Microsoft Windows Defender Antivirus(opens in new tab) isn’t known for its security, but it’s been around for quite some time. It’s been included in every version of Windows since Vista and is now just one of a set of built-in free security tools. It was first released as Windows Defender in 2006, then rebranded as Microsoft windows defender antivirus. It’s been included in every version of Windows since Vista and is now just one of a set of built-in free security tools. Although Microsoft has provided antivirus protection since DOS, it has never appeared to affect the third-party antivirus market. Microsoft
Defender Antivirus defends against all sorts of viruses and also controls a number of additional security measures in Windows 10. Microsoft Defender is activated to safeguard computers that do not have any other antivirus installed. To avoid conflict, a third-party solution is put into suspended animation as soon as it is installed. Microsoft contributes to a form of herd immunity by ensuring that every Windows installation includes malware protection. The Microsoft windows defender antivirus is also competent, but the greatest rivals, including free ones, outperform it.
Here is the list of features of Microsoft windows defender antivirus.
Features of Windows Defender Antivirus
1. Virus And Threat Protection
Windows Defender is pre-loaded on every Windows PC and is automatically enabled if no other antivirus software is installed. This, of course, means that no installation is necessary.
Right out of the box, the application provides security. The Windows Defender Security Center, which contains virus scanning, parental control, a basic firewall, and system health dialogs, and the Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security are the two sections where settings are managed. Although the latter is better suited to experts, the Security Center is simple and quick to use.
2. Firewall And Network Protection
Microsoft windows defender antivirus offers a comprehensive variety of scanning options, including a fast scan, a full system scan, a custom scan to examine specific files and folders, and even a boot scan that runs before Windows starts up to remove particularly persistent threats. On our test PC, quick scans took around a minute, but we couldn’t establish a consistent timing for additional scans. Defender is more concerned with lowering their system impact than with speeding up scan times.
3. Advanced Security
Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security in addition to virus and threat prevention. This program isn’t very user-friendly, but it allows you to define and manage complete firewall rules for both inbound and outbound safeguards. Because firewalls are critical for ensuring the security of your local network, I was pleased with Microsoft’s tool’s breadth.
A sophisticated parental control filter is included in Defender. These settings are established on the cloud, and family members’ Windows accounts may be added so that an admin in the family can monitor and regulate their access. In reality, Microsoft windows defender antivirus allows you to establish separate Windows accounts for your children, and the security settings will be updated automatically anytime they log in and use Microsoft Edge to browse the web (you’ll want to restrict access to other browsers if you have them installed).
4. App And Browser Control
Administrators may set time restrictions and pull down data regarding surfing behavior in addition to whitelisting and blacklisting functionality. While the parental controls are adequate for a free antivirus, they pale in comparison to those offered by Norton or Panda.
There’s also phishing protection that works with Microsoft’s own browsers, Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer, by default. I used phishtank.com to test some known phishing URLs, and the system successfully flagged them all—unfortunately, I couldn’t say the same for Google Chrome, which allowed me to access the same URLs without flagging them as suspicious (and yes, I had the “protect you from dangerous sites” option enabled). The Windows Defender Browser Protection plugin may be downloaded from the Chrome Web Store if you wish to add Defender’s protection to Chrome
5. SmartScreen Protection
SmartScreen protection, which is based on reputation, allows Microsoft windows defender antivirus to deny access to harmful websites, files, and programs. In our tests, its URL filtering was constantly less accurate than the competition, and it only worked with Microsoft Edge. SmartScreen’s file and download checks, on the other hand, are system-wide and provide an additional layer of security.
