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The ‘Windows Defender’ programme comes pre-installed on Windows Vista, 7, 8 and 10. In this guide, we’ll explain what it’s all about and exactly what the programme does on your PC.
What does Windows Defender do?
- Windows Defender is Windows’ proprietary anti-virus software. The tool is designed to protect you from viruses and other malware and to remove them if necessary.
- Unlike other anti-virus programmes such as those from Avast, Avira or AVG, it offers fairly basic protection, and its compact design means it barely slows down the system.
- Although Windows means well with Defender, the programme is extremely unreliable. Compared to other anti-virus programmes, Windows Defender has consistently performed significantly worse in tests.
- If you want to protect your computer from the daily threats online, you should opt for an alternative such as Avast, Avira, AVG, Comodo or Bitdefender. All the linked anti-virus programmes are free. If you install another programme, Windows Defender is automatically deactivated so that the programmes do not interfere with one another.
