Windows Defender Achieves 'Best Antivirus' Status

By Matthew Humphries - PC Magazine


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Microsoft and "best antivirus" aren't usually written in the same sentence, but they're going to have to be following the latest antivirus test results.

As Softpedia reports, the independent IT security institute AV-TEST spent May and June continuously evaluating 20 home user security products using their default settings to see which offered the best protection. Only four of those products achieved a top score, and one of them was Windows Defender.

The other three are F-Secure SAFE 17, Kaspersky Internet Security 19.0, and Norton Security 22.17. The big difference between these and Windows Defender is the fact Microsoft includes Windows Defender for free with Windows 10, where as the others require a paid subscription to continue being fully-functional.

Of the other products evaluated, Webroot SecureAnywhere 9.0 came last. Those just missing out on the top score while still earning an AV-TEST "Top Product" award include Avast Free AntiVirus 19.5, AVG Internet Security 19.5, Bitdefender Internet Security 23.0, Trend Micro Internet Security 15.0, and VIPRE AdvancedSecurity 11.0.

There's clearly a lot of choice on the antivirus market and most of the options offer good protection, but Microsoft is now setting a very high bar. It beats most of the competition and is completely free for Windows 10 users. Everyone else really needs to up their game and their value proposition if they want to keep selling security software to Windows users.

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Tbh i've never seen the need to pay for AV since the free ones are all decent anyway....... cant even remember what i have on my laptop these days tbh

I use Norton at home, for the last several years it's security suite has been always one of the, if not the top ranked suite out there. Plus as a bonus, because we get our internet from Comcast, we get to use it for free, which saves us something like $70/year for the Norton subscription.

Here at work we're using Avast (paid) because at the time, they had the best deal going to protect the amount of PC/laptops we have here.

I've used Norton since they streamlined the program a few years ago and it runs well.

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Originally Posted by Hal-9000

I've used Norton since they streamlined the program a few years ago and it runs well.

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It's like they flipped a switch, remember how bloated Norton used to be? And how much it would bog down your system? And then it went to running in the background like it's not even there.

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Originally Posted by Teh One Who Knocks

It's like they flipped a switch, remember how bloated Norton used to be? And how much it would bog down your system? And then it went to running in the background like it's not even there.

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Yep. I have a sentimental screenshot when I helped my Dad with something in 2004-2006 and I was running the bloated version of Norton then.

Tried a bunch of other ones from the free stuff to Kaspersky and got tired of answering those fckn vague firewall prompts...

"nuke_your_hdd.exe" may be a dangerous process, would you like to stop it from running? :)

I'm running Norton as well. I usually shop coupon codes when it's getting near time to renew and have never paid full price for it. The one and only complaint I have with it is on my laptop at home I leave running 24/7, when Norton pops up it's "report" it keeps the monitor the laptop is plugged into awake. By the time I get home up to 7 days later the pop up has burned a square into the display. I've tried turning off all notifications but it still happens. Now I turn the monitor off when I'm not home.

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Originally Posted by Pony

I'm running Norton as well. I usually shop coupon codes when it's getting near time to renew and have never paid full price for it. The one and only complaint I have with it is on my laptop at home I leave running 24/7, when Norton pops up it's "report" it keeps the monitor the laptop is plugged into awake. By the time I get home up to 7 days later the pop up has burned a square into the display. I've tried turning off all notifications but it still happens. Now I turn the monitor off when I'm not home.

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I've noticed the notifications change. I thought I had them turned off and now a new one, almost half my pc screen shows up saying SCAM BLOCKED! :lol:

I do tend to navigate some dodgy waters on my streaming sites so I see a few notifications even after sorting them out.

The one I can't shut off is not even a warning, it's the monthly report.

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Originally Posted by Pony

The one I can't shut off is not even a warning, it's the monthly report.

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I never see that. Then again I took the hour to hit each section in the settings and then hit the ? which took me to a webpage explaining it :lol: