Windows Defender? There was a time when everyone used third-party antivirus software rather than Microsoft because the company didn't focus on developing any advanced protection application.
But times have changed and it seems that Windows 10 now has a complex security system Windows Defender, which will soon be called Microsoft Defender.
After its first release with Windows 8 as a native antivirus product running under Microsoft Security Essentials, Windows Defender has evolved relatively quickly. Eventually it became a fully-featured application that could persuade many not to pay for another third-party protection application.
Windows Defender is currently in Windows security suite in Windows 10, which includes many security tools that can be used by anyone, beginner or professional.
The Windows Security Suite includes the following applications, some of which are powered by Windows Defender:
Virus and threat protection
Account protection
Firewall and network protection
App and browser control
Device security
Device performance and health
Family options
Each of these functions has additional options. Antivirus protection, for example, has ransomware protection, real-time protection and various scanning features.
Earlier this week, the researchers of AV-TEST have published the results of a new round of tests of security applications released for Windows 10.
The strange thing of course is not that Windows Defender is in top of the list, but the fact that it received the highest rating, just like the software from top security vendors like Kaspersky.
Windows Defender got 18 out of 18 points for protection, performance and usability.
Below we will see why Windows Defender can now be described as such a top product.
AV-TEST conducted two different series of tests in May and June and evaluated all products in three areas: protection, performance and usability.
In the protection category there were tests that investigated how to deal with viruses in malicious 0day attacks via the web but also via email. Windows Defender managed to block 100% of the malware in both rounds of testing, exceeding the industry average (IA) which was 97,1%.
AV-TEST then attempted to identify the most common malware detected over the past 4 weeks. Once again, Windows Defender managed to block 100% of the threats in both tests. The average was 99,8%.
Moving on to performance tests, things get a little more complicated as AV-TEST evaluates each product to determine how much it is "disrupting" system performance when running its security features.
Windows Defender stood out in the slowdown that occurs when popular websites start with the so-called low and high hardware (slow and fast computers) with a score of 13% and 14%, respectively. This means that it went better than the average which is at 19 and 16%, respectively.
Windows Defender doesn't slow it down device when downloading applications, and the slowdown produces up to 8% when launching an application on both types of computers (low and high hardware) against an average of 10 and 9% respectively.
Windows Defender did not give false positives against duration usability testing, so it easily passed the tests.
