Microsoft Defender Antivirus isn't widely respected when it comes to security, but it's been around for a long time. First released as Windows Defender in XNUMX and later renamed Microsoft Defender, it has been included in each and every version of Windows since Vista and is now just one part of a suite of free, built-in security tools.
For example, there is real-time and on-demand malware protection. Automatic detection and blocking of known malicious URLs and files. A simple firewall. And very complex low-level exploit protection that makes it more difficult for malware to attack your system.
Microsoft's parental controls are also smarter than ever before, with quirks like content filtering for Microsoft Edge, the ability to monitor how much time your children can spend on their devices, and the ability to monitor their family from one place. .
Can you really trust only Microsoft Defender antivirus? We will see.
Interface
One of the main advantages of Microsoft Defender Antivirus is that it is integrated into Windows, it does not require installation, has no problems, very little chances of it coming into conflict with anything else, it just works.
A great advantage of this simplicity is that most users never see the Defender interface beyond the eventual alarms. Smart defaults keep you safe out of the box, automatic download and run scans shield you from most threats, and idle and scheduled scans aim to warn everything else.
However, if you want to take a look, type Windows in the search box, choose Windows Security, and explore what is offered.
As with many other security applications, the main panel shows your security status, while a sidebar offers you access to multiple functions: antivirus, account protection (how you log in), firewall and protection, network blocking, URL and malware, parental controls and Suite.
It is not always and at all times intuitive. Although many antivirus applications have a Scan button on the dashboard, for example, Defender is 2 clicks down from the Scan Options panel.
Despite these initial annoyances, it doesn't take long to figure out where everything is, and Microsoft Defender Antivirus is generally not difficult enough to employ.
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender offers the full range of scanning options and more: a fast scan, a full system scan, a scan tailored to match the files and folders you need, even a start-up scan that runs before Windows loads. completely, to remove the most stubborn. threats.
The speedy scans took about a minute on our test computer, but we couldn't get incessant time for the other scans. Defender is more focused on reducing its impact on the system than on speeding up scan times. More march? He is lazy.
AV-Comparative's performance test for October XNUMX says no, putting Microsoft Defender last in a lump of seventeen.
AV-Test Windows tests have found speed issues before, but most of these have disappeared, and Defender now typically achieves the best possible speed rating of 6/6 on most AV gears.
protection
Protection is what really matters with any antivirus. Microsoft Defender has achieved mixed results from independent labs in the past, but has improved in recent times, and now outperforms many commercial contenders.
The AV-Comparatives July-Oct 99,7 real world protection test put Microsoft 100th (along with Bitdefender and VIPRE) out of XNUMX, for example, with a protection rating of XNUMX .XNUMX% Granted, it's not cutting edge - Trend Micro, Panda and Norton have all blocked XNUMX% of threats - but you really can't complain about an antivirus that does it "only" as well as Bitdefender (especially when it's free).
AV-Test's Windows consumer reports gave Defender a maximum of 6/6 points for protection, speed, and usability in all of its tests except one from last year (dropped to 5.5 / 6 for a usability score). Only Avast and Norton scored higher.
SE-Labs' Household Malware Protection Report for July-September 2021 tells a similar story, with Microsoft Defender in second place out of 9 for its overall accuracy rating.
Our own tests have shown file detection capabilities, but little behavioral monitoring.
For example, one group of tests involves using trusted Windows applications to download malicious files, a common scripting trick. Bitdefender and Kaspersky realized that there was a purely behavioral problem and terminated the process before it could download the file. Microsoft Defender agreed to the behavior, allowed the download, and only sounded the alarm when it realized the file was malicious. He was still protecting us this time, but maybe he wouldn't have if the threat was new.
We pitted Microsoft Defender against our custom ransomware, but it also failed, allowing it to encrypt thousands of test files.
Fortunately, Defender has a second layer of protection in its Controlled Folders feature (Security Center> Threat and Virus Protection> Manage Ransomware Protection). Enable this option and it automatically prevents unauthorized applications from accessing key document folders (Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, more) and you can add more easily.
We turned on the watched folders, added our test folder to the list, and ran the ransomware simulator again. This time, Defender showed an alert when our ransomware tried to access the folder and was unable to encrypt any documents.
It's not exactly fancy. Flagged folders just block everything it doesn't recognize, and we've previously found that some legitimate programs refuse to run until we manually add them to an exceptions list.
Avast's Ransomware Shield is smarter, more like a firewall; when it detects unauthorized access to a folder, it alerts you, but also asks if the process is legitimate. Please confirm, Ransomware Shield adds the app to your exceptions list and there is nothing else you need to do.
The scanned files could be better then, but they did their basic job of protecting us from a threat that the antivirus engine missed.
We won't discuss it in depth here, but the Windows OneDrive integration helps a bit too. The standard 5GB free online storage space isn't much, but it's free, it's XNUMXGB more than you'll get with most security apps, and it could help protect your most important data from attacks.
More Features
Windows security doesn't end with antivirus and there are several other features to explore.
The firewall is probably at the top of the list. It does a good job of protecting you from incoming network attacks, but it cares less about controlling outgoing access; If an application can run as an administrator, you can customize the firewall by adding your own rules.
Defender's reputation-based SmartScreen protection lets you block access to malicious websites, files, and applications. Its URL filtering is consistently less accurate than the competition in our tests, and worst of all, it only works with Microsoft Edge. However, SmartScreen file and download checks work system wide and provide a useful additional layer of protection.
Windows has a very low-level set of device security features and exploits, primarily focused on how the operating system manages memory. They are important, but they are best left alone, even by expert users: messing with CFG, DEP, ASLR and memory integrity settings can, in some situations, damage your PC to the point where it won't even start.
Finally, there's the Family Options page, a collection of parental control features.
The good: You have several options, including the ability to filter websites by content, control when your kids can use their devices and what apps they can buy, and then get regular activity reports on what's going on. hello han hecho.
The Bad: These are mostly very basic, and the Windows browser options are Edge-only. Skipping them is as easy as downloading Chrome.
You can install a free Microsoft Family Safety app on Android and iOS to help monitor screen time, web usage, and app usage on other platforms. It only covers the basics, but it's always a welcome addition to the package, and if you're looking for parental controls it's worth a look.
Final verdict
Microsoft Defender is not as feature-rich as the best antiviruses, but it is more accurate than certain big-name commercial products and is much less likely to cause inconvenience with your other applications. If simplicity (or cost) is high on your priority list, this is a reasonable alternative.
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