That's right. For Windows 7, you need to use Microsoft Security Essentials, it provides comparable protection to Windows 8 version of Windows Defender.
Exactly my feelings. I have been getting Avira with a great discount for many years, but the day I have to pay up the full amount I will certainly activate WD.
Oh right. IIRC it was just an anti-malware program. I have mine switched off on Win 7. Unfortunately, if you remove your AV for any reason the bloody thing switches itself back on again. lol
Yes, no problems at all. I was not using a AV over several months without problems. Then I install Windows 10 x64 Pro and it's doing its job without slowdowns.
I am now back to WD, on win10 pro x64, after trying out various alternatives. I also run Malwarebytes anti-exploit, for what it's worth. At least it doesn't bother too much, I am not sure what it actually does. I find that boot-time speeds up noticeably with WD. And it saves me from the almost inevitable conflicts that arise with third-party AVs. This one blocks firefox, that one interferes with how windows uses RAM, the other one can't connect to the cloud for some unknown reason, etc etc. I run a scan with Malwarebytes anti-malware whenever paranoia gets the better of me, or I have been trying out fishy software. the system is snappy and responsive the way I like it. skylake i-5 with SSD.
Only using Defender in one of my VMs, never on my real machines. Defender has to improve in protection and performance, maybe even a UI redesign would be great for it