices. Users highlight its ability to secure endpoints from viruses and malware, integrating with Windows and Office 365 to enhance real-time detection capabilities in diverse environments, including hybrid and on-premises setups. However, enhancements are needed in Linux integration, detection accuracy, and policy implementations.

What are the key features of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint?

Seamless Integration: Works smoothly with existing systems and Microsoft products for easy management.
Proactive Threat Detection: Advanced monitoring to identify and mitigate threats swiftly.
Ransomware Protection: Built-in features to protect against ransomware attacks automatically.
Centralized Management: Unified platform for better device visibility and collaboration.
Threat Intelligence: Provides critical data for rapid threat response.

What benefits should be evaluated in Microsoft Defender for Endpoint?

Cost-Effectiveness: Part of Windows bundles, offering comprehensive security at competitive pricing.
Time Efficiency: Reduces manual oversight with automatic updates and management ease.
Real-Time Detection: Enhanced security through seamless Office 365 and Windows integration.
Device Coverage: Supports hybrid and on-premises environments for varied digital infrastructures.

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is implemented across industries for securing endpoints, relying on its deep integration with Windows and Office 365 to protect against malware and viruses. Organizations benefit from its real-time detection and comprehensive management capabilities, particularly in hybrid environments where diverse digital infrastructures need safeguarding.

Microsoft

Organizations use Sangfor Endpoint Secure for endpoint protection and security management, managing devices, servers, and networks against malicious threats. It also assists in blocking websites, managing infrastructure, applications, antivirus needs, and aids in migrating to cloud environments.

Sangfor Endpoint Secure offers end-to-end protection, incorporating file protection, AI detection, behavior analysis, access control, and ISP load balancing. It facilitates VM migration with minimal downtime and includes a dual-end user interface for creating firewall rules, uploading images, and configuring VM settings. Enhancements such as Hyper-V capabilities, policy certificates, honeypot features, and next-generation firewall integrations are available. However, Sangfor Endpoint Secure could improve on console management, reporting functionalities, public cloud migration support, navigation, VPN system issues, licensing, update management, transitioning processes, and incorporating healing capabilities.

What are its most important features?

Comprehensive end-to-end protection including file protection
AI detection and behavior analysis
Access control and ISP load balancing
Ease of VM migration with minimal downtime
Streamlined dual-end user interface for firewall rules and VM settings
Hyper-V capabilities and policy certificates
Honeypot feature for attack detection and RDP protection
Integration with next-generation firewalls

What benefits or ROI should users look for?

Enhanced device, server, and network security from malicious threats
Simplified migration from on-premises to cloud environments
User-friendly navigation and management capabilities
Advanced detection and behavior analysis reducing potential threats
Streamlined enforcement of robust security policies

Sangfor Endpoint Secure is implemented across various industries to ensure comprehensive security management and protection. IT departments leverage its VM migration capabilities for seamless transitions to cloud environments. Healthcare organizations use it to secure sensitive patient data, while educational institutions utilize it for safeguarding academic records and personal information. Financial services employ it to protect critical transactional data and adhere to stringent compliance requirements.

Sangfor

Sample Customers

CBI Health Group, University Honda, VakifBank

Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Sangfor Endpoint Secure

September 2026

Free Report: Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Sangfor Endpoint Secure

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Defender for Endpoint vs. Sangfor Endpoint Secure and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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