Latest antivirus tests provide us with a look at how much the native Windows antivirus has evolved lately

Aug 2, 2019 12:44 GMT  ·  By

There was a time when third-party antivirus software was a must-have on Windows, not only because of an overwhelming amount of threats aimed at Microsoft’s operating system, but also because the software giant wasn’t necessarily focused on delivering advanced protection to its users.

Times have changed and Windows 10 comes with a super-complex security arsenal at the core of which is none other than Windows Defender, soon-to-be-called Microsoft Defender.

After its debut in Windows 8 as the native antivirus product and based on Microsoft Security Essentials, Windows Defender has evolved at a remarkable pace, eventually becoming a fully-featured solution that could convince many to think twice before paying for third-party protection.

Right now, Windows Defender powers the so-called Windows Security suite in Windows 10, which comprises a wide array of security tools aimed at adopters of the OS, regardless of the way they use the device or whether they’re beginners or IT pros.

Windows Security includes the following modules, some of which are powered by Windows Defender:  

Virus and threat protection
Account protection
Firewall and network protection
App and browser control
Device security
Device performance and health
Family options
Each of these modules comes with a plethora of additional options, and the virus and threat protection, for example, boasts ransomware protection, real-time protection, and several scanning modes.

Needless to say, the way Windows Defender is integrated into Windows 10 is living proof of how much this security product has evolved lately.

But as it’s the case of any security software, it doesn’t all come down to usability, as the engine that powers the antivirus is the one that should be a priority. And in Windows Defender, it is.

Earlier this week, the researchers over at AV-TEST have published the results of a new round of antivirus tests conducted on a Windows 10 machine. And somewhat surprising isn’t the fact that Windows Defender is among the highest-rated, but the fact that it got the maximum score, just like software from leading security vendors like Kaspersky.

Antivirus performance in AV-TEST research

Windows Defender received 18 points out of a maximum of 18, scoring flawlessly in terms of protection, performance, and usability. But let’s have a deeper look at what makes Windows Defender such a top-notch product.

AV-TEST conducted two different sets of tests in May and June, and it evaluated all products for protection, performance and usability.

The protection category included tests that were supposed to determine how antivirus solutions behave against 0-day malware attacks, inclusive of web and email threats. Windows Defender detected and blocked 100% of the malware in both rounds of tests, beating the industry average (IA) of 97.1%.

Then, AV-TEST tried to determine the detection of widespread and prevalent malware discovered in the last 4 weeks. Once again, Windows Defender detected and blocked 100% of the threats in both tests. The industry average is 99.8%.

Kaspersky vs. Windows Defender

Moving to performance tests, things are a bit more complex here, as AV-TEST evaluated each product to determine the impact on system performance when their security features are running.

First of all, Windows Defender excelled when it comes to the slowdown it generates when launching popular websites on so-called low and high hardware (slow and fast computers) with a score of 13% and 14%, respectively. This means it scores better than the industry average, which sits at 19% and 16%, respectively.

Windows Defender doesn’t slow down the device when downloading frequently-used apps, but instead it generates an 8% slowdown when launching standard software application on both types of computers (vs. industry average of 10% and 9%, respectively).

The only area where Windows Defender doesn’t beat the industry average is the installation of frequently-used apps, as it reached 27% (versus 26% IA) on slow devices and 22% (22% IA) on fast devices.

Windows Defender hasn’t issued any false positives during usability tests, so it passed tests for visiting websites and scanning legitimate software with flying colors.

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