Times have changed, and third-party antivirus software is no longer a necessity. Here’s why I only use Windows Securityplus a few things I learned about the free built-in antivirus platform.

The advice to use Windows Security instead of third-party antivirus solutions is intended for personal and consumer audiences only. Companies have their own unique environments that often require antivirus, VPN and other additional security settings from third parties.

Difference between Windows Defender and Windows Security

The modern iteration of Windows Security appeared during the Windows 8 era and was simply introduced as Windows Defender, replacing the old Microsoft Security Essentials. Now the antimalware part of the wider Windows security suite is called “Microsoft Defender Antivirus”.

Microsoft’s idea was to integrate a complete antimalware solution into Windows to improve the security of the operating system, to great success. Since then, Windows PCs have been better protected and without resource overhead of third-party antivirus.

Antivirus solutions at a glance

As you can see from the points above, pricing and performance impact are the biggest disadvantages of using common third-party antivirus tools. I’m not here to say that Microsoft Security is a perfectspoiler alert: it’s not. However, compared to other third-party antivirus solutions, there is little or no impact on computer performance, and the price (free!) is great. There are also family protection options, few or no false positives, and more.

Microsoft Security easily allows you to research and add an exception to a file that can be identified as malicious. McAfee gives users an option to submit a false positive via email; Malwarebytes gives paid users the option to submit a false positive, but free users must submit the false positive to “researchers to investigate”.

McAfee’s effectiveness is in the top 5 most effective per the independent testing that was performedwith Norton rising to the top. It’s important to note that both options are not free, and Defender performed very well during testing. When comparing false positive ratesWindows Security tied McAfee in identifying the same number of false positives with better performance.

Access Windows Security

To access Windows Securityclick the Start menu, type Windows Dry, and select “Windows Security” from the Best Match section at the top.

Once you’re in the Windows Security app, you’ll see a number of sections available in the left menu. These specific sections deal with different security aspects of Windows.

If all security is up to date and no threats or issues are detected, you’ll see green ticks next to each secured section. Yellow exclamation points are warnings to take a look to see if you need to take additional steps. If you see any sections that have a red “X”, there are additional steps that need to be taken to secure your Windows environment.

Virus and threat protection options

This Virus and threat protection section has a variety of virus and threat protection services, including a scan to check for any current threats, virus and threat protection service settings and updates, and ransomware protection options. If everything looks good, you’ll see a green check next to each of the sections mentioned above; otherwise, you’ll see either a yellow exclamation mark or a red “X”.

Protecting your account

Account protection provides a number of security options available on Windows to securely sign in and manage the Microsoft account you used to sign in to Windows.

If you haven’t signed in to Windows with a Microsoft account, your menu items may be different.

Windows Hello. Windows Hello is a feature that uses your camera (built-in or external) for facial recognition as a login instead of using a password. This option provides a much more secure method of logging into your Windows session and also removes the burden of remembering a complicated password.

Dynamic lock. Dynamic lock allows you to lock your Windows sessions after a certain amount of time. Companies almost exclusively use this feature to maximize security, but you can decide if you want to apply the same level of security to your environment.

Firewall and network protection options

This section provides network and firewall settings.

Domain, private network and public network. These settings configure which applications are allowed through the firewall and which are not. For users who frequently interact with a public network, it is vital to ensure that unauthorized access to the computer from a network connection does not occur.

Control of application and browser settings

Here you will find options for controlling browser behavior, managing applications, and protecting against some types of malicious attacks.

Smart app control. This setting allows you to select which apps are added to your trusted list. This is a great feature when you might encounter behavior that makes you think a certain app is malicious and you’re not sure whether you want to delete it or just add it to the trusted list for now .

Reputation-based protection. This setting enables a variety of security tuning features, including checking unknown web apps, malicious sites, phishing protection, unwanted apps, and more. This feature is extremely useful to ensure that only your apps reliable runs on Windows.

Isolated navigation. This feature allows you to launch an instance of Microsoft Edge in an isolated browsing space to isolate your system from any malware or other exploits.

Protection against exploitation. This is another security option to protect your Windows computer from attacks.

Securing your device

Device Security section it hosts basic Windows services, processor and data encryption, and secure boot options.

Core isolation. This feature keeps the Windows kernel (the main brain, if you will) safe from malicious software.

Security processor. This layer adds a Trust Platform Module (TPM) that provides additional Windows encryption.

Safe boot. Secure Boot prevents malware from being loaded along with your instance. Windows.

Data encryption. Adds additional layers to protect against access to lost or stolen devices.

Device health and performance options

Device Performance and Health section provides a health report that shows how your computer is doing. into four main categories: storage capacity, battery life, apps and software, and the Windows Time service. Here you also have additional options related to performing a Fresh Start restart of your Windows installation (this is generally only available when problems are found).

Family Control Options Parents have the option to set their children’s screen time and monitor what their children are doing on the computer in this section.

PC Protection History If there are recommendations or protection steps that Microsoft recommends for Windows, they will appear here.

Microsoft Security is a fantastic built-in security tool that provides value to personal users and consumers in the Windows environment, rather than adding third-party antivirus programs that often add more overhead than solutions, with some third-party tools even having breaches of trust.