Microsoft Defender

[jrj350]

I am presently using Avast Premium Security as my anti-virus program. It is coming due next week. I just read an article that says of the anti-virus programs available, none are better than Windows Defender.
Irrespective of any comments, I am dropping Avast for sure.
Now, what is the general opinion here? Is WindowsDefender enough protection? Surely this question has been asked no less than a billion times but I cannot seem to get a clear answer.
So I am turning to the Widows10 forum people for their opinion.
Please do not get started on Avast. I really prefer the subject to be Windows Defender.

Thanks for reading
jrj

 

[Tim Locke]

I have been using it since the start of W10. It has not found anything...but then maybe it just isn't noisy about it when it does. I have the whole defender suite turned on. It gets one or two updates per day silently.

I also use MalwareBytes which I manually scan once a week just in case.

 

[Wolfie]

I have been using Windows defender since Windows 10 came out and have never had any problems with a virus or malware on any of my 4 computers!.

I always recommend it to people and no one has reported that they have ever had a problem with virus/malware attacks!.

Is Windows Defender Good Enough In 2023?

Windows computers come with a lot of software pre-installed when it was built. They ensure the computer runs or to enhance and improve its performance. One of this software is Windows Defender. Windo...

www.cleanskies.com

See also (It gets top marks here):

https://www.av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/

I was a long time user of Avira and Avast but both slow the system down somewhat and I only used the free versions. There are many AV products out there but imo you can't beat Windows Defender as it is unintrusive!.

 

[BigFeet]

I've always used avast or bitdefender. But all "free" antivirus is bloatware and adware nowadays. I've switched to just using defender and running the free version of malwarebytes every couple days.

 

[Wolfie]

Edit: I forgot that did have an occasion once where I got some bugs, it was 2 years ago (see reference link below post # 7).

https://www.windows10forums.com/threads/avira-security-rescue-system-live-cd-anti-virus-app.14109/

 

[Bastet]

I gave up paid software (Norton) when it started to become bloatware, I now use Defender with MBAM premium & it has never found anything yet.
As long as a user is careful & not accessing P2P/file sharing sites & using well known software download sites then there should be no problems.

 

[jrj350]

I followed the advice here and just run defender. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Bastet]

I followed the advice here and just run defender. Thanks for the replies.

Excellent.

 

[Edward T Brown]

I am presently using Avast Premium Security as my anti-virus program. It is coming due next week. I just read an article that says of the anti-virus programs available, none are better than Windows Defender.
Irrespective of any comments, I am dropping Avast for sure.
Now, what is the general opinion here? Is WindowsDefender enough protection? Surely this question has been asked no less than a billion times but I cannot seem to get a clear answer.
So I am turning to the Widows10 forum people for their opinion.
Please do not get started on Avast. I really prefer the subject to be Windows Defender.

Thanks for reading
jrj

I have used Defender for years now and have recommended it many times over the years! I even accompanied a friend to Best Buy to buy a computer for herself! During the process she asked "what about a virus protection software ?" I immediately said that it was not necessary as Windows 10 already had a very robust virus protection called Defender that worked seamlessly with Windows! The people at Best Buy immediately offered me a job! I declined the offer though! I was amused but It was true! I have used the best of the best in virus protection software over my 32 years experience with computers and software. Nothing works as seamlessly as Defender in providing protection from viruses, Trojan horses, and malware!

Ed Brown

 

[reddwarf4ever]

I am presently using Avast Premium Security as my anti-virus program. It is coming due next week. I just read an article that says of the anti-virus programs available, none are better than Windows Defender.
Irrespective of any comments, I am dropping Avast for sure.
Now, what is the general opinion here? Is WindowsDefender enough protection? Surely this question has been asked no less than a billion times but I cannot seem to get a clear answer.
So I am turning to the Widows10 forum people for their opinion.
Please do not get started on Avast. I really prefer the subject to be Windows Defender.

Thanks for reading
jrj

I agree, I dont like the yearly fee that AV providers are all charging now, makes you wonder how integrated the virus makers amd virus killers are anyway, I investigated the FREE options and found that defender is now a lot better and possibly better than some paid versions.....I have set many exceptions, easy to do, as it used to delete files Willy Nilly......but no more......so think defender is most likely the way to go......also Avast is meant to be very heavy on resources, you may find defender improves your PC performance......make sure you uninstall avast completely, use the avast clean up tool and or use Revo uninstaller ( free ) gets rid of Everything......good luck

P.S.i also use free Spybot , as defender is not so good at malware

 

[John Clark]

I've always used avast or bitdefender. But all "free" antivirus is bloatware and adware nowadays. I've switched to just using defender and running the free version of malwarebytes every couple days.

I trust Defender and relied on it since it was offered. Very superior to most malware programs. I'm onto political blogs a lot so invite a great number of attaches by having an opinion. I also use Spyhunter which has done excellent work for me and intervened in my work to save my arse on several occasions. It works seamlessly with Windows defender and makes me a very happy camper.

 

[Ginnpr]

I have been using it since the start of W10. It has not found anything...but then maybe it just isn't noisy about it when it does. I have the whole defender suite turned on. It gets one or two updates per day silently.

I also use MalwareBytes which I manually scan once a week just in case.

I have been doing the same since W10 - Never any problem!!!!

 

[leehop71]

I use Defender, MB Premium, and Antispyware Pro without an issue and they work flawlessly together.

 

[monkeylove]

It depends on computer use. In my case, I use the free version of the best AVs in terms of performance and detection, and that have no popup notifications for upgrades.

 

[Iceboy]

I use windows defender on both my computers. But when I try to use it on it's own it say's no anti virus being used and most times when I open Opera browser it asks me to choose home or private networks?.

 

[Bastet]

Have you ever had any third party antivirus installed?
If so have you used their removal tool to clean any remnants off the computer?

If the PC is only used at home then choose ‘Home’, if you use it both at home & outside then choose ‘private’.

 

[Iceboy]

I put home and a couple of weeks later it ask's me again and again and so it continues..I'm beginning to think seriously about the version of windows 10 they put on this laptop, because I'm having trouble with bing cookies and I never use bing at all.

 

[Bastet]

I would check to see whether you’re running a genuine license:
Right click on start & choose powershell with admin & enter: slmgr.vbs /dlv
This will show a popup showing whether your license is OEM, Retail, or Volume amongst other information.

 

[Iceboy]

Yes it says R after it plus oem and some more stuff I don't understand lol..but it won't come up again.

 

[Bastet]

It says R after what?
If you wish to view he information again just run the cmd again.
OEM is fine.
Have you ever had another AV installed?

Try running these programs:
MBAM free: https://www.malwarebytes.com/mwb-download/
Eset online scanner: http://www.eset.com/us/online-scanner/
Adwcleaner: https://www.malwarebytes.com/adwcleaner/