What antivirus is on windows 10. Kaspersky Internet Security for all devices

It turned out that most antiviruses provide over 95% protection against the desired 97%. In addition, experts have dispelled several myths about antivirus software - including the belief that paid software is always better than free software.

The study, which took place in one of the best test centers in the world, involved 23 of the most famous antiviruses - both paid and free versions - from developers around the world. These include Bitdefender, Norton, AVG, ESET, Avira, Avast, Panda, McAfee and Sophos. For the first time, the international research ICRT included two Russian developments at once - Kaspersky and Dr.Web Antivirus, which indicates the high popularity of these antiviruses.

The best antivirus programs for Windows 10

As a result, the paid version of the Romanian program Bitdefender Internet Security was in the top of the rating of the best antiviruses, scoring 4.593 points out of 5.5 possible. In second place is Kaspersky Internet Security, which is only 0.2 points behind the leader (4.371). Third place went to Bitdefender again, this time to the free version of Antivirus Free Edition (4,367 points). The fourth place was taken by the English antivirus BullGuard Internet Security (4.364 points), the fifth - by the American Norton Security Deluxe (4.313). In addition, the top ten included Avast Free Antivirus.

The top ten antiviruses include:

ICRT experts have selected paid and free programs - both built-in and offered separately. Based on selection principles, the study did not include the most expensive versions of software products from these brands. In addition, only one brand could be represented in the ranking from one brand. paid product... The second product could only be ranked if it was free.

As part of the study, specialists checked the level of protection against viruses, usability and the effect of the program on the speed of the computer - in general, each program was evaluated according to 200 indicators.

The experts conducted four groups of malware protection tests: online general protection test, offline test, level test false positives and test for auto scan and scanning on demand. To a lesser extent, the final rating was influenced by checking the usability of the antivirus and its effect on the speed of the computer.

The main conclusion made by the experts was that the majority of tested antiviruses provide protection to the user in excess of 95%. However, this figure is considered the lower limit of resistance to malware - 97% is considered a good indicator.

At the same time, as the study showed, almost all programs do a good job of protecting against spyware and protecting against phishing (Internet fraud, the purpose of which is to obtain user identification data). They differ in the presence or absence of one or another function in the tested version, which means that in order to choose an antivirus suitable for a particular user, you need to familiarize yourself with comparative table presented on the website of Roskachestvo.

Built-in Antivirus: Windows 10 Defender

Checked by experts and standard protective program Windows Defender ( Windows defender) preinstalled on the Windows 10 operating system (as of February 2018, version 10 is installed on 43% of owners of computers running operating system Windows). Research has shown that Windows Defender seriously lags behind competitors - the program scored only 3.511 points and took 17th place in overall ranking(it was bypassed including 4 free programs).

It earned this rating because it showed satisfactory results in terms of online protection, but did not pass the phishing and anti-ransomware test, while anti-phishing protection was claimed by the anti-virus vendors. In addition, the antivirus on Windows 10 did a poor job of protecting your computer offline.

Experts consider this protection only "decent" and believe that Windows Defender can be relied on if the user has regular updates enabled, his computer is connected to the Internet most of the time, and he is advanced enough not to visit suspicious sites.

Early versions of Windows are left unprotected

Experts also noted that users are more early versions Windows (and such 48% of all users of this OS) remain practically unprotected, since these versions of operating systems do not have built-in protection, which means that they absolutely need computer protection.

A detailed study of antiviruses for macOS will be available in summer 2018.

About Roskachestvo and ICRT

For reference: Roskachestvo is a national system for monitoring, comparative testing and confirmation of the quality of goods and services, established by the order of the Government of the Russian Federation on the initiative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia.

Roskachestvo conducts regular research on consumer goods. Also, the department, in accordance with the Decree of the Government of Russia, is the operator of the state quality mark issued to the best domestic goods based on the results of the research. The research results are published on the portal www.roskachestvo.gov.ru. Also Roskachestvo since 2017 is the secretariat of the Government Prize in the field of quality.

International Consumer Research & Testing (ICRT) conducts thousands of product tests per year and has the ability to inform an average of 30 to 40 million people through publications from ICRT member organizations around the world. Russia has been represented in ICRT by Roskachestvo since 2016.

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Most users are migrating to a new operating room today. Windows system 10, so many users are wondering what is the best free antivirus for Windows 10.

The point is that the grip on unlicensed programs and pirate keys are gradually cooling down and the understanding that you can not steal, but take a free analogue, gradually comes to many users, including from Russia and neighboring countries.

So it comes as no surprise that people moving to Windows 10 are looking for information on which free antivirus will be the best for them.

In addition, a lot has already been written about advertisers and Microsoft employees now they know absolutely all the information about every Windows 10 user.

So if someone misuses pirated software, sooner or later license holders will become interested in them and demand to pay some amount for "pirate" assistance.

Therefore, now we will consider a small rating of the best antiviruses that you can download for free and use them without any fee.

No. 8. Comodo Antivirus 8

Within the package Comodo Antivirus 8, along with antivirus, a firewall is also distributed. All this is free.

Also included is a sandbox - almost the same as the 360 Total Security Essential. But all this can be installed separately.

On the website of the program they write that their creation has "proactive" protection. This means that Comodo Antivirus 8 looks for vulnerabilities first and works to prevent infection.

The rest of the antiviruses are aimed at dealing with existing threats. True, the effectiveness of this method has not yet been properly proven.

Comodo Antivirus 8 also has a high degree of protection against Internet attacks. Basically, this is due to "proactive" protection.

Interestingly, this product has a buffer overflow protection function.

Often viruses or the system itself harms itself, and data is written out of the buffer allocated by the memory. This phenomenon, of course, leads to data loss.

Also, as part of the "proactive" protection, Comodo Antivirus 8 constantly scans system files and registry entries for vulnerabilities.

In the case of an infection that has already occurred, Comodo Cleaning Essentials technology starts working.

Comodo specialists allow you to send an unlimited number of files to them for verification. Cloud technologies are used for data recovery.

They are also applicable in order to store data about viruses and infections that have already occurred. This makes it possible to analyze the reasons.

Comodo Antivirus 8 also installs its unique panel and many other components on the desktop, shown in Figure # 1.

Many users write that there is practically no difference between Comodo Antivirus 8 and the paid versions of Kaspersky, although it still exists, albeit small.

Of course, Comodo Antivirus 8 requires a lot less computer resources than any Kaspersky.

This is its undeniable advantage.

Anyway, research on forums confirms the fact that given antivirus is a very high-class product that can very effectively deal with the most powerful and dangerous virus programs.

No. 7. Panda Security Free Antivirus

This antivirus is one of the most popular among users worldwide network.

Its huge advantage is that there are no ads in the main window, which is what many others do. free antiviruses.

All this quite often takes place at high loads.

That is, if you have a lot of various files on your computer and it is desirable to scan them from time to time, then Panda Security Free Antivirus will, of course, cope with this, but with great efforts.

# 2. Panda Security Free Antivirus main window

As you can see, the interface of Panda Security Free Antivirus is quite simple and there is nothing supernatural about it. There is one simple button "Scan", that is "Scan".

There is also a protection indicator, which is always located in the center of the main window - if “Protected” is written next to it, it means that the computer is protected, and you should not be afraid of viruses.

Otherwise, this indicator will glow red, and to find out the reason for the lack of protection, you just need to click on it.

After that, a new window will open in which you can eliminate the cause of the alarm.

Actually, all this makes Panda Security Free Antivirus an excellent antivirus, but not for the most powerful computers on which it is stored great amount various files.

In general, in terms of performance, Panda Security Free Antivirus loses, but for not very powerful devices, it is really ideal.

No. 6. Avast Free Antivirus

In general, Avast is a very well-known antivirus, and it is already very for a long time.

AND New Product of this brand, called Avast Free Antivirus, has already gained popularity among users of the worldwide network.

In fact, in 2017 it is one of the most popular antivirus programs in principle, that is, not only among the free ones.

No. 3. Avast Free Antivirus main window

The advantage of Avast Free Antivirus is its high performance.

As we recall, Panda Security Free Antivirus just sinned in that it was not suitable for high-performance machines with a lot of data.

Avast Free Antivirus fully solves this problem.

It copes well with large amounts of information - scanning is quite fast and viruses are detected from huge success.

The databases are constantly updated. All in all, Avast Free Antivirus is a great replacement for the best paid antivirus in the world.

Its only problem is that a considerable amount of advertisements appears in the main window of the program.

Of course, this can be very annoying for users, but for the sake of high performance, you can also watch a little ad.

Also, the main window of the program looks very good and convenient. All the main functionality is concentrated in the left panel. Immediately upon startup, there is a scan button.

Additional features include protection wireless networks, which is often very useful with frequent using wi-fi... By the way, in Figure 3 it can already be seen under the title “ secure vpn».

No. 5. Avira Free Antivirus

Unlike the two products mentioned above, Avira Free Antivirus is a light version of its paid counterpart called Avira.

But all the basic functions have been preserved. Of course on my own Avira antivirus was never famous for its high degree of protection against viruses, but for paid program this degree is quite decent.

In addition, Avira Free Antivirus does not suffer from poor performance or a lot of ads, so users are very happy with this program.

No. 4. Avira Free Antivirus main window

Most importantly, Avira Free Antivirus has anti-malware and firewall functionality.

Multiple items additional functionality was removed, but this is not so critical. Most importantly, it protects against viruses very well.

Interestingly, Avira Free Antivirus has cloud protection that allows you to analyze unknown files in the cloud.

In general, we can say that Avira Free Antivirus is an excellent replacement for the world's best antivirus.

Avira Free Antivirus's interface is very similar to what we saw in Avast Free Antivirus. In addition, the main window is very similar to what you see in the paid version of Avira.

Although the functionality of Avira Free Antivirus is much wider than that of Avast Free Antivirus.

But the creators of Avast did not intend to create a very functional antivirus that would fight against the same Kaspersky and other similar products.

Avira, on the other hand, wants to compete with the leading antivirus software.

Its free analogue is intended for the user to simply try to use it, and then buy a full-fledged paid version.

But also free version can also be used for many years.

No. 4. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition also protects against Trojans, Root, spyware and viruses. Installation on already infected systems is possible.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition allows you to block or completely remove all kinds of malware.

The program has everything you need to protect against viruses.

Using Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition has many interesting nuances that users have noticed.

For example, immediately after installation, the program independently conducts quick scan systems.

The same happens in the future - there is not even a scan button in the Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition window.

If any problems are found, the antivirus performs a more detailed scan and takes the actions it considers necessary with the detected problems.

In general, such an antivirus for the lazy. He will do everything himself, and will not ask permission.

As for the main task of Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition, it copes with it quite well, which has been proven through independent tests.

For example, the guys from PC Magazine tested it. They called their test results outstanding. It says a lot.

No. 5. Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition

Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition also has some drawbacks that have also been noticed by users. The biggest of these is installation difficulties.

This is especially true for already infected computers.

Although it is about this alleged dignity that they write on the official website! And on completely "healthy" systems, Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition will be fully installed on about 15 out of 20 machines.

Also, many users do not like that support works only through email and sometimes you have to wait weeks for a response from the developers.

But you can endure all this, because Bitdefender Antivirus Free Edition is a really good antivirus and, moreover, absolutely free.

No. 3. AVG Free Antivirus

AVG Free Antivirus has almost the same functionality as all of the above programs and something else special. Very interesting function of this product is a link checker.

This means that if your friend threw you a link to some interesting, in his opinion, resource through private message to Facebook or email, the antivirus will automatically follow this link.

It will check if there is any malware or full-fledged viruses... If any AVG Free Antivirus is found, it will simply not allow the user to follow this very link.

No. 6. AVG Free Antivirus main window

Otherwise, as mentioned above, the functionality is practically the same - protection from viruses in programs, from the penetration of spyware and other "evil" programs that no user needs at all.

According to users, AVG Free Antivirus is indeed one of the best antivirus programs, in principle, even among paid programs that serve to protect against viruses.

Although, in some cases, AVG easily misses what the same Kaspersky simply will not be able to miss.

The interface of AVG Free Antivirus is very unusual, but also understandable for a simple average user. The main window has all the necessary functions.

As you can see in Figure 6, all protection is divided into several main subsections - for a computer, for a browser, for users and for mail.

There is also a built-in firewall. There is a scan and update button. In general, nothing more.

All sorts of additional functions here, in fact, are not needed. The main thing is that the antivirus protects very well.

And for weak computers it will work too - the program is not as demanding as some of the above programs.

Among some users of Windows 10, and earlier also Windows 8, you can often come across the opinion that these operating systems do not need an additional antivirus program, except for the already built-in Windows Defender. People talk about how they use this OS all the time, visit any site they want and have never picked up anything dangerous.

I don’t presume to judge how much Windows 10 is better protected from viruses and other dangers than, for example, the “seven”. Perhaps this is true. But we, as ordinary users, need to take into account that even among professionals there is no consensus on this issue. Of course, someone will say that those who talk about the need to use antivirus on Windows 10 are simply promoting their antivirus programs. But personally, I do not believe in such "conspiracy theories" and I believe that since the problem with viral and other threats existed in all previous version Windows, then why the top ten should be an exception.

Ultimately, the virus threat Windows is exposed not because it is poorly made, but, first of all, because it is used by the overwhelming majority of the world's population. For example, alternative and free Linux it is much less susceptible to viruses. Many experts believe that it is simply unprofitable for hackers to work on hacking an OS that few people use.

So I am convinced that Windows 10 will still be at risk of infection in the coming years. By at least as long as it is popular. And over time, with the growth of its prevalence, such threats will only become more numerous. Therefore, for myself, the installation of a third-party antivirus software I consider it necessary. At least for peace of mind. So in my opinion you need to install an antivirus program on Windows 10.

What program to protect against viruses and others network attacks to choose, I definitely cannot advise. Personally, I used a paid two years on both of my computers. Kaspersky Internet Security... I didn’t hit anything dangerous. But I really didn't want to continue paying money. ( To be honest, over time I am more and more convinced that any paid program has no less worthy, but absolutely free analogues- just more often than not they are not so actively "promoted"). In general, in the middle of 2015, I began to study other, already free offers... I read a lot of positive things about Chinese and completely free antivirus Qihoo 360 Total Security ... I put it to myself. And so far (now December 2017, that is, more than two and a half years have passed) everything is fine. When installing this program, for the sake of greater security, I recommend in the settings to additionally enable anti-virus Bitdefender engines and Avira. Together with them, the Chinese product has repeatedly occupied its worthy places in international antivirus ratings. In the reports of the PCMag laboratory for 2015, this product showed the same results as the recognized leaders of the antivirus market Bitdefender and Kaspersky. By the way, unlike them, the Chinese product is completely free. Two versions are offered for installation: PC - All in one or PC - Essential. I advise you to put the second - Essential. It has an antivirus and a sandbox, but there are no superfluous, for my taste, options (such as cleaning, optimization and other pseudo-useful junk) and, most importantly, Essential does not have ad spam in the form of pop-up windows, with the help of which this chinese antivirus is monetized.

By the way, Kaspersky has recently released an absolutely free antivirus. Kaspersky Free ... At first, only citizens of Russia and Ukraine could use it, now the free version is available for all countries of the world. It also copes very well with its tasks.

For those with a particularly strong need for security (or suffers from severe virus phobia), you can recommend installing both of the above free antiviruses:

1. First Kaspersky Free
2. Then 360 Total Security

We need just such an order, because only the second product (360) allows itself to be installed in the presence of another antivirus program on the computer - Kaspersky simply will not allow itself to be placed next to another antivirus. Of course, it is better to put two antiviruses side by side on not very slow and outdated machines. I will not say that I am a virus-phobe. It's just that at a certain moment I wondered how these programs would get along side by side. After installing them, I realized that the performance of the computer remained the same. That is why I did not uninstall any of these antiviruses for a while. After another reinstallation, Windows left only 360. I decided that was enough for me. But the fact is the fact: Kaspersky gets along well with the Chinese antivirus.

In addition to the antivirus program on Windows 10, it will be nice install and firewall(a technological barrier preventing unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts). Firewall means "wall of fire". If the antivirus is mainly focused on finding malware and files on the computer's hard drive and removable media, as well as on the security control of sites visited through the browser, the firewall protects the computer from all kinds of network attacks by hackers. To do this, the firewall completely controls the Internet activity of all processes running on the computer. Combined with antivirus, the firewall provides maximum protection computer. Paid antiviruses, as a rule, they have it in their composition, but free ones do not. Therefore, computer security experts recommend installing it separately. Recently I read this formula that I liked: best free antivirus software + best free firewall= computer protection that is in no way inferior to paid solutions... Agree, it's easier to install even two, but free programs yourself, than to install only one, but paid. Of course, in the top ten there is also a built-in firewall ( Windows firewall), but like the built-in antivirus (Windows Defender), it only provides basic protection. The most advanced firewall in the world has been considered a product of Comodo for many years. Free version Comodo fierwall quite enough.

For example, for a long time, two security programs were installed on my computer:

1. 360 Total Security
2. Comodo Firewall

Considering that 360 also uses the Avira and Bitdefender engines, it turns out as many as 3 antivirus engines!

Now I only use antivirus 360. Since both machines (both the hospital and the laptop) are not very powerful for me, I decided that there was no point in wasting resources on the firewall.

In general, I'm still not inclined to consider antivirus programs in Windows 10 an unconditional panacea for all dangers. Maybe it's just luck that I haven't caught anything serious so far in 4 years of daily use of a computer for 8-12 hours, or maybe the fact is that in addition to the antivirus program and firewall, I also regularly turn on my own head - that is , I observe Basic safety rules when working on the Internet :

• Never download unknown programs from unverified sites. Only reputable and at the same time, by the way, free programs for Windows 10, about which at least there is an article on Wikipedia and only from the official site. By the way, I always take the link to the official site of a particular program in Wikipedia (at the top of any article, the last link in the right column). The fact is that in a search engine it is often impossible to distinguish which site belongs to the developers and which does not.
• Never follow suspicious links, especially on suspicious sites or in letters from unknown addressees.

• Never use hacked programs and programs with so-called activators. (Almost any paid program has free counterparts, and if not, but the program is really needed, then, in my opinion, it is not a sin to buy or use a test version).
• Regularly (with daily active work on the Internet - at least once a week) carry out a full scan of the computer with an anti-virus program. For reliability, you can also check it after that. free utility Dr.Web Cureit .

All these precautions, along with the antivirus I trust, keep my Windows 10 computers safe for now.

Any thoughts on this? Share in the comments.

When connecting to the Internet, the user is always at risk, because there is always the possibility of getting a malicious program on a computer. Those who have recently installed the new Windows 10 operating system also have to worry about this. Therefore, today we will try to answer actual question which antivirus is better to install on Windows 10.

Built-in antivirus

After Windows installations 10, the user asks the question, is it worth installing an antivirus on a PC at all. This interest is justified, since a new version the operating system provides a protection service. Today it is called Windows Defender. But this is not a new development, but well-known among users. Microsoft antivirus Security essential.

This program has established itself as a good fighter against malware, for which the developers have received awards, including "VB100" from Virus Bulletin Ltd. Antivirus is suitable for general users or small business owners. Microsoft Security Essential works in background and asks the user only when accepting necessary measures to the found threat.

This antivirus helps the computer to cope with emerging problems, but its ability to block malware is not unlimited, as this is an example basic protection... If you want to more reliably protect yourself from Trojans, spyware and other things, you should install additional protection. It remains to figure out which antivirus suite is better for Windows 10.

Important! So far, there is no antivirus program that can protect your computer with a 100% guarantee, so you need to be careful with messages or files coming from unknown users.

Free Antivirus Products

The built-in antivirus program will serve correctly and reliably if the computer does not become a targeted target of cybercriminals, and its owner avoids visiting "dangerous" sites. But sometimes you have to download information from not the most trusted sources, so it's safer to install something else. At the same time, it is not necessary to buy an expensive protective product - you can use a free analogue.

When deciding which free antivirus is best for Windows 10, you can pay attention to several of the most common options:

• Avira Antivirus Free 2015, according to the developers themselves, is "the best free antivirus." It protects the user's personal data from major threats, including viral attack and abduction confidential information... Interferes with spyware, trojans, worms and viruses and can scan data in the cloud in real time.
  
• is another popular option. It effectively fights all kinds of dangerous applications and scans links to suspicious emails and websites. It is possible to treat an already infected operating system.
  
• Panda Free Antivirus 2016 performs all of the steps listed for previous free defenders. With the help of the "Recovery Kit" function, it is possible to reanimate the system, even if it does not boot.
  
• Avast Free Antivirus is also known to many PC owners. Among the advantages are simplicity and high speed of work. It prevents attacks on your home network and browser, cleans your computer of hacker applications.
  
• ... In addition to antivirus, this product has tools for security checks. Wi-Fi networks, optimization and cleaning of the system.
  

Paid protection complexes

Supporters comprehensive protection will also find options for themselves. Such developments have a greater and, in some cases, best functionality... If you need to choose which antivirus is best for Windows 10, then you can think about installing the following products:

• (from 1 950 rub.) - a new version of the respected "defender", from which the improved version differs in the protection of Internet banking, support for network signatures, updated user interface.
  
• (from 1 800 rub.) is another model of a product popular with users. Antivirus prevents undesirable applications from entering the OS, protects against data collection and monitors changes in the operating system.
  
• Dr.Web Security Space 11 (from 1 290 rub.) - refers to integrated programs... It attracts PC owners with the presence of file and mail antivirus, parental control, preventive protection and antispam.
  
• Norton Security also belongs to the class complex antiviruses... One of its features is considered to be a five-level protection.
  

Comparison of Free Antivirus Features

Table 1 - Comparison of the functionality of popular free antiviruses.

Some functions may not be integrated into the antivirus itself. As required, the modules of scanners and additional protection can be downloaded and installed from the official websites of the manufacturers.

The best antivirus according to the editorial board

It all depends on what risks you face when working at a computer:

1. For users who are addicted to various modifications for games and visit potentially dangerous sites (http connections, a large number of advertising, execution of malicious scripts) we recommend using the free antivirus Panda Free Antivirus 2016. On its shoulders it carries a database that can compete with the same paid Kaspersky Internet Security for all devices. But large functionality uses not small system resources and you need to remember this.
2. Users who use a computer for work or leisure are advised to pay attention to antivirus. He fulfills not only protective functions(for example, protection of unauthorized access to the webcam), but also has in its arsenal the functions of caring for the computer (cleaning junk files and registry).

According to the editors, the best antivirus software option for a Windows 10 computer is to install Avast Free Antivirus. Yes, he does not have a lot of functionality, like his competitors, but at the same time he has everything standard functions antivirus and it does not load the system. Also, its advantages include:

• shareware (you can use both the free version and purchase a paid subscription, which will allow you to get maximum level protection);
• when upgrading to Windows 10 from older versions, the antivirus does not need to be reinstalled - it will do this automatically in the background;
• constant release of updates, which provides a high degree of protection;
• the ability to flexibly configure the program;
• a full system scan takes no more than 15 minutes.

Also Avast Free Antivirus has some disadvantages:

• cannot be used for business - only at home;
• the need to renew the registration once a year.

conclusions

It's hard to know which antivirus is the best for Windows 10 without testing it out. The parameters for assessing the quality of the program are:

• comfort of use. It takes into account how clear the interface is, whether the antivirus is easy to configure;
• delay in the OS. The speed of the system functioning is taken into account after the start of the defender program;
• reliability of antivirus. Perhaps the most difficult criterion to check is how well a given antivirus protects.

Of course, paid protection systems win in terms of reliability, but whether you need such increased protection is up to you. Experience shows that free software works just as well as paid software. The main thing is to take into account when choosing specified parameters, then the work on the computer will be pleasant and safe.

Windows 10 will include built-in Windows antivirus Defender, which had to be installed separately on Window 7 and Windows 8 if you wanted to use it. Windows Defender or Windows Defender as an antivirus does not even show itself badly according to antivirus tests. Its capabilities are very limited, but most users have enough of them. If the antivirus copes with most malware, but it can be forgiven for the lack of additional benefits. But is it really the Defender Windows is better best for protecting your Windows 10 PC? Perhaps the manufacturers of antivirus solutions have an optimal version of protection against viruses specifically for Windows 10. I propose to find out this point.

Built-in Windows Defender

Windows Defender is essentially the latest Microsoft version Security Essentials which Microsoft offered as free antivirus solution for Windows 7. Years have passed and now this antivirus program is built into the Windows 10 system, which gives basic security any user of this operating system. Antivirus already works out of the box. Windows Defender automatically scans open programs, downloads new definitions from Windows Update, and provides an interface that you can use to scan files and folders.

But how good is Windows Defender? Well, in truth, Microsoft's antivirus just falls slightly short of its competitors when it comes on comparative tests of antivirus software... But given its free and invisible work, it can give odds even to some commercial solutions only by these two indicators.

Windows Defender has many benefits. It's built-in, won't bother you with annoying pop-ups. It will not attempt to collect browsing data on the Internet.

Windows Defender options

Overall, Windows Defender provides good protection if you are using the latest Windows version, periodically update your browser, avoid clicking on potentially dangerous banners, windows, etc., do not install suspicious plugins and add-ons into your browser. How to protect your computer from the effects of viruses and is it worth using an antivirus program at all, I advise you to read in this article Is your antivirus reliable.

I'd like to point out that Windows Defender gets pretty low scores in antivirus rating- only 5.5 out of 6 in the last AV-Test in March 2016. Another testing lab AV-Comparatives reveals last place from Windows Defender in June 2016. However, when it comes to real statistics, AV-TEST says that the Defender has managed to neutralize the threat by 99%. AV-Comparatives says a figure of 94.5%. In both cases, it is quite decent result although it is still slightly below the rest of the competition. In numbers, for example, it looks like out of 1,868 threat types on AV-Comparatives, Windows Defender was unable to eliminate 104 threats.

BitDefender and Kaspersky managed to protect against threats 100% by AV-Test and 9997% 99.7% respectively by AV-Comparatives.

Microsoft claims that Windows Defender is aimed at eliminating real-world malware that sometimes violates all laws and antivirus test statistics, further showing that all tests are not 100% representative or representative. You need to rely only on real conditions in each specific case of the threat of infection and look at work antivirus system... Microsoft employees do not comment at all to comment on the already real statistics of infections, where Windows Defender also loses a little to competitors.

Windows 10 also includes various other protections introduced back in Windows 8, such as SmartScreen filter whose task is to prevent you from downloading and launching a malicious program regardless of antivirus tools that are installed on the computer. Chrome and Firefox also include Google Safe Browsing which blocks many unwanted downloads.

To summarize, we can say that Windows Defender is really not bad, but not as good as the competition based on testing results alone. I would not trust real statistics 100%, since they can be just simply a marketing product. antivirus companies... If you are annoyed by the countless pop-ups about an upcoming threat of an attack or messages about the purchase of a pro version have already gotten you, then among free solutions Windows Defender will be one of the best.

If you are puzzled by the protection of your computer, personal data, and indeed a fan of 200% protection, then I would not recommend you to use Windows Defender. If you regularly download pirated versions of applications, including cures for greed, Windows Defender may one day not save your computer, especially when it comes to threats from little-known malware samples.

Which antivirus is better?

I will not pour water, I will say right away. It is difficult to determine which antivirus is the unequivocally best for Windows 10. Due to practically the same results in the antivirus tests above, it is not possible to recommend just one specific product. The fact is that taking into account the difference of half a percent among the 5 best antiviruses, these 5 and even all 10 products can be recommended. But it should be borne in mind that from month to month the winning places are always distributed in different ways. Therefore, even among experienced users and gurus of computer hardware are those who can use two or more antiviruses in succession, changing them, say, every two or three months.

Nevertheless, I want to list some of the favorites, and you can choose what suits you the most:

• If you want the absolute best possible protection, then you have to pay for it. Kaspersky invariably takes prizes and is included in the tops of various antivirus tests. In addition, its interface is in Russian, if this is important to you.
• If you want to, best free antivirus then this is Avira Free Antivirus, which today offers the optimal balance between protection and unobtrusiveness. I advise you not to install different ones with it, as the installer insists, useful additions for browsers.
• If you want the least intrusive free protection, Windows Defender is just right. He will never nag you with advertisements and messages about the number of threats caught. If you are a supporter of silent protection and do not want to see a cloud of pop-ups, Windows Defender is a worthy option.

It must be said that Windows Defender will automatically disable itself when installing third-party antivirus, and then re-enable itself if you ever uninstall the third-party antivirus. I also want to say that you should not install two or more third party antivirus on one Windows system. This will not add better protection, but a new headache.

When Antivirus Is Not Enough

Antivirus is undoubtedly essential these days, but it is almost more important to use good anti-exploit protection to keep your web browser and its plugins safe, which are the biggest targets for attackers. Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit is free program which I recommend. It functions similarly to its own design. Microsoft- EMET security tool, but more convenient and offers new protection functions. Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit helps block infection even if its signature is not contained in anti-virus databases... Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit blocks all unwanted flash, even one that has not been previously identified as malicious by any antivirus.

I also recommend using Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, which in itself is a good defense against malware. This utility detects and neutralizes rogue applications, Trojans, rootkits, network worms, spyware and many other self-destroying malicious objects that a regular antivirus cannot find.

With these three apps Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit, Malwarebytes Anti-Malware and antivirus Your computer will be protected just fine!

Remember: any antivirus, whichever you choose, will not provide one hundred percent protection. If you yourself provoke infection without following elementary rules listed in the article, it is as easy as shelling pears to get infected. Good preventive measures security play the most the main role in the fight against viruses in malicious code.