Everyone when browsing the Internet, working in the cloud, or downloading files wants to be safe. That means that to be protected we are going to have to take some measures necessarily. For this reason, we are going to require the use of specific software such as antivirus, anti-malware and firewall programs. The protagonist of today more specifically is going to be the antivirus. In case you don’t know, Microsoft in its operating systems offers a solution of this type. Surely you have heard of it, it is called Windows Defender and it includes an antivirus and a free firewall. However, sometimes doubts assail us whether we need another antivirus or Windows Defender is enough to protect our computer.
The first thing we are going to do is learn a little about Windows Defender and how to access it. Then we will see if Windows Defender is enough for us or we have to resort to another free or paid antivirus.
What is Windows Defender and how to access it
We could define Windows Defender as a new generation protection component from Microsoft that is integrated into our Windows operating system to protect our computer and connection. Thus, we are faced with a security program whose objective is to detect, eliminate and quarantine any harmful software, virus or malware that tries to sneak into our computer. If we want to access it to configure it or carry out an analysis, we will follow these steps:
- Let’s go to Windows Start Menu.
- We write Antivirus and Threat Protection and press enter.
Then we will see a screen like this:
As can be seen, Windows Defender is coexisting with another antivirus although it could also operate alone. That does not mean that we can use it, also to check and verify that everything is in order. For example, we could do an analysis by clicking the Quick Exam button and even customize it by clicking Exam Options .
A trick that can improve our security if we have a third-party antivirus is to activate this option:
Thus, if we enable the Periodic examination box, it will add another way to check that our team does not have any threat. Also above it offers us protection against Ransomware in case some day they encrypt our files and ask us for a ransom. Here’s how to improve Windows Defender security with these settings.
Some will wonder if Windows Defender is enough. But what does it offer us? This is all you have:
- Real-time antivirus protection.
- Protection delivered in the cloud that detects and blocks new threats. Keep in mind that we are working more and more in the cloud.
Is Windows Defender enough to protect my computer?
With the antivirus that Microsoft offers us, we obtain the minimum layer to be able to be calm. Thus we can be protected against all types of malware that may reach our computer after downloading a file. In addition, it protects us from viruses that can infect the computer by using a USB memory or working from a network drive. You may be interested in knowing how to act in the event that Windows Defender detects false positives.
As for the difference with third-party antivirus, they are usually more complete. Thus, they usually have shields to protect us while we surf the Internet in addition to a more advanced and easy-to-configure firewall.
So Windows Defender might be enough for us? Here it will depend a lot on the type of user we are. In the event that you are a user of the type that always browses the same websites and that could be classified as safe, you could use Microsoft’s antivirus with confidence. We refer to web pages of recognized prestige such as those of newspapers and news agencies. Also if we use it in reputable forums, in email services or to work with our files in the cloud.
Finally, if we browse many websites with different content in search of information, we use social networks a lot and download many files, be it pirted software or content, we should use a third-party antivirus. In this case, preferably paid, because it will offer us greater protection with more shields and additional protection software than a free one. Also a free one, depending on which one is chosen, may offer a little more protection than Microsoft’s antivirus but it will depend on which one we choose.
