Is Windows Defender enough?


i use AVG Free then AVG Internet Security Suite as that was about long before Windows defender but i have Windows defender running in the background as backup which is the way i have installed and used it this way on two home systems.

as of VPN's i look at it this way .. would you trust a complete stranger to look after your wallet as all your data passes through the VPN.
you will have to decide the answer to that yourself.

hope this is of help, best of luck. Steve ..
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    .. Debian 13 'Testing' .. Windows 11 24H2 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP 24" AiO
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 5825u
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    64GB DDR4 3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    Ryzen 7 5825u
    Sound Card
    RealTek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    24" HP AiO
    Hard Drives
    1TB WD Blue SN580 M2 SSD Partitioned.
    2x 1TB USB HDD External Backup/Storage.
    Internet Speed
    900MB full fibre
    Browser
    Firefox ESR & Thunderbird
    Antivirus
    ClamAV TK
    Other Info
    Mainly Open Source Software
  • Operating System
    Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 13" Latitude 2017
    CPU
    i5 7200u
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel
    Sound Card
    Intel
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13" Dell Laptop
    Hard Drives
    250GB Crucial 2.5" SSD
    Mouse
    Gerenic 3 button
    Internet Speed
    WiFi only
    Browser
    FireFox
    Antivirus
    ClamAV TK
    Other Info
    Mainly Open Source Software
Defender is very good, but it is not the best guard against malware. If you only use safe websites and trust other users on your nettwork than you don't need a paid solution. If you or your users download lots of unknown stuff like games, than I think it's worth getting a paid solution. Do you want a parachute that's 98% effective or one that's 99.9% effective?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 26100.2894
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Swift SF114-34
    CPU
    Pentium Silver N6000 1.10GHz
    Memory
    4GB
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    SSD
    Cooling
    fanless
    Internet Speed
    150 Mbps
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot Secure Anywhere
    Other Info
    System 3

    ASUS T100TA Transformer
    Processor Intel Atom Z3740 @ 1.33GHz
    Installed RAM 2.00 GB (1.89 GB usable)
    System type 32-bit operating system, x64-based processor

    Edition Windows 10 Home
    Version 22H2 build 19045.3570
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.2506
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Mini 210-1090NR PC (bought in late 2009!)
    CPU
    Atom N450 1.66GHz
    Memory
    2GB
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    Webroot
To me Defender is enough BC it's Free and doesn't come with those unuseful features like one could do within the settings in windows, like why have reg fix etc? We just want virus protection
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    WiN11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom 775 System
    CPU
    Xeon E5450 3.0GHZ (OC 3.6GHZ)
    Motherboard
    ASUS PQ5-EM
    Memory
    8GB (2GBX4)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K2200 4GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1TB|750GB USB, 3 SSDs 2 240GB 1 128GB, 750GB HDD
    PSU
    650WATT Rosewill
    Case
    Rosewill with side Window
    Cooling
    5 Fans and a big HSK for cpu
    Keyboard
    Rosewill RGB
    Mouse
    Rosewill RGB
    Internet Speed
    AT&T 150MB DL\UP
    Browser
    FireFox
    Antivirus
    None
    Other Info
    I'm lucky to even be here after 6yrs from my car accident
  • Operating System
    WiN10 LTSC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Hp 8460p
    CPU
    i7 2670QM 2.20GHZ
    Motherboard
    Hp 161C
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DUAL Channel
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    Intel high Def (basically onboard)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    OS 128GB l Storage (caddy) 320GB
    PSU
    AC (IDK the watts)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    A USB 3.0 in the Express Card Slot
I’m using Microsoft Defender and Sophos, but I think the later is overkill. :D
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 64-bit (24H2)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built (Self)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Hero
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance 96GB @ 5600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX Nitro+ Vapor-X 24GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    MSI MAG 275CQRXF 27" WQHD Curved Gaming
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Corsair MP700 Pro 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD / Corsair MP700 Pro 4TB M.2 NVMe SSD (OS / DATA) / Synology DS720+ NAS 16TB (BACKUP 1) / Seagate One Touch HUB 12TB (BACKUP 2)
    PSU
    Corsair RM1200X Shift 80+ Gold
    Case
    Corsair Link 5000T LX Black Mid-Tower
    Cooling
    Corsair Link Titan 360 RX
    Keyboard
    Corsair K100 Air Wireless RGB Ultra-Thin Mechanical Gaming
    Mouse
    Corsair Darkstar RGB Wireless MMO Gaming
    Browser
    Edge 64-bit / Firefox 64-bit / Octo 64-bit
    Antivirus
    Sophos Endpoint (Intercept X) Protection / Bitdefender Total Security 2025
    Other Info
    Headset: Razer Kraken V4 Pro
    Controller: Razer Wolverine V3 Pro
    Webcam: Razer Kiyo Pro
    Speakers: Razer Leviathan V2 Gaming
When I got my windows computer, the first thing I did was install a couple of Andy Ful's utilities to make Windows Defender a little tighter. I'm as confident with windows security now as much as I am with linux.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ABS (Newegg)
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-10400F CPU @ 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. PRIME B560M-A AC Rev 1.xx
    Memory
    Corsair VENGEANCE® LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 DRAM 3600MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
    Sound Card
    Realtek Digital Output (Realtek(R) Audio)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VS 2725 -2k 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 100hz
    Hard Drives
    T-FORCE TM8FP800 1TB + a couple SATA SSDs
    PSU
    Gigabyte P650E
    Case
    DeepCool Matrexx 50 mid-tower
    Cooling
    Assassin X 120 Refined SE and 4 Thermalright TL-C12C case fans
    Keyboard
    Perixx
    Mouse
    Amazon Basic
    Internet Speed
    Starlink: speed varies
    Browser
    Brave (default), Chrome (for ATG), Edge (for ATMS)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    An assortment of "land fill, obsolete" computers all running Linux Mint 22 (at the moment).
  • Operating System
    Linux Mint 22.1 Cinnamon
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard HP ProDesk 600 G1 SFF
    CPU
    i5 4590
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic 17"
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB
    Hitachi HUA722010CLA330
    WDC WD40EZAZ-19SF3B0
    PSU
    Factory 240 watt
    Case
    Low Profile Desktop
    Cooling
    Factory cooling
    Mouse
    HP
    Keyboard
    HP
    Internet Speed
    Starlink
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    ?
    Other Info
    This is my media server
colinp said:
When I got my windows computer, the first thing I did was install a couple of Andy Ful's utilities to make Windows Defender a little tighter.
Click to expand...
Same here. Can't recommend him enough. And all of his utilities are digitally signed.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaPad L340
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-8145U
    Memory
    16GB
    Hard Drives
    500 GB M2 1 TB HDD
    Internet Speed
    400 MB
    Browser
    Chrome | Edge
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender | Block unknown executables | Various ASR rules enabled

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    WiN11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom 775 System
    CPU
    Xeon E5450 3.0GHZ (OC 3.6GHZ)
    Motherboard
    ASUS PQ5-EM
    Memory
    8GB (2GBX4)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K2200 4GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1TB|750GB USB, 3 SSDs 2 240GB 1 128GB, 750GB HDD
    PSU
    650WATT Rosewill
    Case
    Rosewill with side Window
    Cooling
    5 Fans and a big HSK for cpu
    Keyboard
    Rosewill RGB
    Mouse
    Rosewill RGB
    Internet Speed
    AT&T 150MB DL\UP
    Browser
    FireFox
    Antivirus
    None
    Other Info
    I'm lucky to even be here after 6yrs from my car accident
  • Operating System
    WiN10 LTSC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Hp 8460p
    CPU
    i7 2670QM 2.20GHZ
    Motherboard
    Hp 161C
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DUAL Channel
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    Intel high Def (basically onboard)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    OS 128GB l Storage (caddy) 320GB
    PSU
    AC (IDK the watts)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    A USB 3.0 in the Express Card Slot

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ABS (Newegg)
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-10400F CPU @ 2.90GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. PRIME B560M-A AC Rev 1.xx
    Memory
    Corsair VENGEANCE® LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 DRAM 3600MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti
    Sound Card
    Realtek Digital Output (Realtek(R) Audio)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VS 2725 -2k 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 100hz
    Hard Drives
    T-FORCE TM8FP800 1TB + a couple SATA SSDs
    PSU
    Gigabyte P650E
    Case
    DeepCool Matrexx 50 mid-tower
    Cooling
    Assassin X 120 Refined SE and 4 Thermalright TL-C12C case fans
    Keyboard
    Perixx
    Mouse
    Amazon Basic
    Internet Speed
    Starlink: speed varies
    Browser
    Brave (default), Chrome (for ATG), Edge (for ATMS)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    An assortment of "land fill, obsolete" computers all running Linux Mint 22 (at the moment).
  • Operating System
    Linux Mint 22.1 Cinnamon
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard HP ProDesk 600 G1 SFF
    CPU
    i5 4590
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic 17"
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB
    Hitachi HUA722010CLA330
    WDC WD40EZAZ-19SF3B0
    PSU
    Factory 240 watt
    Case
    Low Profile Desktop
    Cooling
    Factory cooling
    Mouse
    HP
    Keyboard
    HP
    Internet Speed
    Starlink
    Browser
    Brave
    Antivirus
    ?
    Other Info
    This is my media server
JesseRBassett said:
Glad people are respectful enough to give straight answers. Now my 2nd part to this question...and correct me if I am wrong....but does one need a VPN if he/she is using their own internet? I cannot get a straight answer on that.
Click to expand...
No.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14
    CPU
    I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB soldered
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop OLED screen
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800 touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
    PSU
    Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
    Keyboard
    Built in UK keybd
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
    Internet Speed
    900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

    Macrium Reflect Home V8
    Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
    Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦26100.3775 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦24H2 ♦♦♦non-Insider
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 5002)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 15 years?
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