There is quite a selection of scans you can do: a quick scan, a full scan, a custom scan, and an offline scan. Windows Security Virus and Threat Protection is where you can find all the scans available.

Let’s take a closer look at all of the security features that Microsoft Defender offers.

There is no VPN or a password manager, but considering that this is a built-in Windows security suite, this is to be expected. Windows Security has quite a selection of security features, ranging from basic threat protection to parental controls. Essentially, the scans are pretty much nothing against zero-day threats.Īll in all, while Microsoft Defender can be considered a relatively safe antivirus solution, it may not be as good as some of the other antiviruses regarded as the best in the market. However, during the scanning process, for which the firewall and real-time protection have to be disabled, 10 out of 10 malicious files were allowed through, and only one Trojan was found. It detected and instantly deleted 9 out of 10 zero-day threats. Our in-house test results also were very good – the firewall and real-time protection worked like a charm. Compared to top providers in the antivirus market, these are good results. By contrast, AV-Comparatives tested Windows Defender in March 2022 and concluded around 99% malware threat detection and protection rates with only five false positives. This is both in terms of prevalent malware and zero-day threats, including online and email threats. However, the scans are sometimes inaccurate and fail to detect malicious files and potentially unwanted programs.īased on the independent tests concluded in January and February 2022, AV-Test labs evaluated Microsoft Defender protection at 100%. It also has additional features for device protection against malware, such as scanning, app and browser control, and account protection options. It has almost 100% real-time protection rates, according to independent tests.

Microsoft Defender antivirus is pretty safe.

Microsoft defender free download