Windows defender windows security essentials microsoft

В чём разница между Defender и Security Essentials в линейке Windows?

Любой, кто хоть раз задумывался о защите системы, задавался вопросом, почему на фоне обилия бесплатных антивирусов сама Windows не снабжает пользователя мало-мальски пригодным антивирусным ПО? И почему запрятанного где-то далеко в недрах Wiindows 7 Защитника ни в коем случае не хватит для обеспечения безопасности? А если так, то можно ли его заменить на другой инструмент — Windows Security Essentials? И какая между ними разница?

Не вызывает сомнения лишь факт, что оба продукта сравнивать нельзя: они занимаются разными «вещами». И действительно, пользователей Windows 7 Microsoft снабдила только Защитником, который защищает системные файлы только от шпионских программ и модулей. Это не антивирус. И тем более он не обеспечивает слежение за файлами в режиме реального времени. Так что тем, кто сидит на Windows 7 (как и остальных версиях), следует позаботиться о не о дополнительной, а просто о настоящей защите.

КСТАТИ…

Сама операционная система Windows 7 с момента установки не устаёт напоминать о том, что следует установить антивирусное ПО без оглядки на Защитника Windows, что некоторых юзеров приводит в недоумение. Более того, с некоторых пор заново установленная система вообще не сможет получить некоторые первостепенные обновления. Причём без всякого объяснения. Причина — отсутствие антивируса.

 А вот с момента появления Windows 8 для системы появился полноценный антивирус — Windows Security Essentials (его установка требует легальной копии Windows; в противном случае — блокировка самой системы). Причём антивирусный пакет получил … тоже название — Windows Defender (Защитник Windows). Можно бесконечно спорить о его функционале в сравнении с другими продуктами. Однако профессионалы сходятся в одном — абсолютной защиты и топового антивируса (даже связки антивирус+антишпион) не существует всё равно. Потому что в принципе его быть не может. И потому специалисты часто останавливают свой выбор именно на таком антивирусном/антишпионском ПО, которое:

• не требовательно к ресурсам
• оперативно обновляет и пополняет антивирусную базу
• стабильно в работе, не мешая ложными срабатываниями (в своё время вокруг MSE разгорелся скандал вокруг ложных срабатываний на браузер Google Chrome, что приводило в отдельных случаях к удалению самого браузера; вроде бы исправили)

Вкупе с мозгами и адекватным поведением пользователя за монитором этих факторов предостаточно, чтобы комфортно серфить сеть, совершая покупки и общаясь с другими. И не задумываться о дополнительных средствах безопасности.

В чём разница между Defender и Security Essentials?

Повторюсь, Защитник Windows (он же Windows Dedender) для Windows XP и прошитый в Windows 7/Vista — это антишпионский модуль, запускаемый по указке пользователя. То есть пока вы его не запустите, он будет спать. И вирусы он обнаруживать физически не способен. Windows Security Essentials — бесплатный антивирусный пакет для семейства ОС Microsoft — также именуется как Защитник Windows и работает в режиме реального времени. Просто в Windows 8/10 он уже включен в сборку; пользователи Windows 7 её могут бесплатно доустановить. Хотя при беглом обзоре «официальная» разница компанией Microsoft почему-то никогда не подчёркивалась. И это, кстати, не впервые, когда эта контора путала своих пользователей схожими названиями. Так, если обратиться к первоисточникам, Защитник был анонсирован ещё в пору Windows XP как отдельная программа под названием — ВНИМАНИЕ ! — Антивирусная программа Защитник Windows. И это было её официальное название. История появления и развития примерно такова:

• для Windows XP Защитник можно было скачать (с 2014 г. новые версии на ХР не стают)
• в Windows Vista/7 Защитник был прошит (с 2017 г. новые версии на Vista не стают)
• в версиях Windows 8/10 он входит в состав антивирусного пакета Windows Security Essentials

Вот вам и разница между Defender и Security Essentials: в версиях для разных поколений Windows. То есть, вот эти программы — абсолютно одно и тоже:

Кроме того, сразу следует отметить, что в версиях Windows Security Essentials для Vista/7 и 8/10 есть небольшие отличия. Так, с некоторых пор Защитник получил полную интеграцию с фаерволом Windows и улучшенный антируткит модуля для версий 8\10. Но лучше, чем сама Microsoft, об этом никто не скажет.

Вопросики

• Что будет, если удалить Защитник Windows? Всё зависит от того, какой версией Windows вы пользуетесь. Действительно, Защитник иногда ругается на дополнительные антишпионские модули со стороны. И те иногда недолюбливают Windows Defender. В этом случае логика проста: в Windows 7 (если вы решили усилить защиту с помощью Windows Security Essentials) защитник отключается легко и безопасно, в Windows 10 его удалять не придётся. Причина же для Windows 7 в том, что антишпионский модуль в Security Essentials уже есть. А два антишпиона в одной системе — это не дело. Даже если производитель один. Вот такая белиберда. Но, к слову, Windows 7 часто безошибочно самостоятельно отключает модуль Защитника после установки WSE:

Пользователям Windows 8/10 следует помнить, что Защитник прошит в браузер Internet Explorer прочно. И удаление Защитника может вызвать непредсказуемые последствия при работе с IE. Но, следует отметить, что в России этот браузер традиционно не хвалят и потому на ошибки в его работе никто и не жалуется.

• Отключает ли установка Security Essentials в Windows Vista/7 функции Защитника? Да (см. выше), Защитник Windows в Windows 7 как отдельно стоящий модуль отключается. В Windows XP его лучше удалить вручную.
• Так что же, Security Essentials заменяет Windows Defender в разных версиях? Нет, но если вы используете доустановленный Security Essentials, в запуске прежнего Защитника как минимум отпадает необходимость. Почему? Ответ абзацем выше.

Скачать Windows Security Essentials для Windows 7 32-x и 64-x с официального сайта

Успехов.

Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials version 4.0 running on Windows 7
Developer(s)	Microsoft
Initial release	29 September 2009
Stable release	4.10.209.0[1] / 30 November 2016; 6 years ago[2]
Operating system	Windows Vista SP1 or SP2 and Windows 7[3]
Platform	IA-32 and x64
Size	IA-32: 11.7 MB[4] x64: 14.4 MB[4]
Available in	33 languages[4]
List of languages English, Bulgarian, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (Portugal), Romanian, Russian, Serbian (Latin), Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese
Type	Antivirus software
License	Freeware[5]
Website	support.microsoft.com/en-my/help/17150/windows-7-what-is-microsoft-security-essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is an antivirus software (AV) product that provides protection against different types of malicious software, such as computer viruses, spyware, rootkits, and Trojan horses. Prior to version 4.5, MSE ran on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, but not on Windows 8 and later versions, which have built-in AV components known as Windows Defender. MSE 4.5 and later versions do not run on Windows XP. The license agreement allows home users and small businesses to install and use the product free of charge. It replaces Windows Live OneCare, a discontinued commercial subscription-based AV service, and the free Windows Defender, which only protected users from spyware until Windows 8.

Built upon the same scanning engine and virus definitions as other Microsoft antivirus products, it provides real-time protection, constantly monitoring activities on the computer, scanning new files as they are created or downloaded, and disabling detected threats. It lacks the OneCare personal firewall and the Forefront Endpoint Protection centralized management features.

Microsoft’s announcement of its own AV software on 18 November 2008, was met with mixed reactions from the AV industry. Symantec, McAfee, and Kaspersky Lab—three competing independent software vendors—dismissed it as an unworthy competitor, but AVG Technologies and Avast Software appreciated its potential to expand consumers’ choices of AV software. AVG, McAfee, Sophos, and Trend Micro claimed that the integration of the product into Microsoft Windows would be a violation of competition law.

The product received generally positive reviews, praising its user interface, low resource usage, and freeware license. It secured AV-TEST certification in October 2009, having demonstrated its ability to eliminate all widely encountered malware. It lost that certification in October 2012; in June 2013, MSE achieved the lowest possible protection score, zero. However, Microsoft significantly improved this product during the couple of years preceding February 2018, when MSE achieved AV-TEST’s «Top Product» award after detecting 80% of the samples used during its test. According to a March 2012 report by anti-malware specialist OPSWAT, MSE was the most popular AV product in North America and the second most popular in the world, which has resulted in the appearance of several rogue antivirus programs that try to impersonate it.

Features[edit]

Microsoft Security Essentials automatically checks and downloads the latest virus definitions from Microsoft Update which is updated three times a day.^[6] Users may alternatively download the updates manually from the Microsoft Security Portal website.^[7] On 30 September 2011, a faulty definition update caused the product to incorrectly tag Google Chrome as malware. The issue was resolved within three hours.^[8][9] MSE originally ran on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7,^[3] although versions 4.5 and later do not run on Windows XP^[10] and Microsoft stopped producing automatic definition updates for Windows XP on 14 July 2015 (however, manual definition updates are still available for Windows XP users who run older versions of MSE).^[11][7]

MSE is built upon the same foundation as other Microsoft security products; they all use the same anti-malware engine known as Microsoft Malware Protection Engine (MSMPENG) and virus definitions.^[12][13] It does not have the personal firewall component of OneCare and the centralized management features of Forefront Endpoint Protection.^[14]

MSE provides real-time protection, constantly monitoring activities on the computer, scanning new files as they are created or downloaded from the Internet.^[15] It quarantines detected threats and prompts for user input on how to deal with them. If no response is received within ten minutes, suspected threats are handled according to the default actions defined in the application’s settings. Depending on those settings, it may also create System Restore checkpoints before removing the detected malware.^[15] As a part of real-time protection, MSE reports all suspicious behaviors of monitored programs to Microsoft Active Protection Service (MAPS, formerly Microsoft SpyNet) by default.^[16] If the report matches a newly discovered malware threat with an unreleased virus definition, the new definition will be downloaded to remove the threat.^[17]

Hardware requirements for the product depend on the operating system; on a computer running Windows Vista or Windows 7, it requires a 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, a computer monitor with a display resolution of at least 800 × 600 pixels, 200 MB of free hard disk space and a stable Internet connection.^[3]

Development[edit]

On 18 November 2008, Microsoft announced plans for a free consumer security product, codenamed Morro.^[18] This development marked a change in Microsoft’s consumer AV marketing strategy: instead of offering a subscription-based security product with a host of other tools, such as backup and a personal firewall, Morro would offer free AV protection with a smaller impact on system resources.^[19] Amy Barzdukas, senior director of product management for the Online Services and Windows Division at Microsoft, announced that Morro would not directly compete with other commercial AV software; rather it was focused on the 50 to 60 percent of PC users who did not have or would not pay for AV protection.^[20] By 17 June 2009, the official name of Morro was revealed: Microsoft Security Essentials.^[21]

On 23 June 2009, Microsoft released a public beta to 75,000 users in the United States, Israel, China and Brazil. Anticipated to be available in 20 markets and 10 languages, the product was scheduled for release before the end of 2009;^[22] the final build was released on 29 September 2009.^[23]

Version 2.0[edit]

Almost a year after the initial release, Microsoft quietly released the second version. It entered the technical preview stage on 19 July 2010,^[24][25] and the final build was released on 16 December 2010. It includes Network Inspection System (NIS), a network intrusion detection system that works on Windows Vista and Windows 7, as well as a new anti-malware engine that employs heuristics in malware detection. Version 2.0 integrates with Internet Explorer to protect users against web-based threats.^[26][27] NIS requires a separate set of definition updates.^[7]

Version 4.0[edit]

Sixteen months after the release of version 2.0, Microsoft skipped version 3.0 and released Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0. A public beta program started on 18 November 2011, when Microsoft sent out invitations to potential participants without announcing a version number.^[28][29] The first beta version was released on 29 November 2011,^[30][31] and the final build on 24 April 2012.^[16] Microsoft subsequently initiated a pre-release program that provides volunteers with the latest beta version and accepts feedback.^[32]

Version 4.5[edit]

On 21 February 2014, version 4.5 entered beta stage.^[33] On the same day, Microsoft announced that starting with this version, Windows XP would not be supported.^[10] Older versions would continue to receive automatic virus definition updates until 14 July 2015 (afterwards the users of older versions may continue to manually update definitions using Microsoft’s site).^[11][7]

Version 4.10[edit]

The latest version of 4.10 was released on 29 November 2016. It was version 4.10.209.0 for Windows Vista and Windows 7. This update fixes a bug that was introduced earlier in version 4.10.205.0 which removed the «Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials» entry from the right-click context menu on files and folders.

Discontinuation[edit]

Support for MSE has officially ended for Windows Vista^[34] and Windows XP.^[35] Older versions still function on those systems; however, the latest definition updates are no longer compatible. Although support for Windows 7^[36] ended on 14 January 2020 Microsoft will continue to update virus definitions for existing users until 2023.^[37]

Microsoft Security Essentials does not run on Windows 8 and later, which has its own security subsystem, Windows Defender. On 13 September 2011, at the Build conference in Anaheim, California, Microsoft unveiled the developer preview of Windows 8, which had a security component capable of preventing an infected USB flash memory from compromising the system during the boot process.^[38][39] On 15 September, Windows 8 developer’s blog confirmed that Windows Defender in Windows 8 would take over the role of virus protection. In an included video, Jason Garms of Microsoft showed how Windows Defender is registered with Action Center as an AV and spyware protection tool, and how it blocks drive-by malware.^[40] On 3 March 2012, Softpedia reviewed the consumer preview of Windows 8 and noted the similarity in appearance of Windows Defender and Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0 Beta. According to Softpedia, Windows 8 Setup requires Microsoft Security Essentials to be uninstalled before upgrading from Windows 7.^[41]

Licensing[edit]

The product’s license agreement allows home users to download, install and use it on an unlimited number of computers in their households free of charge, as long as each computer has a legitimately licensed copy of Microsoft Windows.^[5] Since October 2010, small businesses have also been allowed to install the product on up to 10 devices,^[42] but use in academic institutions and governmental locations is forbidden, as is reverse-engineering, decompiling or disassembling the product or working around its designed limitations.^[5]

MSE requires no registration or personal information to be submitted during installation;^[43] however, the validity of the operating system’s license is verified during and after installation using the Windows Genuine Advantage system. If said license is found to be invalid, the software will notify the user and will cease to operate after a period of time.^[5]

Reception[edit]

Industry response[edit]

The announcement and debut of Microsoft Security Essentials was met with mixed responses from the AV industry. Symantec, McAfee and Kaspersky Lab, three competing vendors, claimed it to be inferior to their own software.^[44] Jens Meggers, Symantec’s vice president of engineering for Norton products, dismissed it as «very average – nothing outstanding».^[45] Tom Powledge of Symantec urged his customers to be mindful of what protection they chose, bearing in mind that OneCare offered «substandard protection» and an «inferior user experience».^[46] Joris Evers, director of worldwide public relations for McAfee stated «with OneCare’s market share of less than 2%, we understand Microsoft’s decision to shift attention to their core business.»^[47] Justin Priestley of Kaspersky stated that Microsoft «continued to hold a very low market share in the consumer market, and we don’t expect the exit of OneCare to change the playing field drastically.»^[47]

Avast Software said that it had an ambivalent view towards the product. Vincent Steckler, Avast Software CEO wrote in a blog post «MSE is not the silver bullet but it is also not the bad sequel to One Care [sic] that some claim.»^[48] A representative of AVG Technologies stated, «We view this as a positive step for the AV landscape. AVG has believed in the right to free antivirus software for the past eight years.»^[47] However, AVG raised the issue of distributing the software product and said, «Microsoft will have to do more than simply make the product available,»^[47] adding that integration of Microsoft Security Essentials with Microsoft Windows would be a violation of competition law.^[49] McAfee, Sophos and later Trend Micro affirmed that an antitrust lawsuit would surely have followed if Microsoft had bundled the product with Windows.^[50][51]

The announcement of Microsoft Security Essentials affected the stocks of AV vendors. On 19 November 2008, after Microsoft announced codename Morro, Symantec and McAfee shares fell 9.44 and 6.62 percent respectively.^[20] On 10 June 2009, after announcing an upcoming beta version, Microsoft shares rose 2.1 percent, while Symantec and McAfee fell 0.5 and 1.3 percent respectively. Daniel Ives, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets, said that Microsoft Security Essentials would be a «long-term competitive threat», although near-term impact would be negligible.^[52]

Reviews and awards[edit]

The public beta version received several reviews, citing its low resource usage, straightforward user interface and price point.^[53][54][55] Brian Krebs of The Washington Post reported that a quick scan on a Windows 7 computer took about 10 minutes and a full scan about 45 minutes.^[15] Ars Technica reviewed it positively, citing its organized interface, low resource usage, and its status as freeware.^[56]

Nick Mediati of PCWorld noted MSE’s «clear-cut» and «cleanly designed» tabbed user interface. He did, however, find some of the settings to be cryptic and confusing, defaulting to «recommended action», with the only explanation of what that action is to be found in the help file. He was also initially confused because the user interface failed to mention that Microsoft Security Essentials automatically updates itself, rather than having to be manually updated via the Update tab;^[54] an explanation of this feature was included in the final release.^[57]

Neil Rubenking of PC Magazine successfully installed the beta version on 12 malware-infected systems and commented on its small installation package (about 7 MB, depending on the operating system) and speedy installation. But the initial virus definition update took between 5 and 15 minutes, and the full installation occupied about 110 MB of disk space. Rubenking noted that the beta version sets Windows Update into fully automatic mode, although it can be turned off again through Windows Control Panel. Some full scans took more than an hour on infected systems; a scan on a clean system took 35 minutes.^[53] An on-demand scan test Rubenking conducted in June 2009 with the beta version found 89 percent of all malware samples: 30 percent of the commercial keyloggers, 67 percent of rootkits, but only half of the scareware samples. The product’s real-time protection found 83 percent of all malware and blocked the majority of it: 40 percent of the commercial keyloggers and 78 percent of the rootkits were found.^[53]

On 7 January 2010, Microsoft Security Essentials won the Best Free Software award from PC Advisor.^[58] In December the same year, it secured the Bronze award from AV-Comparatives for proactive detection of 55 percent of new or unknown malware, the Silver award for low false-positives (six occurrences) and the Bronze award for overall performance.^[59]

In October 2009, AV-TEST conducted a series of trials on the final build of the product in which it detected and caught 98.44 percent of 545,034 computer viruses, computer worms and software Trojan horses as well as 90.95 percent of 14,222 spyware and adware samples. It also detected and eliminated all 25 tested rootkits, generating no false-positives.^[60] Between June 2010 to January 2013, AV-TEST tested Microsoft Security Essentials 14 times; in 11 out of 14 cases, MSE secured AV-TEST certification of outperforming AV industry average ratings.^[61][a] Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 was tested and certified in March 2011. The product achieved a protection score of 2.5 out of 6, a repair score of 3.5 out of 6 and a usability score of 5.5 out of 6. Report details show that although version 2.0 was able to find all malware samples of the WildList (widespread malware), it was not able to stop all Internet-based attacks because it lacks personal firewall and anti-spam capabilities.^[62] In an April 2012 test, version 2.1 achieved scores of 3.0, 5.5 and 5.0 for protection, repair and usability.^[63] Version 4.0 for Windows 7 SP1 (x64) was tested in June 2012 and achieved scores of 2.5, 5.5 and 5.5 for protection, repair and usability.^[64] In October 2012, the product lost its AV-TEST certification when Microsoft Security Essentials 4.1 achieved scores of 1.5, 3.5 and 5.5 for its protection, repair and usability.^[65][66]

In AV-TEST’s 2011 annual review, Microsoft Security Essentials came last in protection, seventh in repair and fifth in usability.^[67] In the 2012 review, it came last in protection and best in usability; however, having lost its certificate, it was not qualified for the usability award.^[68] In June 2013, MSE achieved the lowest possible protection score, zero.^[69]

Microsoft has drastically improved MSE’s detection over time and in the very latest tests done by AV-TEST during February 2018 MSE has achieved 100% detection of all malware samples in both the «Protection against 0-day malware attacks, inclusive of web and e-mail threats (Real-World Testing)» and «Detection of widespread and prevalent malware discovered in the last 4 weeks (the AV-TEST reference set)» categories, earning it AV-TESTS’s «Top Product» award.^[70]

[edit]

On 29 September 2010, a year after its initial release, Microsoft announced that MSE had more than 30 million users.^[71] The Security Industry Market Share Analysis report of June 2011, published by OPSWAT, describes it as one of the most popular AV products in the world,^[72] with 10.66 percent of the global market^[72]: 5 and 15.68 percent of the North American market.^[72]: 4 The same report shows Microsoft as the number one AV vendor in North America with 17.07 percent market share,^[72]: 3 and the number four AV vendor worldwide.^[72]: 2

John Dunn of PCWorld, who analyzed the report, noted that the tendency to use free AV software is something new: «After all, free antivirus suites have been around for years but have tended to be seen as the poor relations to paid software.» He named Microsoft Security Essentials as an influence on PC users to adopt free AV software.^[73]

A September 2011 OPSWAT report found that MSE had further increased its market share to become the second most popular AV product in the world, and remained the most popular in North America.^[74] OPSWAT reported in March 2012 that the product had maintained its position, and that Microsoft’s market share had improved by 2 percent worldwide and 3 percent in North America.^[75] Seth Rosenblatt of CNET News commented on how the product’s share rose from 7.27 in 2010 to 10.08 in 2012, stating that «use of the lightweight security suite exploded last year».^[76]

Impersonation by malware[edit]

The popularity of Microsoft Security Essentials has led to the appearance of malware abusing its name. In February 2010, a rogue security package calling itself «Security Essentials 2010» appeared on the internet, carrying the Alureon virus. Designated TrojanDownloader:Win32/Fakeinit by Microsoft, it bears no visual resemblance to the Microsoft product.^[77][78] It reappeared in November 2010, this time calling itself «Security Essentials 2011».^[79] A more dangerous rogue software appeared in August 2010. Designated Rogue:Win32/FakePAV or Unknown Win32/Trojan, it closely resembles Microsoft Security Essentials and uses sophisticated social engineering to deceive users and infect their systems, under the guise of five different fictional anti-malware products. It also terminates and prevents the launch of 156 different programs, including Registry Editor, Windows Command Prompt, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Google Chrome.^[80][81][82]

See also[edit]

• Comparison of antivirus software
• Comparison of firewalls
• Internet security
• Microsoft Defender
• Windows Security Center

References[edit]

Notes

Citations

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Microsoft Security Portal

Evolution.

Windows Security is Windows Defender is Microsoft Security Essentials, by any other name. Windows Defender has also had different meanings over the years.

My computers sometimes say Windows Security, sometimes Microsoft Security Essentials, and other times Windows Defender. What are they, and why are different ones showing up at different times? What’s the difference? Does it really matter which one shows up?

Microsoft’s product naming frustrates me to no end. They seem to have an incredible knack for picking the most confusing names possible and then changing them.

While the names Windows Security, Windows Defender, and Microsoft Security Essentials all seem innocuous enough, what they mean has changed over time. Sometimes they mean the same thing, and sometimes they don’t.

In current versions of Windows 10, all security-related items are contained in the “Windows Security” app.

You can run this app by clicking the Start menu and typing “Windows Security”. You can also access it via the “Update & Security” section of the Settings app.

Windows Security includes anti-malware scanners and tools, tools to secure your Microsoft account, firewall and network-related protection, and much more.

It’s a one-stop location for all your Windows 10 security needs.

Windows Defender #1

What was once called “Windows Defender” in Windows 10 (and Windows is now “Windows Security”.

Windows Defender was the security software included in Windows 10 for several years. It didn’t include everything currently in Windows Security, focusing mostly on anti-malware related tools. The Windows Security app collects all the security tools in one place, and in a sense, Windows Defender is just one of them.

If you click Start and start typing “Windows Defender”, one of the search results will be Windows Security.

One of the other search results, however, will not be.

Windows Defender #2

As you can see from the search results above, the first item is “Windows Defender Firewall”. Click that, and you’ll bring up the full Windows Defender Firewall interface.

My belief is that this represents a portion of the software that hasn’t yet transitioned to the new-name interface. One clue is that you can also get to this via the “Advanced Settings” in the Windows Security app’s network settings.

Yes, it’s confusing, but I think it will eventually coalesce under the “Windows Security” name.

Sadly, we’re not done with confusion just yet.

Windows Defender #3

This is where things get weird.

In Windows 7, a tool called “Windows Defender” was only an anti-spyware tool.

With Windows 7, you needed to install an additional anti-virus tool. Microsoft Security Essentials, which I’ll talk about in a moment, was a common solution. Because this additional tool also included an anti-spyware tool, it replaced Windows Defender.

The resulting security solution would be Microsoft Security Essentials with no Windows Defender.

But we’re not done with the Windows Defender name.

Windows Defender Offline

Windows Defender Offline was a version you could burn to a CD or install to a USB thumb drive. You would then boot from it and run Windows Defender without having to run the copy of Windows installed on your machine.

Booting from something other than your hard drive bypassed any malware possibly present on your machine. The result was Windows Defender Offline could do a more complete job of cleaning things up.

Windows Defender Offline was originally called Microsoft Standalone System Sweeper.

In current versions of Windows 10, the offline scanner is preinstalled and is called Microsoft Defender Offline. I don’t know why “Microsoft” and not “Windows”, except perhaps to differentiate it from the previous downloadable equivalent.

Microsoft Security Essentials

Finally, we come to the easy one: “Microsoft Security Essentials” has been relatively unambiguous over its lifetime.

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) was an all-in-one anti-virus and anti-spyware program. It integrated well with Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 and remains1 a free download from Microsoft.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s exactly what Windows Defender is today for Windows 10.

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Microsoft Windows is one of the most popular and also the most widely used operating systems in the world. That means it is also the most targeted by hackers. Microsoft has built several tools to help thwart these efforts and protect users from loss of data, and the trauma that follows. Windows Defender and Security Essentials are two main software solutions.

But, these two are not the only players in the field. There are third-party antivirus apps that provide even more features than what Microsoft software offers. Let’s see how these two compare and what they have to offer.

Let’s begin.

Microsoft bought an anti-spyware software called Giant AntiSpyware in 2004 and renamed it to Windows Defender. Originally, it was not designed to be an antivirus or antimalware software, but only a spyware removal program. It came pre-installed with Windows Vista and 7. Windows XP users had to download it separately.

Microsoft Security Essentials was released in the year 2009 as antivirus software. MSE was capable of protecting personal computers from trojan horses and viruses of different kinds. It was designed to work with Windows XP, Vista, and 7.

2. Windows Defender to Security Essentials and Back

Here is where all the confusion begins. Where Windows Defender came pre-installed, Security Essentials was available for download separately. However, when you install Security Essentials in Windows 7 and earlier versions, it will supersede Windows Defender, and disable it.

That is because some of Security Essentials’ features overlapped with Windows Defender. So, it didn’t make sense to keep both of them active. Also, that would lead to inconsistencies and break things.

Things got confusing with the launch of Windows 8 where Microsoft continued its policy of reusing old product names and versions. Windows Defender was relaunched with Security Essentials built-in. That means, for the first time ever, Windows OS had a software that could fight viruses, malware, and spyware that was shipped pre-installed. Microsoft Security Essentials doesn’t support Windows 8 and 10. It was no longer needed now, having served its purpose well.

It is a bit confusing because Microsoft chose a name that it was already using. That’s not something new. Microsoft did the same thing with OneNote 2016 and OneNote. Using old names for new products is confusing as hell, but that’s how it is, so live with it.

If you are using Windows 8 or higher, you should have Windows Defender built-in and should not bother with Security Essentials. The users of the earlier version can download Security Essentials.

Note:

3. Windows Defender or Antivirus

Windows Defender has come a long way and offers an overall protection against viruses, malware, and spyware. But it is not the only player in the world. In fact, there are many malware and antivirus software available. What is the difference between Windows Defender and antivirus software and how it fares against them?

We recommend our readers to download and install Malwarebytes. The free version is good enough and offers the best protection against malware on the web — a product dedicated to fighting part of the equation. As you must have surmised by the above recommendation, Windows Defender doesn’t have a stellar reputation.

Most users, pros especially, tend to use third-party antivirus software instead of Windows Defender. They offer way more features like VPN for hiding IP address and safe browsing. There are two sites I found that compare antivirus software, and both surprised me. Windows Defender did pretty well.

The First one was AV Test which shows Windows Defender getting full marks in protection and usability, and slightly less in performance. Kaspersky and Norton get full marks on all three. Malwarebytes that we recommend at GT is not doing so well, but I will still recommend it as a failsafe.

The second AV testing is AV Comparatives, which again found Windows Defender to be at par against popular antivirus software. Arguably, Windows Defender had more false positives at 39 than others, which were usually under 10 or even 5. That’s not a bad thing. I will take a false positive over malware and spyware any day.

Of course, there are other companies out there who also rank antivirus software. You should always take these test results with a grain of salt. Going with any software in the top 5 should be a safe bet. Also, never run two antivirus software at the same time. If you are paranoid, you can buy two different antivirus software, but always disable one when using the other.

I am using Kaspersky at the moment. I know there are concerns about a possible Russian connection. Well, no conclusive proof or evidence was found. I think I am safe. If you are worried, there is no dearth of antivirus software in the market.

Download Malwarebytes

Protego Horribilis

If you are a Harry Potter fan, then you might know that the charm defended Hogwarts against dark magic. Windows Defender was designed to protect against the dark arts of the web. Over the years, it has become a well-rounded product with plenty of firepower underneath.

Next up: Want to disable Windows Defender in favor of another antivirus software? Click on the link below to learn how.

Microsoft loves to confuse their users as most people have found out using Windows 8. Not only was Windows 8 confusing, but Microsoft keeps changing how the new operating system works with every update.

One of the most confusing aspects to Windows 7 and Windows 8 is the anti-virus solutions provided by Microsoft. Should you use Windows Defender or Microsoft Security Essentials? What’s the difference? Also what is Microsoft Safety Scanner and why is that different from the other tool anti-virus tools?

In this article, I’ll explain the differences between the different anti-virus tools in Windows 7 and Windows 8 and where you can use each tool. Thankfully, things are clearer in Windows 10.

Windows Defender was originally known as Microsoft AntiSpyware and was eventually included with Windows Vista and Windows 7. You could also download Windows Defender for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, though it seems that now you can’t anymore. You can still download Windows Defender Offline, which is different than Windows Defender and I’ll explain more below.

The main thing to note about Windows Defender is that it only protects against spyware in Windows 7 and below. That’s why you always needed another separate anti-virus program in Windows 7 and earlier. Microsoft Security Essentials could be downloaded to replace Windows Defender since it could catch spyware and scan for viruses. Once installed, it would disable Windows Defender altogether.

Windows Defender Offline is basically exactly what the name suggests: an offline version of Windows Defender that you download and run off a CD, DVD or USB drive. You can use Windows Defender Offline to scan for viruses before the operating system boots up, which can greatly help your chances of removing a very sneaky piece of malware or spyware. Again, it won’t catch viruses, just spyware.

In Windows 8 and Windows 10, Windows Defender was upgraded to be able to do virus scans also. It pretty much is the same scanner as the one in Microsoft Security Essentials and that is the reason why Microsoft does not allow you to install Security Essentials on Windows 8/10. It also uses the same virus definitions and the user interface is pretty much exactly the same.

It might have made more sense to just keep the name Microsoft Security Essentials in Windows 8/10, but they decided to stay with the Windows Defender name, which causes some of the confusion.

So here’s the current state of Windows Defender:

– Comes built-in with Windows Vista and Windows 7 and only protects against spyware. Can be used with Microsoft Security Essentials.

– Comes built-in with Windows 8 and 10, but includes a virus scanner. Cannot be used with Microsoft Security Essentials.

– On Windows XP, you can use Microsoft Security Essentials as Window Defender is no longer available.

– Windows Defender Offline can be used on any version of Windows all the way up to Windows 10

Download Windows Defender Offline

Download Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Safety Scanner

Microsoft Safety Scanner is another anti-virus tool from Microsoft that is similar to Windows Defender Offline in that it is a standalone virus and malware scanner. It’s basically an on-demand scanner that you can try to use as a last resort if the virus has disabled or interfering with your current antivirus program.

Unlike Windows Defender Offline, you still run Microsoft Safety Scanner inside of Windows rather than using boot media. You can simply download the EXE file which contains the latest signatures and run it. Since it’s an on-demand scanner, you should always re-download the program every time you want to use it otherwise you won’t be scanning with the latest virus signatures. The files are updated multiple times a day with the latest signatures.

Download Microsoft Safety Scanner

So hopefully that makes sense of some of the security tools provided by Microsoft. There are also other tools, but they are less common and we won’t mention them in this post. Windows Defender, Security Essentials and Safety Scanner are the main tools you can use for removing viruses and malware in Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10. Enjoy!