Windows Defender review
Our Verdict
Windows Defender isn't the absolute all-time antivirus software, but it's easily good enough to be your primary malware defense force.
For
- Already installed on Windows 8.1 and 10
- Very good malware protection
Against
- Can exist hard to schedule scans
- Not many extras
- Some features work just with Microsoft products
Tom'due south Guide Verdict
Windows Defender isn't the absolute all-time antivirus software, merely it's easily good enough to be your primary malware defence force.
Pros
- +
Already installed on Windows eight.1 and 10
- +
Very good malware protection
- +
Cons
- -
Can be hard to schedule scans
- -
Not many extras
- -
Some features work only with Microsoft products
With very good defenses against malware, a low impact on organisation functioning and a surprising number of accompanying extra features, Microsoft's built-in Windows Defender, aka Windows Defender Antivirus, has almost caught up with the best free antivirus programs by offer excellent automatic protection.
Windows Defender specs
Malware protection: Very good
System touch, groundwork: n/a
System impact, scans: Moderate
Windows compatibility: 8/8.i and 10
Email scans: No
File shredder: No
Game/silent manner: Aye
Hardened/secure browser: Aye, for Edge & IE only
Password manager: No
Operation scanner: No
Ransomware file reversal: Yes
Rescue disk: No
Browse scheduler: Yeah
Support options: 24/7 telephone, email support
URL screener: Yeah, for Edge & IE only
Upsell nag factor: Nonexistent
The downsides are that scheduling scans is too difficult for many to attain, at that place's no protection for web browsers other than Edge or Internet Explorer, and at that place'southward no stand-lone password director or a file shredder.
If you crave airtight malware protection forth with easy-to-schedule scans, a fair number of actress goodies, lots of customization options and a superlight organisation load, get Kaspersky Security Cloud Free. If y'all just want meliorate defenses than what Defender offers, try the no-muss-no-fuss Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition.
If you're yet using Windows vii, and so y'all demand to utilize 3rd-political party antivirus software. Just if yous're on Windows 8.i or Windows 10 and similar the idea of getting very good free malware protection without lifting a finger, then just stick with Windows Defender.
Read on for the residue of our Windows Defender review.
Windows Defender: What's covered and upgrade options
Windows Defender comes with Windows 8.1 and x and tin exist disabled only past the installation of a 3rd-party antivirus plan, or, if you lot're brave, editing the Windows Registry.
What you lot see with Windows Defender is what you go. There are no upgrades bachelor to augment protection or add together features. Merely if y'all take into account the entire Windows Security apparatus, Defender comes with a firewall, drive-level encryption (in Windows 10 Pro and upwards), limited parental controls and even a game manner.
On the other hand, it still lacks things that third-party antivirus makers add every bit enticements, such as a file shredder and VPN access.
Microsoft plans to expand Defender'south coverage to other platforms. There'south already a beta version of Microsoft Defender for Macs in enterprise deployments, and Microsoft says it is working on Microsoft Defender for Android and Linux.
Hence the official renaming of the enterprise product to "Microsoft Defender." Microsoft tells us the consumer product volition continue to exist called Windows Defender Antivirus.
Windows Defender: Antivirus protection
Even if you practice zippo to a new Windows 8.1 or 10 estimator, Windows Defender is already there protecting your machine. Many users volition not even detect that Defender is working until they're subjected to an set on.
Defender compares new files and programs against a database of known malware and watches for signs that an attack is underway, such as the encryption of key files.
By default, Microsoft uploads suspect items from your figurer for online analysis, but you can opt out of this information collection in the Windows Security Center settings. Several malware-signature updates go out daily to Windows Defender and Microsoft Defender'due south 500 million users.
Microsoft also has a bunch of specific defenses. Because Defender runs in an isolated "sandbox," rogue code can exist executed without affecting the residual of the system.
There'south now tamper protection to prevent malicious apps from irresolute settings, and Defender stops fileless-malware attacks with a memory-integrity feature that prevents malicious lawmaking from being injected into running RAM. It also screens email attachments for malicious code.
Quick scans are a click away from the front page of the Windows Defender Security Eye, which you lot can access by clicking the shield icon in the Organisation Tray at the bottom right of your screen. Full or specialized scans are a click or ii beyond that.
When a USB drive is plugged in, Defender scans its contents; yous can also scan any file by right-clicking on it in the Windows Explorer file manager.
The remainder of Microsoft's Windows Security Center features run whether or non Defender or some other antivirus plan is protecting your system, but they're worth mentioning.
Attacks on the system's get-go-up sequence tin be stopped by Microsoft'southward Secure Kick feature, and the SmartScreen filter blocks links to untrustworthy websites from Outlook, Edge and Internet Explorer (just non third-party browsers similar Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox).
Microsoft's OneDrive online file repository can hold copies of your key files to be recovered in case of an encrypting ransomware attack.
If Windows Defender interrupts a movie or game playing on your PC, the Game Mode can assist. While other antivirus programs accept integrated game modes, Microsoft'southward can be accessed in the Gaming part of the master Windows Settings menu.
Windows Defender: Antivirus performance
Over the past two years, Windows Defender has improved to the point where it at present offers malware protection every bit good as almost whatever free or paid antivirus program.
In all 26 monthly rounds of tests conducted in 2018, 2019 and the commencement two months of 2020 by High german lab AV-Examination, Windows Defender detected either 99.9% or 100% of known "widespread" malware every single time, and failed to get a perfect 100% but once in 2019. It failed to detect 100% of previously unseen "zero-mean solar day" malware a total of vi times.
Those scores put Windows Defender, one time the worst joke in antivirus protection, alee of well-known brands similar Avast, AVG, Avira and McAfee, and merely behind Bitdefender and Trend Micro.
Defender still isn't every bit adept equally manufacture leaders Kaspersky or Norton, which detected all malware in all of AV-Test's 2018, 2019 and (and so far) 2020 evaluations, but it's finally within shouting distance.
Non all these brands mentioned offering free antivirus software, but of those who do, Kaspersky comes out on top with perfect scores. Next upward is Bitdefender, which got all the widespread malware in those 2-plus years but missed some zero-day bugs in iii instances.
The other two free products we've reviewed for this round, Avast Free Antivirus and AVG AntiVirus Free, share the same malware-detection engine with each other and were behind Windows Defender. While they detected either 99.ix% or 100% of widespread malware almost all the time, they missed zero-day bugs x times over the 26-calendar month catamenia.
Windows Defender is too detecting fewer faux positives than it used to, at to the lowest degree in AV-Test'southward evaluations. It registered 21 false alarms in 2018, but only 15 in 2019. However, Kaspersky had but three false positives over the unabridged two years.
Tests by the Austrian lab AV-Comparatives are much more sensitive to fake positives, and in those, Windows Defender racked upwardly too many: a total of 74 in iv monthly tests from February to May 2019, and 58 from July through Oct 2019. Kaspersky got zero fake positives for the unabridged year; Bitdefender got four and Avast and AVG thirteen each.
Microsoft told united states that this was considering its Smart Screen browser-protection feature flags any unknown file as potential malware, and that AV-Comparatives chalked up a imitation positive every fourth dimension that happened. For its February-March 2020 tests, AV-Comparatives reportedly turned Smart Screen off, and Defender came away with only five faux positives.
On the plus side, Windows Defender stopped a respectable average of 99.6% of "real-world" (mostly online) malware in AV-Comparatives' February-May 2019 tests, 99.three% from July to October 2019, and 99.7% in February-March 2020.
Kaspersky'south results were mixed, with 100% in the showtime and third set of tests, just but 99.ane% in the 2nd. Bitdefender got 99.9%, 99.vii% and 99.5%, respectively, and Avast and AVG brought up the rear with 99.2%, 99.three% and 99.7% each.
Finally, Windows Defender scored a 99% overall score in London-based SE Labs' July-September 2019 tests, and 98% in the October-December 2019 rounds, edging just past Avast and AVG in the first round and tying them in the 2nd. In January-March 2020, Defender got a 99% score again.
All three were behind Kaspersky, which scored perfect 100% detection rates both times; as for Bitdefender, it wasn't tested.
Notably, Defender got zero false positives in all iii of those virtually recent SE Labs rounds, a perfect streak that goes back to at least January 2018.
Windows Defender: Security and privacy features
Microsoft's security offerings are baked into Windows 10 and available to users of other antivirus programs. Windows has a born firewall, which doesn't screen outbound traffic past default as many third-political party firewalls do, but yous can gear up the Windows firewall to do that by calculation rules.
It's not a fully hardened browser for banking or buying online, merely Edge'due south SmartScreen filter blocks known malicious websites. There is a password manager baked into Microsoft Edge, just as at that place is for Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome, simply information technology can't be used outside the browser.
If you're running Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise or Education, you can utilize Windows Defender Application Guard, which opens untrusted websites in an isolated case of Microsoft Edge to protect the rest of the machine.
There are Application Guard extensions for Chrome and Firefox, but all they do is let yous open dodgy websites in the isolated version of Edge instead.
Microsoft built parental controls into the Windows Security Middle, but they mainly work just with other Microsoft products. The screen-fourth dimension limits piece of work with Windows or Xbox One, but not a Mac.
The browser filters screen what kids see in Edge and Net Explorer, simply not in Chrome or Firefox. These two features do work with Android devices, but the devices demand to take the Microsoft Launcher app installed.
Windows Defender: Performance and system impact
Windows Defender's mandatory protection makes calculating safer, but it complicates our testing because it means that Defender is always running in the groundwork and there'due south no like shooting fish in a barrel way to generate a pre-installation baseline score comparable to those of other antivirus brands.
(For what information technology's worth, installing Kaspersky Security Cloud Gratuitous actually sped up our arrangement past 0.9%, which hints that it'southward got a lighter background performance bear upon than Windows Defender.)
To guess performance, we used our Excel-based criterion, which measures how long it takes to match 20,000 names and addresses in a spreadsheet. Our exam motorcar was an Asus X555LA notebook with a two-GHz Cadre i3-5005U processor, 6GB of RAM and 59.5GB of files on a 500GB hard drive. This notebook ran Windows 10 with the latest updates.
Windows Defender took an average of 1 hour and 34 minutes to consummate a total scan of our test arrangement, the slowest of the gratis malware apps to examine an entire computer. The quick browse took an boilerplate of iii minutes and 38 seconds, well backside Avast Free Antivirus' 1 infinitesimal and 36 seconds.
With no active scans running, our benchmark test took 13.3 seconds to cease, which rose to xvi.0 seconds while running a full system scan with Defender. That's a performance driblet of 20% from the normal groundwork load.
Among other gratis antivirus programs, Bitdefender Antivirus Gratuitous Edition's full scan slowed the system by 26% from the mail-installation background (non the baseline), and Avast Complimentary Antivirus acquired a 24% loss.
Much lighter were AVG AntiVirus Complimentary, whose full scan translated into a functioning loss of just 7.1% from the background, and Kaspersky Security Cloud Gratuitous, which created a 6.vii% loss from the background (and a 5.7% driblet from the preinstallation baseline).
Windows Defender's quick-scan results were better, with the criterion finishing in xv seconds. This 13% performance driblet was only outdone past Kaspersky Security Cloud Gratuitous's ii.1% hit. By contrast, Avast Gratis Antivirus showed a performance decline of 47%.
Windows Defender: Interface
The Windows Security Center tin can exist reached past clicking the shield icon in the System Tray that slides out from the little upwardly arrow in the lesser correct of the desktop interface.
The main window presents you with seven features — the first, Virus & Threat Protection, is where you can fine-tune Defender's ransomware protection by toggling the Controlled Binder Admission characteristic, and where you tin mirror key files on OneDrive.
Account Protection specifies how yous log into Windows, and the Firewall & Network Protection department is plain for tweaking the firewall. App & Browser Control adjusts Edge and the Microsoft Store'southward security settings.
Device Security lets you actuate core isolation and memory integrity to help end fileless-malware attacks. The Device Performance & Health section checks your storage, drivers, battery (if it'due south a tablet or notebook) and apps, and provides a mechanism to reinstall Windows while keeping your personal files intact.
Family unit Options merely links to your online Microsoft business relationship, where you tin set upwards the aforementioned parental controls.
One big drawback: There's no easy way to schedule scans with Windows Defender. Instead, you need to set upwards scans in the Task Scheduler, which hasn't changed much since Windows Vista and will try the resourcefulness and patience of most users.
Windows Defender: Installation and support
Considering information technology's office of Windows, in that location'southward nothing to install or plow on with Windows Defender. It's at that place whether you want information technology or not.
Unlike some other free malware programs, withal, Windows Defender has Microsoft's 24/seven phone and email back up to reply a question or sort out a tough infection. In that location are as well a lot of resources online, including ready-up tips, reports of new malware and detailed instructions.
Windows Defender review: Bottom line
Windows Defender now provides world-class malware protection and makes a expert argument for not replacing it with a 3rd-party antivirus program. Its only flaws are that some of its protective tasks, like scheduling scans, are hard to set up, and that some of the associated Windows protections utilize only to Microsoft's ain browsers.
If y'all want the overall best free antivirus protection with a decent number of extra features, Kaspersky Security Cloud Free is the way to become.
Updated with latest lab-test results. This review was originally published in May 2020.
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Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/windows-defender
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