One of the novelties that Windows 10 brought was Windows Defender . This new antivirus came as an improved version of the catastrophic Security Essential, Microsoft‘s antivirus that has been with us since the XP era. It is true that Microsoft Defender , as it is also known, has become one of the best antivirus on the market, with excellent threat detection rates and spectacular performance. However, does it really offer us enough security?
When we install Windows 10 from scratch, Defender is installed and configured as the main antivirus. Everything that is downloaded, copied or executed has to go through it, that is, have its approval. But the usual antivirus, such as Kaspersky, Bitdefender, ESET, etc., are still widely chosen by users. Why?
What do third-party antivirus have that Windows Defender doesn’t have
Windows Defender applies a basic, essential security layer to us. With this security software we can, for example, be protected against all types of malware that can reach our computer through, for example, a download. We can also protect ourselves from viruses that can sneak into the computer through a USB memory, or when copying files from a network drive.
Microsoft’s security software also has a basic firewall (and very complicated to configure, by the way) and advanced protection shields such as memory control and exploit mitigation. But, in reality, other functions are missing.
Third-party antivirus, especially security suites, have advanced security features . For example, they have shields to protect us while we browse the network, or a more advanced and easy-to-configure firewall. They also protect our privacy, our most important data, banking transactions, and even our passwords.
We can also find third-party antivirus with features that we will not see in Windows Defender, such as a VPN or advanced detection and protection engines against ransomware.
Microsoft Antivirus: When It Is And When It Is Not An Option
For an average user, who always browses the same pages and usually reads email from Outlook or Gmail, there is more than enough with Windows Defender. Microsoft’s antivirus offers a protection to the height for most of the users so that no one has problems in their day to day. As long as the PC and the networks are used responsibly.
However, if we make intensive use of the Internet, we like to visit many websites, we tend to use social networks a lot and download many files from the Internet (especially pirted software and content), then we should probably think about purchasing a more advanced security suite. This will be able to better detect the most hidden threats that we may face to avoid ending up in the clutches of hackers.
Free or paid antivirus?
Broadly speaking, Windows Defender is practically the same as any free antivirus . So, before installing a free security software, it is better to stick with Microsoft’s own, since it will give us much less problems.
If we are thinking of leaving Windows Defender aside, it is better to opt for a paid security suite. These are the ones that really differ from Microsoft Defender, since they are the ones with the additional protection modules that will help us to be more secure and cover the gaps left by Microsoft’s security software.