Is Windows Defender still useful?

Avast Free Antivirus / Premium Security
21

Windows Defender has slow scan and WD is no good for spyware or malware detection and remove.

22

I think it is obsolete. I disabled it totally. Though it consumes less resources, those resources are better off used for other things. MBam and SAS has far superior detection rates. I once surfed the web without Avast (since I have not installed it yet was in the process of downloading the stuff I need to install in the PC having reformatted the PC) due to an emergency in our own local Forum. My PC got infected with a relatively low risked Spyware. WD is the only security that I got but it didn’t even detect that. Thanks to MBam and it got cleaned. Although I expected it already since it was low risk (I searched for it after I learned of the infection from MBam). Sorry but if you guys are wondering why I didn’t use Avast to clean it, I always believe in installing an AV in a clean PC. I guess it is just my preference.

Since then, I disabled WD. Besides, MSE is already there. No point in having WD, if you have Avast, a firewall, and a few things to help you out with coupled with common sense surfing… You are more or less protected.

Mikos

23

Mikos, what you thing about Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus?

24

hpguru
avast has a blog about MSE so why dont you read it
heres the link

http://blog.avast.com/2009/10/02/and-what-about-microsoft-security-essentials—mse/

their you will read of how good MSE is. :o

25

hmm… thats a nice blog. But i have something to say about those statistics. ‘no security protection’ does not always mean that no antivirus installed. There are no of cases where the installed one doesn’t give any protection i.e. no updates were available from it.

  1. Some are using trial version of paid AV & trial period is over.
  2. Some had a subscription of paid AV, but subscription period is over.
  3. Some free AV (like avast) have to be registered to after a fixed time to get updates & the registered period is over.
  4. Proxy server was not set properly to get automatic or scheduled updates.
  5. Some malware have disabled the AV.
  6. Many computer do not have access to internet.
    I have seen many computers in my institute & in many places that are unprotected due to any one of the above problems.
    So i guess the statistics given by microsoft were quite reasonable but i don’t know whether they have kept these options in their mind or not… :o
26

yeah maybe thats what they reffering too… :wink:

27

Some reviews on it say it is good when it was tested during its Beta Phase. I still haven’t read any reviews on it yet by any independent AV testing Body. I don’t use it though. Not that I don’t have anything against MS, but I just don’t patronize too much of their products. If given a choice, I would not even use their OS. I just use theirs for productivity reasons since it is all over the place (as most companies use their OS).

Mikos

28

But during the Av test I think MSE scored very well^^

29

Hello,

On Windows Defender still: on my system at least, the startup and other registry monitoring functions have been removed… I imagine in view of MSE.

Have removed Defender and use Winpatrol to monitor that stuff,

brgds
mack

30
[b]Windows Defender[/b]

View a quick demo of Windows Defender and its features.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/defender/demo.mspx

I use Windows Defender as well as WinPatrol

That is false as shown by the video