Anti-virus protection products

You're not likely to get an objective opinion on anti-malware solutions in a user community sponsored by Microsoft ((;-)

While on any given day, anti-malware "A" may beat anti-malware "B" in testing, over the long run, most anti-malware products are equally effective at what they do. Just because a product comes from Microsoft, that by itself doesn't make it more effective than third-party apps. While it's true that no one knows Windows better than Microsoft, no one knows how an attacker will strike next better than anyone else.

That being the case, you should make your choice based on other factors, like which app is easiest for you to understand, whose user interface is most convenient to work with, how good is the support, what additional features are offered and which product has the best user community.

However, you should know that today, malware is not nearly the most prevalent threat your computer faces. Study after study convincingly demonstrates that in most successful attacks, the victim unwittingly allowed the attacker into their computer. The cybersecurity community has a saying: "Attackers don't hack their way in ... they log in."

So choose an anti-malware product for sure, but don't obsess over your choice. Instead, learn as much as you can about how computers are being attacked and how to protect yourself, so you won't be fooled. The people - more likely, the organizations - who launch these attacks are highly sophisticated and hire professionals in many fields - engineers, psychologists, marketing experts, and more - to go after you.

Microsoft Defender is the Microsoft's built-in security solution. On Windows 10 and Windows 11, Microsoft Defender Antivirus is included at no additional cost and provides real-time protection against viruses, malware, ransomware, phishing, and other threats.

For mobile devices, Microsoft Defender is available as part of Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscriptions and supports Android and iOS. It focuses on phishing protection, malicious website detection, privacy monitoring, and device security rather than traditional antivirus scanning, due to mobile operating system restrictions.

If your desktop and laptop run Windows 10 or 11, Microsoft Defender is a common choice. If you also want protection across Windows, Android, iPhone, and macOS devices with centralized management, a Microsoft 365 subscription that includes Microsoft Defender provides a unified security experience.

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hth

Marcin