How good is Windows Defender?

[BlackManINC]

 Is it as good at detecting viruses as other consumer brand anti virus programs like Malwarebytes? I'm particularly curious about its boot time scan function since there aren't many consumer grade programs that offer that. I was told by this one dude who tested it in a virtual machine that it really isn't that good. When he created his own malware, it basically detected nothing, while Malwarebytes for instance, did a pretty good job detecting most of it. 

[Jurrunio]

At least it's better than Norton and McAfee, these two are just as unwanted as malware with their endless ads.

[1518]

The The PC Security Channel did a test:

 

[Radium_Angel]

Windows Defender used to rank dead last in detection, but that was some years ago. These days I've heard it has improved a bit.

No AV software is 100% however. You need a layered approach to security.  

[Dedayog]

Windows Defender + Malware Bytes = a good defense for most people.

 

Add in a VPN if you need.

 

About as good as it gets without a Faraday Cage and Angelina Jolie helping you "hack".

 

https://shop.faradaydefense.com/product/faraday-tents-rf-emi-shielding-enclosure-rooms/?gclid=CjwKCAjw_L6LBhBbEiwA4c46urVk2Yltqxrx3VC4hER5_yGCIdnwWfZvb-gMWmiStjTTyweikGetihoCTGwQAvD_BwE

 

[m9x3mos]

14 minutes ago, BlackManINC said:

 Is it as good at detecting viruses as other consumer brand anti virus programs like Malwarebytes? I'm particularly curious about its boot time scan function since there aren't many consumer grade programs that offer that. I was told by this one dude who tested it in a virtual machine that it really isn't that good. When he created his own malware, it basically detected nothing, while Malwarebytes for instance, did a pretty good job detecting most of it. 

I would say for most users not doing any dangerous behavior, it's probably fine. This is a good resource that does testing on these products I use as reference. 

https://www.av-comparatives.org/tests/malware-protection-test-september-2021/

[Chris Pratt]

It's as good as if not better than everything else. No solution is perfect, and even the best options trade blows where one will miss something the other detects and vice versa.

 

The problem is in looking at any anti-malware as if it's your first line of defense. In actuality, it's your last line of defense. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats just being smart and not going to websites you don't trust, downloading software you don't trust, and running apps your don't trust.

 

Even before Defender was a thing, I never used any anti-malware programs and never had one virus or other malware. So, if anything, I'm even more safe with Defender.

[Mark Kaine]

Malwarebytes is "better",  its a good idea to have it + windows defender however. 

 

Malwarebytes is also not an AV, because it does not turn off defender,  which any and all AVs are required to do, MWB is for malware removal with "viruses" as a bonus,  or something! (Yes i made that reasoning up even though it's likely correct... but MWB is not a traditional AV)

 

 

[BlackManINC]

9 hours ago, Mark Kaine said:

Malwarebytes is "better",  its a good idea to have it + windows defender however. 

 

Malwarebytes is also not an AV, because it does not turn off defender,  which any and all AVs are required to do, MWB is for malware removal with "viruses" as a bonus,  or something! (Yes i made that reasoning up even though it's likely correct... but MWB is not a traditional AV)

 

 

 Interesting...well, Malwarebytes sure as hell does an excellent job detecting adware and such. But, a "virus" is a specific type of malware as far as the I.T industry is concerned, in the way malware spreads. People always get these terms mixed up. Here is how my Network+ book defines malware for instance. If they are going to call it "malwarebytes", then a network administer or cyber security analyst would take that to mean it guards against all of its varieties. But I'll keep Defender on since that provides a layered defense model. I just did a full scan with it in fact. I'd also use Malwarebytes browser guard too, since most attacks actually occur at layer 7 of the OSI Layer model, the application layer, as the book says. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[akio123008]

The best anti-malware/virus software is called common sense.

 

Use that and let windows defender run because it's already installed anyway.

[Mark Kaine]

7 minutes ago, BlackManINC said:

Interesting

Its also common sense/ knowledge...sure there are many alternatives,  but mwb+defender is just really lightweight and "good enough" for the majority of users...

 

Example of how they work differently...

 

So I dl "cheat engine" for cheating  ... actually to adjust the camera in Resident Evil because close camera gives me nausea...

Mwb tells me "pup" potentially unwanted program... so, ok, i understand but for me its not unwanted,  and also i know the dev group,  they're upright hackers and would never make "malware" that's bad for rep after all!

Defender says........ nothing at all...

 

 

Ok, next, I make a mod, upload it, then dl it to check if it works...Defender blocks it! Lmao...

 

Check with Mwb...... nothing.... obviously,  because it *is* nothing lol...

 

So that may sound like defender is useless,  but it really looks for different stuff and as you said its an additional layer.

 

 

[BlackManINC]

On 10/21/2021 at 5:23 PM, Mark Kaine said:

Its also common sense/ knowledge...sure there are many alternatives,  but mwb+defender is just really lightweight and "good enough" for the majority of users...

 

Example of how they work differently...

 

So I dl "cheat engine" for cheating  ... actually to adjust the camera in Resident Evil because close camera gives me nausea...

Mwb tells me "pup" potentially unwanted program... so, ok, i understand but for me its not unwanted,  and also i know the dev group,  they're upright hackers and would never make "malware" that's bad for rep after all!

Defender says........ nothing at all...

 

 

Ok, next, I make a mod, upload it, then dl it to check if it works...Defender blocks it! Lmao...

 

Check with Mwb...... nothing.... obviously,  because it *is* nothing lol...

 

So that may sound like defender is useless,  but it really looks for different stuff and as you said its an additional layer.

 

 

A recent test I did using Defenders boot time scan was rather off putting. Defender only scanned a few files it deemed were essential, while Avast's boot time option scanned pretty much every file on the computer and found four browser hijackers. Microsoft needs to do a better job with the boot time option, a LOT better. Avast might be the only consumer anti virus program I'd pay for at all apart from malwarebytes just for its boot time scan alone. The dude in the video below tested Avasts free virus scan, and it did a great job detecting malware as well. But the one other thing I also found to be very impressive is its approach layered security. If the standard scan doesn't recognize a file in its database, it will forward it over to its "deep scan" option, just to be extra certain its not malicious. Its apparently a type of sandbox it uses to test files before giving it a pass, pretty cool. I don't think there are many anti virus programs that do that, except maybe the most top notch, enterprise ones perhaps. I now use Avast and Malwarebytes, with periodic scans with Defender.