Keep in mind that not all firewalls are created equal. The Windows Defender default firewall is useful but somewhat barebones feature-wise. You need to ask yourself the following questions:.
There are many capable firewall options on the market, but you have to decide which one is right for you. Conveniently, some antiviruses come bundled with firewalls , covering both of your cybersecurity needs with just one program. A budget option with some free features, Avira see user reviews comes with a comprehensive firewall that covers bots and worms trying to break through your network.
Other functions include:. Try Avira Now. Intego see user reviews keeps all of its tools in a single folder for easy access. The NetBarrier function automatically detects home and public Wi-Fi networks and sets firewall settings accordingly.
Other tools included are:. Try Intego Now. The feature set includes:. Try Bitdefender Now. Windows Defender see user reviews should be familiar to Windows users. Baby Shark YouTube. Venmo Gifts. Fortnite iPhone. Quest Headset SteamVR. M1 Mac Dropbox. Windows 11 Uninstall Clock. Teams Walkie-Talkie. PCI Express 6. Use Your iPhone as a Webcam.
Hide Private Photos on iPhone. All Microsoft's PowerToys for Windows. Take Screenshot by Tapping Back of iPhone. Windows 11 Default Browser. Browse All Windows Articles. Windows 10 Annual Updates. OneDrive Windows 7 and 8. Copy and Paste Between Android and Windows. Windows Defender offers web protection on the Edge browser. However, since most people use Chrome, they will be left out of this crucial feature that prevents malicious sites.
Another area that Windows Defender has failed to address is robust password management. Because people have multiple passwords to deal with, they use weak combinations so they can remember.
Some even reuse the same passwords for various web applications. Windows Defender does not offer a password management tool to recommend and store robust passwords. A cloud backup is an imperative protection feature against malware and virus attacks that destroys your data. It safely stores your files, and you can quickly restore them at any time. Unfortunately, Windows Defender does not offer this protective component.
Luckily, you can use Windows Defender together with another free antivirus for added protection. There are many other free antivirus software that offers better malware and virus protection than the Windows Defender. However, free antivirus programs can be lacking in other areas. Maybe their malware scanner is not sufficient, or real-time protection does not work well.
Actually, there is no free antivirus that will offer complete protection. That is why it is recommended to use free third-party antivirus alongside Windows Defender to give your PC decent protection.
If you store sensitive data such as your passwords, pictures, or bank information, you should consider investing in an affordable premium antivirus like Norton Its malware scanner is cloud-based and continuously updates the database with the newest malware threats. During our testing, the antivirus effectively detected the phishing sites we tried to access and blocked many malware sample files. Since the software is updated more frequently, it offers better protection than the Windows Defender.
The best part is that the Kaspersky free antivirus also offers a password manager and VPN , two critical security tools that Windows Defender lacks. Overall, Kaspersky Security Cloud offers much better features and protection than the Windows Defender.
The malware scanner is faster, and the detection rate is near-perfect. If you upgrade to the paid version, you will get more features such as safe money, privacy cleaner, webcam protection, anti-spam, etc. TotalAV is a user-friendly antivirus that actively protects your PC from malicious malware and viruses. The free version comes with a range of essential features better than what the Windows Defender offers. We used the Junk Cleaner to scan our computer and freed nearly 5 GB of our hard disk space.
During our testing, it identified and blocked all the sample malware files. The downside is that you have to upgrade to the paid version to get real-time protection offered for free on the Windows Defender. Although Windows Defender does not provide these features, other free antivirus programs like Kaspersky offer them for free. TotalAV offers a lot of functionality than the Windows Defender. The PC optimization feature will help to enhance the performance of your device.
Although it does not provide real-time protection on the free version, you can upgrade to the paid version to access it and many more features. Avira antivirus program comes with many features, even on the free version, including an integrated firewall, real-time malware protection, free VPN , and more.
Nonetheless, it has several premium features, including PC optimization tools and password manager, making it a good Windows Defender complement. This is much better compared to our experience with Windows Defender. The paid version offers great security tools such as integrated VPN, secure banking tools, customizable scans, and parental controls. Even though the Windows Defender has decent scanning options, it lacks essential tools like parental controls and VPN.
Bitdefender malware scanning engine performs better than Windows Defender. While the free version is lightweight, it is very powerful with real-time protection. The premium version comes with crucial features such as a VPN and parental controls, which Windows Defender does not offer.
Malwarebytes free version is limited as it only offers malware scanning without real-time protection. However, it works well when combined with Windows Defender. The dashboard looks complicated, but it is straightforward to use and navigate.
Everything is laid out, and the scan button will appear once you open the program. Malwarebytes Premium version is a secure and highly-capable antivirus. It offers protection against multiple threats, including ransomware and zero-day attacks. Although Malwarebytes is good at identifying and removing malware from PC, it is not powerful enough to act as standalone antivirus. However, you can combine it with Windows Defender for better protection. Lately, Microsoft has significantly invested in Windows Defender, and this has ensured greater efficiency.
Research carried out by independent labs in found that it blocked In essence, Windows Defender is good enough for your PC in ; however, this was not the case some time ago. Previously the antivirus program was not sophisticated enough to handle modern threats. It also used to crash a lot during updates, which has, unfortunately, giving it a bad reputation even in However, Windows Defender currently provides robust protection for systems against malware programs , which has been proved in a lot of independent testing.
It comes pre-installed with windows without additional charges. Moreover, it is convenient to use, especially for less tech-savvy people who may not understand how to configure other premium antivirus applications for optimum results.
Having an antivirus program like Windows Defender installed on your PC is a no-brainer. Not only can it help save a lot of reputational damage, but also you would end up saving money as it is free. If you are looking for a top-notch antivirus program and fancy simplicity, too, then Microsoft Defender is the answer. But it is not the only top free antivirus programs out there. For your antivirus AB testing, we recommend you not to settle on Windows Defender only.
Instead, try out some other alternatives like Kaspersky and Bitdefender, too. The best way to protect your PC is to combine the Windows Defender with another reliable free antivirus.
That is why you need to upgrade to a budget-friendly antivirus like Norton Nwachukwu Glory is a writer, blogger, and tech nerd. She loves trying new gadgets that make life more fun and easier. Glory is passionate about digital security and privacy alongside browsing the World Wide Web without any limitations. Exclusive offer. Fastest among the VPNs we tested. Unblocks virtually all the streaming platforms. Unlimited bandwidth and torrent downloads. No thanks.
Disclosure The readers like you support PrivacySavvy to help keep up the good work. By: Kharmela Mindanao on September 22nd, Cybersecurity Windows Operating System. Are you wondering if you should use Windows Defender? Does settling for the default option leave a bad taste in your mouth? Leaving things to run on default without triple-checking can bring anxiety to some people, especially when it comes to keeping your technology safe.
Microsoft Defender Antivirus commonly referred to simply as Windows Defender is the default antivirus program of Windows. It was first released as a downloadable free anti-spyware program for Windows XP and was later shipped with Windows Vista and Windows 7. Now, it has evolved into a full antivirus program, replacing Microsoft Security Essentials, as part of Windows 8 and later versions. Windows Firewall is one aspect of this program. Is it now the best antivirus program?
In this article, we'll discuss what each pro and con means for using Windows Defender, and the performance of Windows Defender in
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