Resolved Free AV or Windows Defender?

I have relied on Microsoft AV for the past several years - MSE and then Windows Defender. Just read PC Magazine article http://www.pcmag.com/article2/ which rates the major free AV programs and considers Windows Defender to be an "also ran" to the 10 others that were rated.

I have used other free AV in the past - Avast, Avira, and AVG. The only complaint I have with Windows Defender is not being able to tell when, or if, scans have been run and not being able to program when I would like scans to run automatically.

Should I be concerned that Windows Defender is not an adequate AV as compared to the 10 rated by PC Magazine?

Edit Note - the link I initially used in paragraph 1 doesn't work. The article is dated July 20, 2016 by Neil J. Rubenking.

 

I use Windows Defender on all my Windows 10 systems. I see no reason to change. You don't need a Abrams Tank to be safe while driving. You just need a "basic" car that is kept current and properly maintained, and most importantly, you need to drive defensively.

With Windows, driving defensively means you keep Windows and your security program updated, and you avoid risky behavior like visiting illegal gambling and pornography sites, you don't participate in illegal filesharing of pirated songs and videos, and you are not what I call "click happy" on unsolicited links, popups, downloads, and attachments - things you need to be regardless your anti-malware solution of choice.

Note that Microsoft does not develop Windows Defender to score well on synthetic lab tests. That's because Microsoft does not need high scoring lab tests to promote their product like AVG, Avria and the others do. WD is not a for profit product. Microsoft makes WD suitable for blocking current threats and it does that well.

And also regardless your antimalware solution of choice, you should always have a secondary scanner on hand just to make sure you (the user and ALWAYS weakest link in security) did not open the door and let a bad guy in. For that, I use and recommend Malwarebytes Antimalware (MBAM) for that. SUPERAntiSpyware is good too.

I've been using MSE then WD since W7 came out in 2009. And so far, MBAM has never found anything but a few "wanted" PUPs (potentially unwanted programs).

BTW, when you open the WD window, it shows when the last scan was run. And of course, it is running full time anyway so you really don't have to schedule scans but can manually start a scan anytime you want. And in Windows Task Scheduler, you can schedule tasks. But frankly, I don't mess with any of that. Windows does it for me.

I believe the PC Mag article you were referring to is this one. I don't buy their claim you cannot rely on WD. The fact is, you should not rely on any single solution and the fact is WD with MBAM is very effective. And with WD, you won't be hounded to upgrade to the pro versions like happens often with those other products.

Remember, Norton, McAfee, AVC, Avira, AVG, Panda, Comodo, Kaspersky and all the others (except Windows Defender) have no incentive whatsoever to rid the world of malware! That will put them out of business.

Microsoft, on the other hand, has every incentive to protect your system because Microsoft will get blamed regardless - even though it is the bad guys perpetrating the offenses, not Microsoft. The IT press loves and makes money bashing Microsoft so they regularly exaggerate (and even falsify) claims with sensationalized headlines to get readers attention.

To be sure, I am NOT saying other malware solutions may not be better. I am just saying you don't need them to stay safe. I am also not saying to don't use those other programs if you are more comfortable using them. Being comfortable with your security setup is important too.

I am just saying I am very comfortable using WD and have no reservations recommending it.

 

Broadly agree with Bill. No antivirus is 100% effective. And as Bill says, MS has inherent interest in keeping its user's systems virus free, you could go ahead with using Windows Defender as your first line of defense & use Malwarebytes Anti Malware as second line of defense.

 

Thanks for the input Bill and rsinfo. Bill, you make an excellent point that I hadn't considered:

And PC Magazine makes money advertising for the AV companies. I'll close this one and mark it "Resolved ".