shojldi download an antivirus windows 10 reddit [Solution] How to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus on Win 10 [MiniTool News] Windows Defender Antivirus Windows 10 can protect your computer and its data. However, for some reasons, you may need to disable Windows Defender Antivirus Windows 10. If you don’t know how to do this work, just read this post to get three ways. Why You Need to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus on Windows 10? Windows Defender Antivirus is an antimalware feature on Windows 10 and it can protect your computer and the files on the device from viruses, spyware, ransomware and some other types of malware and hackers. This post shows how to recovery antivirus deleted files with the best free file recovery software – MiniTool Power Data Recovery. Also, some other solutions are suggested. However, when you need to set up the computer without network, perform a task which may be blocked by Windows Defender Antivirus, or need to comply with the organization security policies, you will have to disable Windows Defender Antivirus. In the following guide, we will show you 3 ways to disable Windows Defender Antivirus permanently or temporarily on Windows 10. How to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus with Windows Security. This is a way to disable Windows Defender Antivirus temporarily. You can do this when you want to perform some specific tasks. Step 1: Search for Windows Security from the Start bar and choose the top result to continue. Step 2: Choose Virus & threat protection . Then, click Manage settings under Virus & threat protection settings . Step 3: Turn the switch from Off to On under the Real-time protection section. After these operations, you will be able to install apps or perform a specific task you couldn’t before since the real-time protection is disabled. How to turn on Windows Defender in Windows 10 when necessary? You can repeat the above steps until in step 3 to turn on the settings. How to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus with Group Policy. If you are using Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise, you can use the Local Group Policy Editor to disable Windows Defender Antivirus Windows 10 permanently. Step 1: Open Start to search for gpedit.msc . Then, choose the top result to open the Local Group Policy Editor. Step 2: Go to the following path: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Defender Antivirus. Then, double-click on the Turn off Windows Defender Antivirus policy. Step 3: Check the Enabled option to disable Windows Defender Antivirus. Next, click Apply and OK buttons. Then, restart your computer. If you want to re-enable it, you can use the same steps mentioned above but choose Not Configured in the last step. Still, you need to restart the computer to execute the changes. How to Disable Windows Defender Antivirus with Registry. If you can’t access the Local Group Policy Editor or you are using Windows 10 Home, you can also modify the Registry to permanently disable Windows Defender Antivirus. Then, you can follow these steps to disable Windows Defender Antivirus: Step 1: Open Start to search for regedit and open the Registry Editor. Then, go to find the following path: Step 2: Right-click on Windows Defender (folder), choose New , and then click on DWORD (32-bit) Value . Step 3: Name the key DisableAntiSpyware and press Enter . Then, double-click the newly created DWORD and change to value to 1. Next, click OK . At last, you still need to reboot the computer to apply the changes. If you want to revert the changes, please repeat the above steps, but on step 3, you need to right-click the DisableAntiSpyware key to delete it. Bottom line. Now, you should know how to diable or turn off Windows Defender using different ways. If you have any other related questions, you can let us know in the comment. Disable Windows Defender FAQ. Run Command Prompt as Administrator. Type msc and press Enter . Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Defender . Double click Turn Off Windows Defender . Check Enabled . Click Apply . Facebook Twitter Linkedin Reddit. ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Position: Columnist. Stella has been working in MiniTool Software as an English Editor for more than 4 years. Her articles mainly cover the fields of data recovery including storage media data recovery and phone data recovery, YouTube videos download, partition management, and video conversions. Is Windows Defender Better Than McAfee, Avast, Or Bitdefender [MiniTool News] Windows Defender is the snap-in antivirus tool in Windows operating systems. Users can protect their systems, drives, and data easily by using Windows Defender, which is turned on by default. But is Windows Defender good enough? This post will focus on the comparison between Windows Defender and similar software, like McAfee, Avast, and Bitdefender. Is Windows Defender Good Enough. What Is Windows Defender. As you know, Windows Defender is the antivirus program provided by Microsoft to protect every Windows operating system against virus, malware, spyware, and potential threat. The history of Windows Defender: Windows Defender was first released in Windows XP as a downloadable free antivirus program. Later, Microsoft started to ship Windows Vista and Windows 7 with Windows Defender. In Windows 8 and later versions, Windows Defender has been changed to a full antivirus program to replace Microsoft Security Essentials. Windows Defender has been renamed to Windows Security in the newer releases of Windows 10. But, is Windows Defender better than McAfee or other similar software? The answer depends much on your actual needs. (MiniTool Solution works hard on data protection, system performance optimization, and media files management on Windows systems.) Windows Defender vs McAfee. Windows Defender Review 2020. You may love Windows Defender due to the following pros: It is free and pre-installed in Windows. It is turned on by default to provide overall protection. It offers real-time protection & cloud-based protection against viruses, malware, spyware, etc. It also provides parental controls on your device. The offline scans and reboots help to eliminate persistent malware. The firewall and Find My Device tools included are very useful. However, the Windows Defender is not good enough due to the following reasons: It is able to protect only a single Windows device. It offers only on-demand scanning & real-time malicious threat protection. The parental controls provided by it are only limited to the Microsoft browsers. It doesn't provide protection against email spam, phishing, or online privacy. It fails to block many instances of malware, especially the new ones. There’s no regular update to Windows Defender. In short, Windows Defender is not enough to protect your devices. You can use it for traditional antivirus and other antivirus software for Anti- Malware and Anti-Exploit. Please note : in order to protect your data against virus/malware attack, you'd better download a MiniTool Power Data Recovery by clicking the button below. What Is McAfee. McAfee is also one of the world famous antivirus solutions. It provides four antivirus packages for users to choose from: Total Protection Single Device : the basic functions are malware protection, password protection, a VPN, and a firewall. This can be used by only one user and one device. It costs $29.99 for the first year and $79.99 for each subsequent year. Total Protection Individual & Couples : in addition to the basic functions, identity theft protection, encrypted storage, and McAfee Shredder are also added. This can be used by five users and devices. It costs $34.99/$99.99. Total Protection Family : an advanced feature has been added to this package - parental controls. It can be used on 10 different devices and costs $39.99/$119.99. McAfee LiveSafe : a series of application-specific protections are included in this package. It costs $39.99/$119.99 and there’s no limit in the number of devices using it. Pros of McAfee: The VPN feature is included in all packages. All packages give support to Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. The McAfee Shredder helps you to erase files without leaving any traces. There’s Virus Protection Pledge money-back malware removal guarantee. Cons of McAfee: Only the auto-renewal contains VPN and identity theft protection. McAfee may slow down your computer especially when it runs on Windows 10. Windows Defender vs Avast. Avast is an internet security application supporting different platforms: Windows, macOS, Android and iOS; it provides both freeware and paid versions for users to choose. In addition to the antivirus software, it also provides: firewall, browser security, computer security, anti-phishing, antispyware, and anti-spam. Even the freeware seems enough to protect your device. However, there’s news said that Avast is allegedly selling users’ data. So I don’t recommend it; it’s safer to use the built-in Windows Defender. Windows Defender vs Bitdefender. Bitdefender is a Romanian company famous for cybersecurity and anti-virus software. The free version of Bitdefender is powerful for home users with basic real-time protection while the premium version offers advanced features not included in Windows Defender. 3 main reasons to choose Bitdefender over Windows Defender: Bitdefender can detect 100% of the malware files on your devices, all thanks to the advanced malware scanning engine; but Windows Defender/Windows Security can’t. The free version of Bitdefender is lightweight and easier to use when compared to Windows Defender. The premium ransomware protection feature and Safe Files included in the paid version is wonderful; but Windows Defender doesn’t include similar features. In addition to the antivirus programs mentioned above, you can also choose Malwarebytes, Kaspersky, TotalAV, Avira, Sophos Home, Trend Micro, etc. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Reddit. ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Position: Columnist. Sarah is working as editor at MiniTool since she was graduated from university, having rich writing experiences. Love to help other people out from computer problems, disk issues, and data loss dilemma and specialize in these things. She said it’s a wonderful thing to see people solving their problems on PC, mobile photos, and other devices; it’s a sense of accomplishment. Sarah likes to make friends in life and she’s a huge music fan. Best antivirus software for 2021. Your Windows PC needs protection against malware -- and free antivirus software may not be enough. Here's the best antivirus protection for Windows 10 and what's worth paying extra for. Windows users should have an antivirus tool in order to protect personal information. Even if you have a secure browser and other threat detection software, it's just all too easy for an insidious program to wind up on your machine, and that can lead to chaos. The best antivirus software is a program that includes features like malware protection, monitors downloads and observes your system's activity for malicious software and suspicious behavior. If you're looking for malware protection and antivirus software with the best security features, here's the first thing you need to know: Microsoft Defender Antivirus -- the free antivirus software and virus protection program that comes with Windows 10 -- does a decent job of protecting your PC and offering internet security. (Amazingly, Microsoft provided no built-in protection for Windows back in the days of Windows 98 and XP.) Using Microsoft Defender for threat detection should be your starting point for the best antivirus security on Windows and most people will find they don't need to go any further when it comes to nailing down an antivirus solution. However, keeping your personal data safe and guarding your privacy extends beyond virus protection, and that's where third-party antivirus software shines. A full protection package can monitor your Windows operating system as well as MacOS, iOS and Android devices and include a password manager, secure online backup, identity theft protection, a VPN, parental control, webcam protection, protection against phishing and malicious websites and more -- all worthwhile security suite tools that can keep your data secure and guard your privacy. To help you decide, I've put together a list of the best antivirus products for Windows 10, encompassing both free antivirus programs and subscription options. These picks of the best antivirus programs are a combination of recommendations from independent third-party labs AV- Test, AV-Comparatives and SE Labs, as well as our own hands-on testing. This list is updated periodically. We would also like to note that antivirus software isn't the only security feature you should invest in. A secure VPN to protect your internet traffic, a password manager to keep track of login credentials and an end-to-end encrypted messaging app to stop others from spying on your communications are all essential to protecting your personal information online. Cybercriminals are becoming increasingly more sophisticated and high-profile attacks like the Columbia Pipeline hack are becoming more commonplace, which is concerning. Our recommendations. Looking for free antivirus protection, malware protection or virus detection, willing to pay for an antivirus program that offers broad internet security coverage across all your devices, including from ransomware and phishing, or need to remove a computer virus or malware from your PC right now? Here's where to start. Best free Windows antivirus. Microsoft Defender. Free version? Yes, built into Windows 10. Paid version: Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection is available to corporate users for a fee. Honestly, if you practice safe computing -- you keep your software up to date, you use strong passwords (with the help of a password manager), you steer clear of unexpected emails and you don't click suspicious links that may be phishing attempts -- you probably can avoid zero-day attacks and ransomware attacks. And with the free Microsoft Defender Antivirus software running on Windows 10, you have a malware protection safety net if you do let your guard down. (Note that Microsoft changed the name of Windows Defender to Microsoft Defender and has expanded the service to other platforms.) This free antivirus program is built into Windows and it's turned on by default, so just let it do its thing, and this antivirus solution will cover the basics of internet security. Microsoft pushes new updates frequently. Defender also lets you tune the level of protection you want, giving you control over blocking potentially unwanted apps and protecting folders and files from a ransomware attack. Note that Windows 10 will automatically disable its own Windows Defender antivirus when you install third-party antivirus. If you uninstall the third-party protection, Windows 10 will turn back on its own antivirus. Best antivirus subscription for Windows. Norton 360 with LifeLock Select. Platforms: Windows 10 plus MacOS, Android, iOS. Cost: $150 per year for five devices, on sale for $100. For a long time, Norton Security -- now called NortonLifeLock, and no longer part of Symantec -- has earned high marks from AV-Test, AV Comparatives and SE Labs for virus and malware detection. A five-device subscription for Norton 360 with LifeLock Select is normally $150, but you can sign up for $100 for the first year to get coverage across your PCs, Macs, Android devices, iPhones and iPads. (Note, we don't think antivirus protection is terribly useful outside the Windows realm.) In addition to malware and virus protection for your computer and mobile device, this security suite provides 100GB of backup to the cloud, safe-browsing tools, a secure VPN, password manager, parental controls and LifeLock identity theft protection and fraud alert. While not all of those services are necessarily best in their respective class, getting them all in one package is a compelling option. Best free antivirus alternative for Windows. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition. Platforms: Windows 10 plus MacOS, Android, iOS. Free version? Yes. Paid version: $40 per year for five PCs. If you'd like to take a step up in securing your PC without taxing your wallet, it's hard to beat Bitdefender's free antivirus software for Windows 10. The Windows security software offers real-time monitoring for viruses, malware, spyware and ransomware protection. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is easy to set up and stays out of your way until you need it. And the protection this antivirus product offers is solid. Bitdefender antivirus software consistently earns top marks for its antivirus protection and usability from the respected AV-Test independent testing lab. The free antivirus version covers one Windows PC. For broader protection, Bitdefender Total Security 2020 is usually $90 and available at the moment for $40 for the first year. The subscription antivirus suite lets you protect five devices (Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android), set up parental controls on a kid's computer and run a VPN. Best on-demand Windows malware removal. Malwarebytes. Platforms: Windows 10 plus MacOS, Android. Free version? Yes, after 14-day trial expires. Paid version: $30 per year for one device, $80 per year for five devices. Malwarebytes does protect your PC from a virus or malware attack, scoring reasonably well in recent independent testing for guarding against malware threats. But that's not really what Malwarebytes is known for. If you find yourself in trouble, the go-to disinfectant for many is Malwarebytes. You can get protection and disinfection for one device for $30 a year, regularly $40. To cover five devices -- any combination of Windows, MacOS and Android -- it's $80 for a year. To get the free antivirus version, download this trial version, which "downgrades" to a no- fee on-demand cleaner with fewer features that detects and removes viruses and malware when you run an on-demand antivirus scan after 14 days. Also worth considering. In addition to the four antivirus apps we recommend above, a handful of other anti-malware tools are worth considering among the best antivirus protection if you find them at a better price or just prefer to use one over our picks above. Solid subscription antivirus alternative. McAfee Total Protection. Platforms: Windows 10 plus MacOS, Android, iOS. Cost: $100 per year for five devices, on sale for $35. It feels like McAfee has been around forever, first on its own in the '80s, then as part of Intel starting in 2010, and then again on its own when Intel spun it off in 2017. And it's been around forever because quarter after quarter it creates solid, modern antivirus software that protects your PC. (In recent evaluations by AV-Test, it had high scores on both protection and performance.) McAfee Total Protection guards five devices against viruses and offers ransomware protection, wards off malicious websites and includes a password manager for $35 (usually $100) for the first year. If you agree to auto-renew your security suite subscription, you get access to McAfee ID Theft Protection Essentials, which monitors for ID fraud. Another good subscription option. Trend Micro Maximum Security. Platforms: Windows 10 plus MacOS, Android, iOS. Cost: $90 per year for 10 devices, on sale for $50. Maybe not as well known to consumers because of its focus on enterprise security, Trend Micro quietly brings its business expertise to the home with its Trend Micro Maximum Security tools. Trend Micro's software earns high marks from AV-Test -- consistently scoring well for detecting zero-day attacks and widespread viruses and malware. And Trend Micro does a good job of not taxing system resources. Trend Micro's 10- device subscription for computers and mobile devices is $90, but discounted currently at $40. Worthwhile subscription alternative. ESET NOD32 Antivirus. Platform: Windows. Cost: $80 per year for five PCs. If you're looking for something easy to set up and use, ESET NOD32 antivirus may meet your needs. It earns high scores for usability and offers solid virus protection. A five-device option is $80 for a year, with a 30-day free trial. Alternative free Windows antivirus. Sophos Home. Platform: Windows plus MacOS. Free version? Yes. Paid version: $42 per year for 10 PCs. The free version of Sophos Home gives you virus protection for three Windows PCs -- using the company's high-scoring anti-malware tool -- plus a 30-day trial of the company's malware-removal tool. With a $45 annual subscription, you can cover 10 PCs. What about Avast? Test after test, Avast's antivirus for Windows performs well for malware detection. And we've included its antivirus in our list of recommended security app options before. But Avast was in the news for several months for its non-antivirus business, so we looked at the company, specifically reports at the end of 2019 that Avast allegedly collected user data with its browser plug-ins and antivirus software and then sold data it collected through its Jumpshot subsidiary in early 2020. In response to the reports that his company gathered and sold the details of its customers' online activities, Avast's CEO Ondrej Vlcek said in a statement that he understood that his company's actions raised questions of trust in his company. To address that, Avast terminated Jumpshot data collection in January 2020 and closed its operations because the data collection business wasn't in line with Avast's privacy priorities. These newer reports follow another in 2019 from Avast that its internal network was breached, possibly to insert malware into its CCleaner software, similar to an earlier CCleaner hack that occurred prior to Avast's acquiring the Windows utility. Avast is now saying the right things about taking its customers' privacy seriously, but it only came to that point after reacting to investigative reporting that revealed the Jumpshot practices. (The CCleaner revelations, while concerning, were self-disclosed, which is important to building user trust.) We hope Avast's more privacy-friendly policies mean that there will be no further Jumpshot-style activities. In the meantime, we'd recommend using one of the many other solid choices in this realm (listed above). What about Kaspersky? Because the company has been in the news the past few years, let's talk about Kaspersky Lab -- specifically about the federal ban that blocks US government agencies from using Kaspersky products. Based in Moscow, Kaspersky Lab has for years produced some of the best antivirus software for business antivirus needs and home customers. But in 2017 the US government prohibited Kaspersky software on federal government computers because of alleged ties between Kaspersky and the Russian government. Notably, the ban does not apply to its consumer products. But as with China-based Huawei , the question remains: If the federal government doesn't think the products are safe enough for its own devices, should consumers avoid them as well? In a statement sent to CNET, the company said, "Kaspersky Lab has no ties to any government, and the company has never, nor will ever, engage in cyber offensive activities. Kaspersky Lab maintains that no public evidence of any wrongdoing has been presented by the US government, and that the US government's actions against Kaspersky Lab were unconstitutional." In Kaspersky's favor, it continues to earn top scores and awards for virus and malware detection and endpoint protection from independent testing labs. And it's reasonably priced . In the end, even though no one has ever publicly produced a "smoking gun" linking the company to Russian intrigue, we think any of the options listed above are a safer bet. And, if you are a US government employee or work with the federal government, you'll want to steer clear of Kaspersky. Antivirus basics: What to look for. Picking the best antivirus software for Windows means finding one that keeps your PC safe, doesn't take up a lot of system resources, is easy to use and stays out of the way till you need it. Here's what to look for. Effectiveness. Antivirus software runs virus scans for known viruses and malware, of course, and can offer real-time protection. And it watches for shady websites and suspicious links to keep you out of trouble. It can also offer ransomware protection and monitor unexpected behavior that may be a sign of new and not-yet-identified viruses and malware. You want antivirus software that can successfully identify these unknown online threats without flagging too many false positives. Light on system resources. You don't want antivirus software that taxes your PC's resources. If after you install the program, websites open slowly, apps download or open sluggishly or file copies take longer than expected, you may want to try another service. The good news is, all our picks offer a free trial to let you try out the antivirus program, so if your system feels sluggish after installation, you may want to keep looking. Cost and discounts. Don't just pay the sticker price for antivirus protection. Before you buy, check for discounts on a company's website. Another way to save: The prices we list above are for 10 devices -- if the company offered that package -- but you can trim your cost with antivirus packages if you need to cover just three or five devices. You may also find discounts on an app's Amazon page. Privacy. To be effective, antivirus software needs to monitor what's going on with your PC and check in with company servers about unusual behavior. The companies say they anonymize this technical data as much as possible to protect your privacy. But if you want to know more, the security companies on our list post privacy policies on their websites, so read their privacy statements to learn what the companies do with the information you share. Protection for other platforms. Microsoft is by far the biggest target for viruses and malware. But Android is second, with just under 1% of apps installed on Android devices with Google Play Protect in the potentially harmful app, or PHA, category. The threat to MacOS and especially iOS is low, in part because of the tight control Apple has over its app stores. While the Mac does come under attack via sideloaded apps, it's rare, and if you download apps only from the Mac and iOS app stores and keep your guard up when clicking links and download files, you should be OK without an antivirus app on Apple devices. Stay current on the latest Microsoft news, plus reviews and advice on Windows PCs. Shojldi download an antivirus windows 10 reddit. KMSPico is Key Management System to activate Microsoft products, like Windows and Office. Microsoft uses MAK (Multiple Activation Keys) and KMS (Key Management System) for activation of Windows in volume basis. MAK keys are used to phoning back to Microsoft’s server similarly clients using KMS activates Windows by phoning to KMS server in local network rather than Microsoft’s. I recommend to use HWIDGen or MAS instead of KMSPico. They are easy to use and are permanent solutions which also supports Windows 11. [HWID] How can you Activate Windows 10 for Free with HWIDGen. [MAS] Easiest way to Activate Microsoft Windows and Office for Free using Microsoft Activation Scripts. KMSPico replaces the original key with the volume licensed key and creates a emulated instance of KMS server locally avoiding online activation. So your Windows system can’t connect to online server and continues to work with that replaced license key thinking it as original key. That’s why antivirus and Windows defender spots KMSPico as a virus. This does not mean all KMSPico in the internet is real and virus free. If you install a fake KMSPico then your PC will be full of malware. I have also used KMSPico and it worked well without giving any problem to my machine (Windows 10). But now I use HWID Windows Activator . I also don’t use any antivirus app because Windows defender works great in Windows 10. Some site tells that KMSPico is harmful (like this one) but it is only if you download and install a fake activator. I have provided some links to download official KMSPico Windows activator. How to download Official KMSPico? There are many websites that claims to be official site of KMSPico but unfortunately there are not any official site. There is a official forum for KMSPico (here’s the official forum, by the way) that contains KMSPico and other KMS Tools. You may need to signup to see and download from there. For convenient I have provided you the direct download link for KMSPico and other KMS Tools at the end of this post. Never download KMSPico from any website there is no official site for it as creator of KMSPico said; small portion of legal notice by heldigard. KMSPico password: 2016 | Nova’s Portable version password: 4all. Disable your antivirus, firewall and defender real time scan before extracting the files. Antivirus may delete those files without informing you. Don’t forget to open readme.txt , it contains all information about installation and activation. Official KMSPico Site [forum] Direct download links. These links are provided by developers in My Digital Life forum. – all category of KMSPico named under FrostRose_Portable and FrostRose_Install v10.2.0 – KMSPico Install v10.2.0 – KMSPico Portable v10.2.0 – BearBlack ServerService v1 (recommended) – lightweight, easy and no need to install. If above official download links are not working and you trust me download from my Google Drive link below. How to activate Windows? Uninstall any previous version first; run UnInstall_Service.cmd with admin rights Run KMSpico_setup.exe Install it Done. Have a problem on activating Windows? See FAQ. [UPDATE – HWID Windows Activator] KMSPico is not updated for a long time. But it is still working. There is another better Windows activator (HWID) that does not detect as virus. It is totally clean and can be uninstalled once used. Unlike KMSPico you do not need to reactivate Windows after certain time. Here is a article about activating Windows with Digital License (HWID) – How can you Activate Windows 10 for Free. Read the instruction before installing. Mostly activating using HWID mode works for Normal Windows 10 Home/Pro version. And it will require a internet connection. Is Microsoft Defender good enough for your PC – or do you need a better free antivirus? Microsoft Defender was once regarded as a poor means of protecting your PC from malware. However, that’s very much in the past now, and Microsoft’s antivirus which comes integrated with Windows 10 (it used to be known as Windows Defender) has built itself a better reputation these days. The key question is how much better, though? And is Microsoft Defender really a viable solution for keeping your system free of the various bits of nastiness which are floating around online? Or should you really download another free third-party antivirus app to give yourself a tighter defense against malware? Today's best free security download is Avira Free Antivirus Avira takes the title of our favorite freebie right now - beating out all the competition including Microsoft Defender. In addition to scoring brilliantly for pure protection from independent test labs, it also comes with a whole host of features like scam protection, password manager and even a free VPN. View Deal. Big improvements. As mentioned, Microsoft Defender is now looked upon as a much stronger contender in the free antivirus world than it was in the past, something that’s clearly reflected in the latest evaluations by the major independent labs that regularly test antivirus apps. In AV-Comparatives’ July-October 2020 Real-World Protection Test, Microsoft performed decently with Defender stopping 99.5% of threats, ranking 12th out of 17 antivirus programs (achieving a robust ‘advanced+’ status). And there were better findings from AV-Test, where Microsoft Defender has scored full marks in the past four tests (which took place over the course of 2020). SE Labs also found Defender had a total accuracy rating of 99%, placing it 5th out of a field of 13 in its home anti-malware protection report for Q4 2020 – a very respectable result. So the overall picture is that Microsoft Defender is now more than solid in terms of defending against malware threats – which is great to see – but the caveat is that it’s still not as good as some free offerings. In short, while Microsoft Defender might be very solid these days – more than solid, actually – it’s still not the ultimate free antivirus option out there. That's a plaudit reserved for Avira. Seamless integration. Still, another major benefit of Microsoft Defender is that it’s fully integrated with Windows 10. It’s a no-effort solution that’s just there from the get-go within Microsoft’s OS, ready to protect you and provide robust defenses as we’ve just outlined. For less tech-savvy folks who may not even really be sure what an antivirus is or does, having a decent baseline form of protection by default in Windows is definitely a very good thing; there can be no argument on that score. However, if you can easily get somewhat better protection by downloading a superior free third-party antivirus, then the other argument is that you should do so. After all, how difficult is it to go through a quick download process, and a fairly simple installation? Most of the free antivirus apps out there are far from tricky to get up and running – so why not do so? Read more: How to choose the best antivirus for you. Another potential minor sticking point that some folks might flag up with Microsoft Defender – particularly those who watch the tech news headlines like a hawk – is the occasional story that pops up about Microsoft unintentionally causing errors with its antivirus program. As we’ve seen in recent times, Microsoft has a bad habit of breaking things with updates for Windows 10, problems which have sometimes had a knock-on effect of torpedoing Defender in some way. In that respect, Microsoft still has a reputational problem here of sorts, although it’s a more general one. Feature set. There’s more to an antivirus than its core anti-malware defenses, of course, and Microsoft Defender protects you in other ways. That includes a basic firewall, some additional anti-exploit measures, and a system of parental controls which has been improved in recent times (you can do things like specify how much time your children are allowed to spend online, for example). However, there’s not that much here, and some other free antivirus apps offer more in the way of extras – Avira Free Antivirus, for example, boasts a password manager, secure file shredder and other bits and pieces – plus rivals offer better fleshed out extras, too. For example, when it comes to Defender’s parental controls, the browser content filtering options are only available for Microsoft’s own Edge browser (when Chrome is by far the dominant player in the web browser world). Avira Free gives you web protection for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and also Opera. Is Microsoft Defender good enough for your PC? The short answer is, yes. to an extent. Microsoft Defender is good enough to defend your PC from malware on a general level, and has been improving a lot in terms of its antivirus engine in recent times. That said, there are still free antivirus apps out there which offer better levels of protection, or more features (with improved levels of depth); or indeed all of the above. Given how simple a task it is for the majority of users to go through the process of installing a different third-party antivirus, it’s worthwhile doing that to avail yourself of these benefits. Probably the trickiest issue in terms of using another third-party antivirus will be choosing which one to go for, but of course we’ve done all the hard work for you there – just look at our best free antivirus recommendations. Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).