Morning All, I wonder if someone could help me out. On 8.1 I've always used a paid for alternative to Defender, but on 10 I only run Defender (with Malwarebytes as a back up). Are both versions on Defender the same or is there some very real differences between them. Renewal time is coming up and if Defender is just as good on 8.1 as it is on 10 I'll stick with that.
Many Thanks
It's the same on both.
What paid AV are you currently using? Is Malwarebytes the free or paid version?
Currently using Bitdefender Total Security with the free Malwarebytes
I would pass on the renewal and just run Windows built in AV. You might want to replace your renewal subscription to good use by putting it towards the paid version of Malwarebytes. The only real difference between free and paid is the "Real Time" protection.It will block a lot that MS Defender doesn't catch.
The Windows 8.1 Defender, has now been renamed Windows Security in Windows 10.. They use the same Anti Virus engine and definitions. But Windows Security in Windows 10 includes Ransomware and controlled Folder Access protection. All you should need is Windows Security and the Free version of Malwarebytes in most cases
Thank you both. I was just reading that spunk about using the same detection engines. I don't use the Controlled Folder function in 10 as it's a PIA so no loss in 8.1. Looks like I will give Defender a go on 8.1 for a while and see how it does.
Many Thanks
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