Does Windows 10 Need Antivirus Protection?

Going without antivirus protection could put you at risk

For many years, Windows users had to immediately install antivirus software or else it wouldn’t be long before the computer would be infected with malicious software. So does Windows 10 need antivirus protection?

The short answer is, yes.

Why Isn’t Windows Defender Good Enough?

Windows 10 now provides built-in security in the form of Windows Defender, which includes both an antivirus and a firewall component.

Many people opt out of installing third-party firewall software and only use Windows Defender. But is that really the best option?

According to a study conducted by AV Comparatives, Windows Defender antivirus for Windows 10 performed well overall but fell short in a few important areas.

• It fell behind the industry average in preventing zero-day attacks.
• It caused more false positives (identifying valid software as malicious).
• It slows down legitimate software more than other apps.
• It has no password manager.
• It has limited customization compared to other antivirus software.

Overcoming Windows 10 Security Issues

Many times, the companies that sell antivirus software are faster at issuing patches for zero-day vulnerabilities than Microsoft itself is.

They also include file and app scanning features that protect you when you accidentally download infected files or applications from the internet.

In addition to installing antivirus software on your Windows 10 PC, the following actions can further help protect you against malicious software and hacking attacks.

Install Disk Encryption Software

There are many excellent full disk encryption apps for Windows 10. Choose one and use it on your system for full privacy in case your computer gets stolen.

Enable Windows Updates

Select the Start menu, type Windows Updates, and select Windows Update Settings. Select Advanced Options and Enable Automatically download updates. This setting ensures your system always receives the latest updates and patches.

Be Cautious With Downloads

Only download and install software from trusted companies. If you do need to install free software, make sure to do your research and read reviews.

These manual actions, as well as installing good antivirus software on top of using Windows Defender, will ensure that your Windows 10 system is as secure as possible against all threats.

The Best Antivirus for Windows 10

Windows Defender offers good, free protection against viruses and malware, but your Windows 10 computer has security needs where Windows Defender falls short.

For full protection from malicious software, you need antivirus software with all of the following features that are lacking in Windows Defender. This means that even if you use Windows Defender, you should install additional antivirus protection that has all of the following features.

• Excellent protection against zero-day attacks.
• Scanning of file downloads.
• Automatic system scans.
• Customization options.
• Web browsing protection.
• Privacy features.

There are a number of highly-rated free antivirus programs that provide most if not all of these features.

AVG is particularly useful because you can download a free version of AVG that offers excellent protection for your PC.

Once you install antivirus software on your computer system, you’ll notice that Windows Defender recognizes it and incorporates it into the overall protection scheme for your system.

If you select Windows Defender Antivirus options, you can also enable Periodic scanning to have Windows Defender continue scanning your computer for any threats that your antivirus software may have missed.

There are a lot of reasons antivirus for Windows 10 is necessary, but following all of the tips above will ensure that your system is well protected against any security threats.

Does Windows 10 Need Antivirus When You Have Windows Defender?

The short answer is no and here’s why

With the Windows 10 update came the new Windows Defender Security Center. It’s more functional than previous versions and has extra features such as a SmartScreen Filter and parental controls system. It also manages Windows Firewall, a program that protects you from external threats.

Due to its feature-packed nature, you must be wondering if you still need a third-party antivirus and security suite to safeguard you against various threats. Is Windows Defender enough to keep you safe?

The Short Answer Is….

If you’re on the lookout for a top-notch antivirus, Windows 10 has you covered already. This edition can keep you secure especially if you’re often downloading files from social media or websites.

This is because the people behind it have acknowledged the past threats to cybersecurity. After that, they figured out a way to resolve them.

Windows Defender Security Center comes with ongoing and comprehensive security. With it, you don’t have to install other security software to protect your system. It is designed to increase the security for Windows 10 users, as well as users of Surface devices such as Surface Pro 3 and 4.

Here are two such examples of how Windows Defender can protect your system.

How To Set Up Data Execution Prevention

There’s a type of attack that can cause an attack on your operating system despite the difficulty in finding the elements it needs to find to be successful. This is because this attack involves accessing certain elements by memory.

The solution, therefore, is to configure how data is executed. The idea is to stop code from being run from data-only memory pages.

In Windows 10, you can find the settings for Data Execution Prevention. In previous editions of Windows, you couldn’t find them and some other protective settings.

An advantage of having it around is that you can use it to make life hard for the writers of malicious software. What you can do is set it to completely wipe out attacks that hide malicious code.

To start things off, tap the Windows key and launch Windows Defender Security Center.

There, go to App & browser control.

Scroll to the bottom to Exploit protection. Click Exploit protection settings.

Under Data Execution Prevention (DEP), choose On. By default, it might already be on. But in case it isn’t, this is where you change it.

How To Set Up Ransomware Protection

Ransomware is malicious software that can invade your system and block access to authorized users. With this kind of cyberattack, the invasion will only stop when you pay the ransom.

Fortunately, Windows 10 can improve your security from this kind of threat. Its recent edition of Windows Defender is built to protect you from ransomware. But ransomware protection isn’t on by default. So it’s on you to turn it on.

Tap the Windows key and launch Windows Defender Security Center.

Go to Virus & threat protection.

Scroll down until you come across Ransomware protection. Open this section.

Look for Controlled folder access. Now, turn it on.

Christopher Jan Benitez is a freelance writer for hire who provides actionable and useful web content to small businesses and startups. In his spare time, he religiously watches professional wrestling and finds solace in listening to ’80s speed metal. Read Christopher’s Full Bio

Do I really need antivirus for Windows 10?

By Darren Allan 15 August 2020

Face up to masses of malware and more sophisticated attacks

If you’re running Windows 10, should you get an antivirus app? There are certainly some good reasons to do so, as we’ll explore in this article, not the least of which is that Microsoft’s operating system is so popular that it makes a seriously tempting target for malware authors in terms of the potential spoils to be gotten.

• Our definitive list of today’s best Windows 10 antivirus programs
• Looking for even more protection? Grab a great VPN for PC
• See why we rate Bitdefender so highly in our testing

Big target

Windows 10 is the most widely used desktop operating system in the world, and as the OS of choice for many PCs everywhere, it represents a broad and juicy target for malware authors.

Quite simply, if someone writes a piece of malware that exploits Windows 10, then there are a lot of potential targets out there that the malicious software might end up on. So, it’s no surprise that Windows users (including the unwise folks who remain on Windows 7) are the biggest targets for malware authors.

Now, it’s true that in recent times, malicious actors are giving Apple’s Mac platform more attention, but Windows is still the operating system which is most under threat, of course. Particularly when it comes to malware, with Mac threats tending to be the likes of potentially unwanted programs (known as PUPs) or adware. The vast majority of the really malicious stuff is hurled at Windows machines.

Threat level

Going by the latest ‘state of malware’ report covering 2019 from Malwarebytes [PDF], the amount of malware detections may be remaining at the same level as the previous year, but it’s still a large quantity – and what’s worrying is that these threats are becoming more sophisticated in general. (Note that other security outfits have pointed to a growth in malware over the course of 2019, like Kaspersky).

Clearly, there’s no shortage of perils out there online, with Malwarebytes observing that adware and Trojans (apps that look like legitimate programs, but deliver a malware payload) remain a major problem for Windows machines. Furthermore, there’s a disturbing increase in the use of ‘HackTools’, which as the name suggests are tools facilitating hacking into PCs, and are now being used against consumers (rather than just businesses), with a 42% year-on-year increase.

The likes of ransomware remain a threat to your files, exploiting crises in the real world to try to trick unsuspecting users, and so broadly speaking, the nature of Windows 10 as a big target for malware, and the growing sophistication of threats are good reasons why you should bolster your PC’s defenses with a good antivirus.

Windows Defender?

So, having established the need for an antivirus on Windows 10 – and elsewhere, we’ve addressed the broader question of whether antivirus software is necessary at all in 2020 (the answer being ‘yes’, in a word) – let’s come onto another point that some folks might argue.

Namely that with Windows 10, you get protection by default in terms of Windows Defender. So that’s fine, and you don’t need to worry about downloading and installing a third-party antivirus, because Microsoft’s built-in app will be good enough. Right?

Well, yes and no. Windows Defender used to be something of a laughing-stock in security circles, but all that’s now in the past. The Defender of today is actually a robust app that can indeed defend your PC true to its name, and has actually achieved some impressive rankings in the reports from independent test labs.

However, the truth is that while Windows Defender is a solid enough solution you can rely on, there are third-party antivirus apps which offer more functionality, and are still free – they just take a little effort to install.

So if you can take a little time out, it’s worth installing one of the leading free antivirus apps to replace Windows Defender in order to get more features and better security still – and indeed avoid a potential fly in the ointment in terms of Microsoft breaking Defender, which has happened a couple of times in the recent past.

It’s also worth considering that if you want to considerably beef up the levels of security on your PC with extra layers of defense like anti-ransomware shields or added web browsing protection, you might even want to consider a paid antivirus.

Do I really need antivirus for Windows 10?

Whichever way you dice it, it would seem to be a wise choice to get an antivirus for Windows 10, and make the effort to upgrade from the default levels of security provided by Windows Defender. After all, it’s easy enough to grab a decent free app to help keep you even safer online.