Windows has always been extremely vulnerable to viruses and malware. Initially, Microsoft was insensitive to the misery this caused, but now Windows has its own antivirus software that also performs better and better. Does that make Windows safe enough or do you still need antivirus for Windows?
It has taken Microsoft nearly twenty years to come up with its own antivirus that seems good enough to eliminate the need to install other antivirus programs. Because while Microsoft Defender Antivirus (MDA) isn’t overflowing with options and settings, it does what it’s supposed to do. And according to comparative antivirus tests, it’s getting better and better.
It scans the PC both real-time, i.e. in the form of a background process, and on-demand. And the ransomware protection can additionally protect specific files, folders and parts of the memory. Together with the other components in Windows security – such as firewall and network security, account security, app and browser management and exploit protection – Windows offers a fairly complete alternative to many antivirus and even larger security packages.
The performance of Microsoft Defender Antivirus is equal to that of other antivirus programs
The end of antivirus?
Just because Windows now has its own antivirus, doesn’t mean you can’t use another virus scanner. If you do, MDA will silently switch to passive mode. It continues to receive updates and can periodically scan the PC for malware as an extra protection, but malware removal leaves it to the antivirus program installed later.
So there’s no need to remove Microsoft’s antivirus, and there’s no tedious fiddling between programs to be the “default antivirus” like browsers do. This is still beneficial for the providers of other products, but it is inevitable that an increasingly better MDA will have an impact on the opportunities for alternative products.
There is already a fear of free antivirus programs. With their minimal functionality, they don’t add anything that Windows doesn’t already have, while the user experience of these products is very poor. As pleasantly invisible as Microsoft’s security does its job, the free antivirus products are so annoyingly present. They endlessly show threats and opportunities for system optimization, but you can only do anything with them if you have purchased the paid version.
The future of free antivirus is to be feared
Opportunities for security
The question marks that can be raised with free antivirus ultimately also apply to paid antivirus programs. The extra functionality is also often limited. In addition, providers are increasingly misusing these programs as a vehicle for an upgrade to a more expensive product.
This does not mean that there are no reasons to purchase a security suite. First of all, there is the quality of the protection. Microsoft scores well, but other providers also and sometimes even better. Moreover, they have been doing this for much longer and proven reliability is an important argument for a security product.
Such providers can also increase their chances by being more innovative and offering functionality that Microsoft does not (yet) have. Think specific protection for online banking, a VPN for secure communication, a password manager, a data leak monitor that informs if personal data has been leaked, microphone and webcam protection and also backups.
The latter is essential for data recovery if malware unexpectedly manages to strike, but is still not very well organized in Windows. This does mean that the functionality of a simple antivirus or internet security suite is no longer sufficient.
“Convenience increasingly important”
Eddy Willems is a security evangelist at G DATA, but is best known in the security world as co-founder of the European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research (EICAR) and as a board member of the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO). In 1989, he was one of the first victims of ransomware when a system he controlled was hijacked by a Trojan virus. Willems analyzed and removed the virus, and made international news with it.
Many years later, he acknowledges that the problem is still unresolved. “70 percent of a successful ransomware attack is just a good citizen who clicks on a link. It is passé that you can recognize ransomware by crooked Dutch. So we also have to intensify and improve.”
G Data has therefore developed an online cyber training course and pays increasing attention to ease of use when developing its products. “The threat is the same everywhere, but ordinary people and SMEs have to solve it with less knowledge and manpower. Security products should help them when needed, instead of coming up with lots of technical stuff all at once.”
There is also a question of principle: should you actually entrust the security of Windows to the makers of the operating system? Or is it better to leave that to an independent party? The latter is free of the business interests that Microsoft ultimately has in its products and, unlike Microsoft, can focus entirely on security. Also, with an independent party, there would be less chance of a “blind spot” when looking at security.
On the other hand, Microsoft benefits from its deep-rooted knowledge of Windows and the vast amount of data it has about the use of its software and its security vulnerabilities. Moreover, a blind spot can never be completely avoided in an independent club of security guards.
Consolidation
Almost invisible to the user, the range of security products is also changing rapidly. For example, McAfee is no longer part of Intel, it has sold its business products and now focuses entirely on consumer products under the investment company Advent. F-Secure has also separated the products for home and business and now releases the latter under the name WithSecure.
Most of the changes are at Symantec, known for its Norton products. That was first bought by Broadcom itself, then changed the name to NortonLifeLock and then bought Avira and Bullguard to now also want to take over Avast. Because Avast previously bought AVG, all these names will soon belong together. What this means for the future remains to be seen. Avira is clearly another brand that also achieves different results than Norton. But that Bullguard’s website is now praising Norton will also have a reason.
Even less visible are the shifts in the scanning engines, say the heart of any antivirus program. Bullguard already used Avira’s before the takeover, just as Avast and AVG also use the same scanning engine, but the two are hardly distinguishable from each other. The other products still have their own scanning engine. G Data is the only one to use two engines, its own and Bitdefender’s.
After reading this article, are you still interested in a security package in addition to the standard Windows security? We recently tested several providers to answer the question: which is the best antivirus today?
Trial Challenge
Previously you could easily download a trial version of every security product, but increasingly that is only possible after you have created an account and shared your payment details. So it is actually no longer a trial version, but a trial period. And if you don’t turn off auto-renewal within that time, you’re just stuck with a subscription.
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