In one embodiment, local software code present in a computer system enables real-time detection of whether the computer system is properly protected against malicious attacks from harmful software. For example, software code such as one or more agents executing in the computer system support real-time protection validation based upon detection of the behavior of the computer system (as opposed to mere detection of the presence of resources or applications in the computer system). In response to detecting that the computer system or an application accesses or provides a particular type of resource and should be protected via one or more appropriate protection policies, if the computer system is not already protected, an agent of the computer system can provide immediate remediation (e.g., a security measure) to temporarily protect the computer system until the appropriate protection policy can be activated to protect the computer system against malicious software threats.