Windows Defender Is Becoming the Powerful Antivirus That Windows 10 Needs

Just watched it myself. If by unfortunate chance one gets stricken on 10 or 11 with Magniber 2022 there current is no decryption file to recover files. I tested only last evening and but with Defender 0FF and Wise Vector Stop X caught it early but I allowed the MSI installer to Exclude and it wasn't pretty. However for some reason it just randomly encrypt some files while leaving a lot intact.

Im not going to attempt it again unless Comodo has it in it's container which I also had disabled in order to see how aggressive it was. It could have been a whole lot worse but I have most 90% of offline files I can delete the Magniber scrambled ones and replace them.

Not everyone affected will be so lucky unless they have a ready backup image which I didn't. Not because I couldn't but it was a Windows 10 test machine with a few files stricken as zip-avi-mp3 which it went after but didn't encrypt them all.

 

No wonder why some members in this forum consider a backup image the most important security measure, especially when Microsoft ridiculously can't prevent a month old malware, and Cruelsister submitted it many times over to them well before the re-test.

 

Yep. Backup. Every single day. Well, I do anyway.

 

Here's the even harder to grasp 'why not'- If anyone with an old 8.1 or current still uses it, any 'accidental or misguided fail' on Defender would be easily remediated and returned anew almost like an image or virtual program like SD. Custom Refresh WIM feature. It blows me away why Microsoft utterly refuses to add it in 10. 11 and onward as an emergency failsafe. The thing is stupid simple and can be locked or hidden in a folder until needed for use.

I want to like Defender in my Windows 10- ALL the parts and pieces are nearly there for a solid AV yet they choose to make users deep dive and search their tails off finding settings they need. Even then it's Protection History still doesn't allow users to erase the list after ACTIONS. At least not from what I discovered. maybe I miss something?

 

About once every 4-6 weeks works fine for me, mainly because I make so few changes along the way and also because I'm lazy

Wow, I had no idea that feature existed in 8.1. That's nice! And Microsoft bizarrely removing it from 10/11, just like they took Applocker away except for enterprise and educational, and deprecated some nice options in Task Scheduler is perplexing to say the least.

That's why I'm so thankful for Andy Ful's H_C utility.

 

Yes and I will still be steaming over that miscarriage of sensibility that they chose to deliberately omit that would have been beneficial for ALL forward series of Windows since 8. There's no adequate excuse they could possibly drum up as to why not to keep that 'reliable' backup feature. It would NOT even in the least have harmed the commercial backup image industry but may have even encouraged more users/customers to invest with one of their programs. Because it's always better to have additional choices to fall back on to save you time and effort in a pinch when something goes wrong when it comes to these PC's.

 

Well, this is why I use voodooshield along side MSD with defenderui on aggressive

 

Microsoft logic works in most mysterious ways. Who on earth knows how and why they come up with these cockamamie business decisions

Right, especially when Microsoft has proven once again their incompetence at preventing common malware that has been in circulation for a full month from infecting one's system. At least their Windows Security utility is included for free, built in to the O/S, but it might beg the age old proverb: "you get what you pay for".

You are wise not to place full confidence in Windows Security.

 

Microsoft Windows seems to continue to take confidence in a business model which is proven crippled or at the very least incomplete project. They appear rarely if ever accept for inclusion users suggestions, many of which could have long set it on a solid course of reliability and common acceptance. They shuttle former Series like 7 and soon 8 instead of revisiting them and enhancing those system's capabilities & security. Forcing people by demanding that they accept their newer releases or else drags them down a rabbit hole and all the money in the world with their advertisements will never reset the course they've established. Proving that they are innovative with ingenuity is not much help when they turn away from the few past earlier releases instead of improving those systems and thus keeping those series relevant which is far more likely to drive those early customers to newer models instead of abandoning those users/customers who have proven their loyalty but feel slighted and let down.

More on topic Windows Defender is come a long way but look how long it's taken them to catch up to commercial AV industry.

 

Were it not for Sandboxie in the mix and risking compatibility issues, I'd jump on that combo in a heartbeat.

 

Yes, I use this and Sandboxie along with Defender on my Windows 11 Insiders drive. Prob. a little much but they all get along great without tweaking or futzing or whatever. I just have to whitelist SBIE in VS b/c the installer isn't signed sometimes.

I can appreciate how 11 is a bit snappier--without feeling bogged down by anything. It's a hobby, I guess, to try out various combinations of software.

 

I've wondered sometimes if Windows 11 feeling snappier for me than Windows 10 was just a placebo effect, but I see I'm not the only one, as you and some others have stated the same

You are right Easter, but maybe this is some kind of business plan on their part to avoid an anti-trust lawsuit against them for attempting to monopolize the AV market. Just speculation on my part of course.

 

I am not far behind you

 

I use Defender without enhancements and OSArmour. As I have argued for years, the ultimate AV solution/defense is a daily image backup. I backup every day and never had a problem.

 

Wise and best possible routine to keep ready backup images

 

In a pc with 10 I'm using for the next time Windows Defender, but with AppGuard; I would never use only an antivirus.

 

I would say that an image backup is the only totally reliable security measure at the end of the day.

I have used images for years and only had to restore 4 times for various reasons (none of which were malware related). Paranoia runs deep in this forum- but I sleep well at night with a daily image backup.

 

True because if anything got through to my PC and my security solution said it removed it, I would still restore the previous image as it is the only way I would trust that it is gone.

 

Several restores over the years here as well, all of which were the result of my overzealous tinkering under the hood and borking the system in the end.

 

I’m not denying the importance of backup and such.

But what about protection against Data exfiltration?

 

There probably is no product where that isn't a possibility.

 

Restrictive Outbound firewall filtering maybe, but that is not a guarantee to stop it.

 

I have restored many times as well through the years, configurations tests and mistakes was the main reason, followed by testing important programs, and a few times windows updates, but never ever for malware.

Windows 10 (and Windows 11 as well I guess) is not easy to hack or infect if the system is kept regularly updated and upgraded to the latest build. Ransomware attacks are company/institution specific, using fishing methods and whatnots. It is fine to run security programs for one’s peace of mind and/or as a hobby, but the XP times are over, realistically speaking malware is not a threat anymore for most users.

Sensitive data should be kept in USB drives unplugged from your machines, it is a simple operation that can be done even by most computer-illiterate users.

 

Perfect, well said.

 

Totally agree.