Windows Defender Is Becoming the Powerful Antivirus That Windows 10 Needs

Discussion in 'other anti-virus software' started by Secondmineboy, Jan 30, 2016.

  1. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Weird, so there is no way to completely disable realtime scanning?
     
  2. Osaban

    Osaban Registered Member

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  3. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Yes thanks, but I meant inside Win 10 itself. BTW, I now also see that you might be able to do this with O&O ShutUp10. And if it's disabled will you also get to see an indication?
     
  4. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

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    Here is instruction on how to do it: https://helpdeskgeek.com/windows-10/how-to-turn-windows-defender-off/
    Windows security notification is separate from WD and you can disable startup in task manager.

    EDIT: also disable self defence before applying registry key or Gpedit settings.
     
  5. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Thanks, but I assumed it would turn itself on again, if you simply disable it via the Settings app. If not, then there is no issue. But I guess I will use the registry tweak or one of the tweaking apps. I think I read somewhere that the registry trick doesn't work anymore, but I just realize that I'm using an older Win 10 version that should not be affected.
     
  6. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

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    I've used Gpedit to disable it when I was on 2004. After upgrading to 20H2 it was not reenabled so IMO that option still works. Maybe you'll have to disable self defense to disable it completely.
     
  7. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Thanks for the tip, I'm guessing you will indeed need to disable Tamper Protection.
     
  8. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    BTW, I have to say that after working a week with Win Defender on Win 10, I'm not seeing any major slowdown. Web browsing goes smoothly and app loading also most of the time. That's why I kept real-time protection enabled for now. But I haven't spend that much time on Win 10 yet, I will see if the system works even more smoothly when real-time protection is turned off. Did you notice any slowdown on your system(s)?
     
  9. Minimalist

    Minimalist Registered Member

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    Not during everyday operations (browsing, watching movies and similar) but it did slow down other operations like weekly backup, copying data to external drives...
     
  10. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    OK thanks, I haven't actually used a realtime AV in 12 years or so I didn't know what to expect. BTW, now that I think of it, I suppose Win Defender doesn't perform HTTP scanning right? I also wonder why would you need Win SmartScreen if WD is supposed to keep malware of the system.
     
  11. Azure Phoenix

    Azure Phoenix Registered Member

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    https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...ion/microsoft-defender-atp/network-protection
    "Network protection expands the scope of Microsoft Defender SmartScreen to block all outbound HTTP(s) traffic that attempts to connect to low-reputation sources (based on the domain or hostname)."
     
  12. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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  13. Bunkhouse Buck

    Bunkhouse Buck Registered Member

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    I tested F-Secure AV only and deduced that it slowed my four high end computers down less than seven others I tested over the past few months. However, I went back to Defender and was amazed at the speed. In fact, I must say it appears to create the least "slowdown" of any AV I have used. It is far faster than just a few months ago since I use the same programs most of the time and surf the same places. Not a promotional piece for Microsoft> just my experience.
     
  14. Osaban

    Osaban Registered Member

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    I can confirm, it is faster than in the past. I use Windows Defender Control which with one click can disable MS Defender, and I can't perceive any visible improvement in speed when it is not on. Transferring large files might be slowed down a bit, but most computer operations are fine.
     
  15. Rasheed187

    Rasheed187 Registered Member

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    Thanks for the feedback guys. If I don't see any major slowdown during other operations I might leave it on. I really wonder if normal users even take the time to install third party AV's, now that WD is this good in both protection and performance. The thing that I don't like, is that it hasn't got a "normal" GUI, on the other hand looks like M$ wanted to go for simplicity.
     
  16. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    For experimentation on speed difference, I have recently disabled temporarily Real-time protection in Windows Defender and I honestly could not notice an appreciable difference in performance between it disabled and enabled. I keep it enabled. My device is a Lenovo E580 laptop.
     
  17. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    @Rasheed187 Agreed, the UI is too simplistic and is the major thing I dislike about it but I doubt that will ever change.

    @wat0114 I have doubts at this point that disabling real-time protection does much of anything. I find a greater difference in performance by installing a faster 3rd party product than I do in disabling Defender. They don't appear to unload the program when you disable protection.

    In any case Defender is good enough for anyone that doesn't want to buy something else, and it definitely is lighter than it used to be.
     
  18. wat0114

    wat0114 Registered Member

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    Yeah, I've wondered about the effectiveness of disabling only RT protection to see a realistic and quantifiable performance comparison, but I wanted to start somewhere without trying a 3rd-party product, so that was it. Glad to see favourable comments on its recent performance.
     
  19. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    maybe it's time to change the thread title to "windows defender is becoming has become the powerful antivirus that windows 10 needs". :shifty:
     
  20. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    I feel that it is and should be a continuing work in progress. It's not bad, but they should not stop making it better. I acknowledge their progress but I'm not ready to go that far. Yet.
     
  21. imdb

    imdb Registered Member

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    well then, how about "might become in a not so far future"? :p
     
  22. xxJackxx

    xxJackxx Registered Member

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    Eh, maybe. :D
     
  23. GrDukeMalden

    GrDukeMalden Registered Member

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    https://avlab.pl/korzystasz-z-microsoft-defender-czy-wiesz-co-robisz/

    I just thought I should post this here. If you're like me and you can't read Polish. Google chrome's translation feature was very helpful for this.

    The article goes into detail about how WD has never really been up to snuff and how most articles saying "You don't need third party antivirus" are only making that claim based on one study. WD gets a high detection rate, but unless you're using the MAX preset from configure defender, as soon as it encounters a file it can't identify on the spot, it fails.

    If you want to use it, that's fine. But I strongly recommend you get some kind of supplementary security product to go with it. Something that can stop malicious command lines and scripts as well as any conventional malware that WD could conceivably miss.
     
  24. plat

    plat Registered Member

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    I agree with this advice. Been using a third party supplement (OSArmor and also H_C Firewall Hardening) for the past couple of years. You can't help but acknowledge Defender's improvements; still, I would not run it in isolation. Nothing against Microsoft or Defender, just simply my choice.
     
  25. digmor crusher

    digmor crusher Registered Member

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    According to Andy, Defender is comparable to any free anti-virus protection wise, with Configure Defender on high comparable to any paid anti-virus, with Configure Defender on max, comparable to any corporate AV. I would still run it with something such as Hard Configurator or Simple Windows Hardening, with one of these your protection is a good s it gets are your not clogging up your system with 3rd party programs. OSArmour is also a good option.
     
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