Ill look at the costs and benefits of using Windows Defender over a paid antivirus.
As many techies will tell you, Windows Defender keeps millions of PCs safe.
This stands in stark contrast to paid options like Norton or Bitdefender, which provide heaps of extras.
Note: Windows Defender was rebranded as Windows Security years ago.
In this article, Ill follow common practice and keep calling it Windows Defender.
Some of the paid plans, meanwhile, are now branded as Microsoft Defender.
So, Is Windows Defender Antivirus Good Enough?
In the end, I found some issues with Windows Defender here are my main complaints.
This is a big problem considering how much more popular Chrome is.
Microsoft does have a Chrome extension that blocks some dangerous sites, but it never tells you about it.
I imagine most users dont even know it exists.
Additionally, youll only get DNS protection in Edge.
Even if you do use Edge, the phishing protections are pretty bad.
I could access tons of phishing pages and other dangerous sites with the protection enabled.
It did block a few, but third-party online safety tools just do better.
If you want cloud storage, youll need to pay.
While not as dangerous as things like ransomware, PUPs can be seriously annoying and often invade your privacy.
You should get a notification whenever your webcam or microphone turns on, but this can be circumvented.
This is why Bitdefender and many other antiviruses come with special tools offering webcam and microphone protection.
The scan options are pretty basic, as is the firewall.
It doesnt generate reports after scans, either.
The way Defender issues updates can also be exploited.
Again, as the most widely used security tool, these updates dont exactly fly under the radar.
What Features Are Missing From Windows Defender?
A VPN protects your online privacy from trackers and allows you to access public networks securely.
If you care about your privacy online, using a VPN is your best bet.
The worst part is that Windows used to sell a premium VPN but has since discontinued it!
There aregreat standalone options, but some users prefer to get a password manager bundled with their antivirus.
Password managers are great for security and convenience, so I highly recommend getting one.
Parental Controls
By default, Windows has only the most basic parental controls.
I dont even recommend getting the upgraded version as its likewise unimpressive.
For example, Nortons topLifeLockcan pay out up to $3 million in the event of identity theft.
It offers far more scanning options and, unlike Defender, Nortons full ransomware protections are on by default.
When it comes to internet security tools, Defender just cant compete.
Norton360includes:
Nortons anti-phishing protections are among the best around.
Plus, Norton offers far superior parental controls, which aresome of the best on the market.
All plans come with a generous 60-day money-back guarantee.
Even if you have plenty of common sense, Norton offers better protection than Windows Defender.
It has plans for every budget and offers a generous 60-day money-back guarantee.
Unlike Defender, it scored just as well when I tested it while offline.
Even other top antiviruses like McAfee slowed down my system during scans.
Bitdefender is also more hands-off than Defender.
And unlike Defenders finicky anti-ransomware tool, Bitdefenders works automatically.
It prevented me from visiting phishing sites, as well as sites that contain downloadable malware.
You also get microphone and webcam protection, something Windows fails to offer.
Its VPN is extremely fast, providing better connection speeds than a lot of standalone VPNs.
Bitdefenders premiumTotal Securityplan includes more features than almost any antivirus, for only IDR932,320 / year.
Bitdefenders plans are covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
All of its plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
TotalAVs VPN, called Safe Browsing VPN, isthe best VPN offered by an antivirus.
It also works with top streaming services, including Netflix, and allows torrenting on all servers.
The identity theft protection is very good, too, but it only covers US users.
That said, the protections are quite extensive, with victims earning up to $1 million in compensation.
Defender doesnt offer anything of the kind.
All TotalAV plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
I like TotalAVs premium identity theft protection as well, but its only available on theTotal Securityplan.
If youre interested, you’re free to try TotalAV with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
McAfee offers a huge improvement over Windows 11s built-in protections.
I found that it provided greater protection than Windows Defender did by itself.
Its also easy to manage suspicious applications that the firewall blocks.
That said, it isnt the most advanced firewall out there.
Still, its an effective tool that works well with Windows Defender.
McAfeeAdvancedis priced at IDR1,525,720 / year and comes with $1 million in identity theft insurance.
All plans are covered by a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
McAfee provides an excellent anti-malware engine it has lots of internet security extras that Windows Defender doesnt have.
The parental controls, firewall, VPN, and anti-phishing protections are all significantly better than Microsofts built-in tools.
All these tools come together to make McAfee a much better alternative to Windows Defender.
All of McAfees plans are available with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
There is no bootable version of Defender, so its nice to have this tool on hand.
Panda offers 5 different packages, including a free plan for users on a budget.
Theres a 30-day money-back guarantee on all plans.
I found Malwarebytes easier to use than Defender.
Another area where Malwarebytes is superior to Defender is scheduling system scans.
Inexperienced users may find this process difficult and confusing.
Malwarebytess VPN is pretty good users looking for an additional layer of online privacy will be happy with it.
The VPN provides encrypted access to servers around the globe.
However, it wasnt as fast asBitdefendersVPN in my testing, and it doesnt work with most streaming sites.
MalwarebytesPlusoffers malware protection and a secure VPN for IDR1,017,090 / year.
Malwarebytes offers a 60-day money-back guarantee on both plans.
Though somewhat minimalistic, Malwarebytes is an improvement on Defender.
It provides excellent malware protection and anti-phishing controls with a user-friendly dashboard, but not much else.
Its scanning engine is as accurate as Norton, and the bundled VPN is also pretty good.
Malwarebytes comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
The premium plans include the driver updater, which Defender doesnt have.
AviraPrimeis the best package (and the only one that includes an unlimited-data VPN).
All Avira plans include a generous 60-day money-back guarantee.
AviraPrimecomes with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Kaspersky hasreally good parental controls, too much better than Defenders.
In fact, its one of thetop antiviruses with parental controls.
There are also good financial protections with the Safe Money net internet ride.
Its certainly more secure than Edge, but I preferBitdefenders Safepay.
Theres also webcam protection, cloud backup, solid mobile apps, and more.
Kaspersky backs all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Note, Kaspersky is currently unavailable for purchase in the US.
The parental controls, secure financial protections, and password manager are all quite good.
All of Kasperskys plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
It didnt generate many false positives, the scans were faster, and its real-time protection uses fewer resources.
Im not a fan of Trend Micros parental controls, privacy scanner, or VPN.
Theyre ok, but theyre not nearly as good as the offerings from competitors likeNortonandMcAfee.
The VPN is missing a kill switch but is otherwise pretty good.
Trend Micro offers a few other good features that Defender lacks, including Pay Guard and Secure Erase.
Secure Erase permanently wipes a file from your system.
Its much better than Windowss Recycle Bin.
Trend Micro offers 4 different plans.
You get a 30-day money-back guarantee with all plans.
Its definitely an improvement over Microsofts Windows Defender, but I wasnt impressed with its parental controls or VPN.
There is a 30-day money-back guarantee for all of Trend Micros plans.
While its scan took longer than Defenders during my tests, ESET detected malware samples that Defender missed.
That said, its not quite as good as competitors likeNortonandBitdefender.
This is another feature that Windows lacks entirely.
Finally, its SysInspector tool creates a detailed Windows system snapshot to help you diagnose any issues.
ESETsPremiumplan is a decent value for the price.
Coverage for 1 machine starts at IDR1,017,090 / year, but adding extra devices is relatively cheap.
ESET comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
ESET provides advanced malware protection, near-perfect detection rates, and a great anti-theft feature.
ThePremiumplan is a good value and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
But the biggest drawback is the lack of advanced features.
It depends on what you mean by enough.
Windows Defender offers some decent cybersecurity protection, but its nowhere near as good as mostpremium antivirus software.
Windows Defender is fine if youre just looking for basic cybersecurity protection.
you’ve got the option to read more about my analysis of Defenders security offeringshere.
What is Windows Defender SmartScreen?
Should I disable it?
SmartScreen is Microsoft Defenders real-time phishing protection.
It does a pretty good job, but third-party tools work better in my experience.
It also only works with Edge and Internet Explorer, which is a shame.
Can Windows Defender remove malware?
If Windows Defender detects malware, it will remove it from your PC.
It also has lower overall detection rates, especially while working offline, which does concern me a bit.
Does Windows have built-in phishing protection?
Is Windows Defender free?
Should I replace Windows Defender with another antivirus?
Microsofts Windows Defender just isnt good enough, though Ill acknowledge that its better than it used to be.
In terms of malware detection, it often ranks belowtop antivirus competitors.
In terms of system performance, Defenders scans take longer and cause more slowdown than most third-party antiviruses.
And finally, in terms of essential security features, Defender is severely lacking.
Using Windows Defender as a standalone antivirus is much better than not using any antivirus at all.
I recommend one of the following options:
Can I use Windows Defender with another antivirus?
you’re able to, but I wouldnt recommend it.
Windows Defenders protections can conflict with third-party antivirus software, inhibiting the softwares ability to scan and detect malware.
How to disable Windows Defender?
Windows Defender will now be deactivated.
How to scan for malware using Windows Defender?
Scanning for malware with Windows Defender is easy.
