Internet users when browsing the Internet must take a series of measures to be safe. One is to have the operating system updated with the latest patches, to have a good antivirus and, if possible, to have antimalware software as well. Windows for several generations has had its own antivirus integrated into the operating system and you may have heard it named Microsoft Defender. However, have you ever had doubts about whether it is better than other third-party antivirus, whether free or paid. In this article we will solve the doubts about whether Microsoft Defender is a good antivirus.
What Microsoft antivirus offers us
microsoft defender What we used to know as Windows Defender is an antivirus whose purpose is to search for and solve threats, it is also responsible for preventing, removing and quarantining malware and spyware in Windows. This antivirus is activated by default in Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and in the new Windows 11.
As for Microsoft Defender, it includes the following features:
- It has real-time protection against viruses and threats found on your computer, along with quick, custom, full, and offline scan options. Among the threats it protects us from, you can protect us against ransomware by setting up OneDrive.
- It has account protection, here unauthorized logins are protected.
- It includes a firewall that protects our computer in public, private and domain networks.
- Hardware security with virtualization-based kernel protection and isolation.
One of the points where it stands out the most is its optimization as it is integrated into the operating system itself, which means that it consumes fewer resources. The only thing to keep in mind is that it doesn’t have any other options from other third-party antivirus like network analyzer or program updater. You may be interested in how to remove malware with Windows Defender.
Why Microsoft Defender is a good antivirus
For a long time there was an oft-repeated advice to not settle for the programs that Microsoft offered us. Whether it was its Microsoft Defender antivirus to scan our PC, or browsing the web with the Edge browser, this made many users give up on them and opt for third-party options.
However, Microsoft is taking its work seriously and wants to show us that it can have a good quality antivirus. In a recent report by AV-TEST, an independent antivirus testing company, Microsoft Defender was found to be a good antivirus. Furthermore, it was found to work well and also outperform many recommended third-party antiviruses.
According to the AV-TEST report, all popular antivirus programs were subjected to the most stringent tests. Thus, each of them was qualified in the categories of protection, performance and usability, and in which the highest score was 6 points. In this aspect, Microsoft Defender did so well that it obtained the maximum score in all three categories, that is, 6.
So we can see that Microsoft Defender is a good antivirus, and it gets the TOP product rating. It is also observed that it obtains a better score than other paid products such as Malwarebytes Premium, although it also obtains the TOP product classification.
Is it worth using Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender is already proven to be a good antivirus and can be a great alternative to third-party antivirus. In this aspect, remember that it is already integrated, consumes fewer resources and obtains a great score. This has become clear recently, it has already been seen that third-party antiviruses cannot compete with them. Thus, in December 2021 we have seen how Bitdefender Free, the free version of its antivirus, will no longer have support in June 2022.
On the other hand, there have also been scandals with free antivirus like Avast in 2020, in which users were spied on. This, together with the fact that Microsoft Defender is a good antivirus, can make us think that right now a free third-party antivirus is not worth it. However, it should be noted that there are paid third-party antivirus programs that may be better than Microsoft Defender and have more features. In certain occasions it can compensate to have one of payment. Finally, if you ever have a false positive, you may be interested in knowing how to add exceptions to Windows Defender.
