Windows Defender

[warzone]

is windows defender good enough? Or should 3rd party antivirus programs be used? (Norton, Kaspersky etc.)

 

[WatEagle]

Personale i use it only to not bloat the system more, bit if paired with malwarebytes ther're a good combo

 

[GerKNG]

the most important anti virus "software" is your brain.

against ransomware or some other viruses.. tests say yes. my own experience ( a friend thought he could download an XBOX emulator.. he completely locked up his PC with ransomware.)

i personally use Kaspersky free (it uses less ressources and benchmarks show that it's a bit faster than a tweaked defender) Plus it is actually 99.9% safe against everything.

 

[Night]

As long as you're getting your files from trusted sources (for whatever content) and using common sense, you'll be fine with Defender alone.

 

[dirtyferret]

is windows defender good enough? Or should 3rd party antivirus programs be used? (Norton, Kaspersky etc.)

It's fine as long as you use common sense

 

[Bill_Bright]

Yes, it is more than good enough. I use it on all my systems, including those used by the older grandkids and other guests - that is, by people with less "security awareness" or discipline than me.

More important than, and regardless which security solution you use, is the need to keep it and Windows current, and to avoid being "click-happy" on unsolicited links, downloads, attachments and popups. Also, as suggested by WatEagle, it is a good idea to have a second scanner on hand, just to make sure you (the user and ALWAYS weakest link in security) or your primary scanner did not let something slip by. But note that is regardless your primary security solution of choice.

I think it is important to remember that Microsoft does not want our systems to get infected. They know if that happens, the IT press and anti-Microsoft bloggers and other bashers will be relentless in their criticisms on Microsoft and W10. If for no other reason, that sort of bad publicity is just bad, very bad for business.

It's fine as long as you use common sense

I agree 100%. But again, that same advice applies to which ever security solution you use. None are 100% perfect 100% of the time, and that is particularly true if the user is careless, carefree, partakes in risky/illegal behavior, and is click-happy on every link they see. The best security in the world is pointless if the user opens the door and lets the bad buy in.

 

[SomeOne99h]

The most annoying thing about Windows Defender is that it doesn't prompts the user and doesn't give you what actions should be taken, like allow and exclude, quarantine or delete.

However, there is a setting to enable it, just not in the GUI of Windows defender's page.
Go to Group policy. Hit search and type "group" and then choose "Edit group policy"
Go to:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Defender Antivirus

Now look at the right then Click/choose "Turn off routine remediation" Then a window will appear, choose "Enabled" and press OK. Not sure if you need a restart or not.

 

[64K]

Defender is fine but as others have said you just have to use some common sense about what you click on.

The most annoying thing about Windows Defender is that it doesn't prompts the user and doesn't give you what actions should be taken, like allow and exclude, quarantine or delete.

Mine does. When it spots a potential virus a small window scrolls out on the bottom right of my screen and if I click on it then it gives me options for what I want to do. If I don't click on it then it automatically quarantines it. You have to be pretty quick though because the window doesn't stay for a long time.

 

[SomeOne99h]

Man, it used not to prompt, wasn't it before?
Glad it does now. That, or I am delusional

I wonder if it effects the duration of that window then? Like it would stay instead of disappearing?
Or are you using Windows 10 Enterprise Edition, which might be why it appears to you?

 

[jboydgolfer]

defender is good.

i use it in combination with a 3rd party anti malware.
usually once or twice a year MBAM goes on sale for $20 or so for 3 PC's/year, so ill pick up a copy, but the free Ver is find too.

defender has a semi effective offline scan, where as you might surmise from the name, it powers down & does the scan in boot

 

[64K]

Man, it used not to prompt, wasn't it before?
Glad it does now. That, or I am delusional

I wonder if it effects the duration of that window then? Like it would stay instead of disappearing?
Or are you using Windows 10 Enterprise Edition, which might be why it appears to you?

I use Win 10 Home. Defender doesn't prompt you what you want to do in the scrolling window bottom right. Just lets you know it stopped a possible malware. I have to click on that window to get options for what to do.

 

[hat]

Defender is good enough on its own. As others have said, however, the most important component of any antivirus is you, the user. Even the best antivirus won't stop a click happy user on the worse parts of the internet.

I remember a long time ago everyone recommended Microsoft Security Essentials. That's pretty much what Defender is now.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I remember a long time ago everyone recommended Microsoft Security Essentials. That's pretty much what Defender is now.

Kinda, sorta but not really. Yes, MSE was the precursor to Microsoft Defender (formally Windows Defender) but it would be more accurate to say that Microsoft Defender is the much improved, evolved big brother version of MSE.

The most annoying thing about Windows Defender is that it doesn't prompts the user and doesn't give you what actions should be taken, like allow and exclude, quarantine or delete.

But it is really only annoying for those who want that sort of hands on approach. The fact is, the vast majority of users don't need to be that actively involved. And that's because Defender is very good at accurately detecting malicious code and activity and taking the necessary action. And it is very good at avoiding false positives. Therefore, user intervention is rarely needed.

HOWEVER, I like to be hands on much of the time too. So what I find annoying is not the lack of prompts, but the fact you have to go through all those manual steps through Group policy to enable the prompts. I think it would be nice if we could enable or disable prompts with a simply slider switch setting on the Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Notifications configuration page. That said, there are some settings there. Folks should take a look - many notifications can be enabled with a simply slider switch.

 

[rtwjunkie]

is windows defender good enough? Or should 3rd party antivirus programs be used? (Norton, Kaspersky etc.)

Yes, it is perfectly fine. I use it on my HTPC. If it makes you feel more comfortable, run it with Malwarebytes Pro. Makwarebytes and MS actually have both worked with each other to ensure that neither program interferes with the other. But you’d be fine with just Defender and being smart on the internet. That last part applies to anything you pick.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Like others have said, it's perfectly fine as long as used with a healthy dose of common sense.

I have not installed any anti-virus or malware protection programs on any of my computers for years now. Windows has everything you need.

 

[PLAfiller]

I leave it on slower PCs. I've used Bitdefender Free for quite a while, then I bought a license for a year. But didn't really use all of the features, so when my subscription expired, I didn't renew it. Now I switched to Panda Dome Free edition + MBAM Free + Ublock + Trackers block. I would invest into paid antivirus again. May be MBAM, now that @jboydgolfer mentioned it drops to 20 bucks a year.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

I just use my brain , Defender and the odd malware bytes scan.

 

[sam_86314]

I use Defender on its own, and I run suspicious files through VirusTotal. It's an extremely useful website.

Especially if Defender throws out a false positive or marks something as potentially unwanted, VirusTotal can tell me what the file does, and I can decide if I want it or not.

VirusTotal

VirusTotal

www.virustotal.com

Though really, the best antivirus is to just be careful with what you download. Do research.

uBlock Origin and NoScript can also help a lot.

 

[HK-1]

@ Warzone, well I can advance you that when I customized my ISO I removed Windows Defender and their "cousins" completely; And for my safety I use only Adguard 7.5.3 premium and common sense also this way I have no shit for years ...

 

[Lindatje]

If you want to take some risk’s then it is ok, otherwise take kaspersky or another good anti virus.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Unlike some, I'm not a fan of Windows Defender and like a few others completely remove it from my personal builds of Windows 10.

Comodo Internet Security is, IMHO, the best single security suite available. Comodo's Antivirus/AntiMalware is very competent and the Firewall side is second to none in terms of level of protection and ease of use. When properly configured, NOTHING gets through it.

 

[Hachi_Roku256563]

I use defender along side tri monthly malwerbytes scan
asl well as running all my shady programs through virus total

 

[Gmr_Chick]

I had a paid subscription for Bitdefender that was good for up to 5 devices (used it on rigs, my tablet, etc.) and I really liked it. Used the optimization tools quite a bit. It expired at the beginning of this year, so now I use Bitdefender free in conjunction with Defender, as well as uBlock Origin and Facebook Container (keeps FB from tracking your every move) for Firefox. Whenever I download stuff like emulators or mods for games, I ALWAYS make sure to scan them with Bitdefender first before installing. It also helps that I'm not "click happy"

 

[Deleted member 205776]

It's good to keep as a real time AV, but not for scanning. Third party AVs are bloat. Use Malwarebytes Free for ocassional scanning, and uBlock Origin as browser extension with tracking set to Strict if you're on Firefox (which you should be). Then you're good to go.

Oh and, don't forget the most important one too, common sense.

 

[Hachi_Roku256563]

I had a paid subscription for Bitdefender that was good for up to 5 devices (used it on rigs, my tablet, etc.) and I really liked it. Used the optimization tools quite a bit. It expired at the beginning of this year, so now I use Bitdefender free in conjunction with Defender, as well as uBlock Origin and Facebook Container (keeps FB from tracking your every move) for Firefox. Whenever I download stuff like emulators or mods for games, I ALWAYS make sure to scan them with Bitdefender first before installing. It also helps that I'm not "click happy"

dam your machines must run pretty slow with that many anti viruses