Hardly a day goes by without another hack where confidential customer data has been leaked, or a new scam trying to defraud people of their money or personal data is reported.
But while these are worrisome, what about viruses? Are they still a threat? Do I need antivirus on my PC or laptop?
Unfortunately, they are. According to AV-Test, more than 450,000 new malware and potentially unwanted applications are discovered every day.
Every day.
That’s a whole lot of bad stuff you don’t want near your computer.
Antivirus software is of course the way to protect it, and modern antivirus apps usually do a lot more than just monitor and block viruses.
The best antivirus should protect your laptop, PC (and other devices) from viruses, but should also protect your personal information – your identity, bank and credit card numbers – from criminals who want to steal your money.
This means it’s wise to use a security app that runs on your phone and tablet as well as your Windows laptop or PC.
Many of these apps now include a VPN to give you extra security and privacy when browsing the web, and will notify you if malware tries to access your device’s camera and microphones. They also include password managers that remember all of your logins so you can have different passwords for all of your accounts, which is the best way to protect them.
Identity protection is also included in the best suites. It does various things, like monitoring the dark web for your email addresses, passwords, and other personal information, then alerting you if it’s spotted so you can take action.
So, yes, Windows still needs antivirus softwarebut you better get a full security suite that will protect you from more than just viruses.
Does Windows come with antivirus software?
This is indeed the case: Windows 10 and 11 have Windows Defender. Microsoft has included antivirus protection in Windows for many years, and the latest version of Defender is the most powerful ever.
If your laptop or PC doesn’t come with other antivirus software preinstalled, Windows Defender will already protect you.
But is it correct?
Yes it is. Although in the most recent AV-Test report his ratings went down a bit, he has a great track record. It regularly matches or beats antivirus applications from the biggest names, such as Norton, McAfee and Bitdefender.
But there’s a downside: Defender shouldn’t slow down your laptop as much as apps from other companies because it’s part of Windows, but it actually makes apps load slower and takes much longer to copy apps. files than its rivals.
But more importantly, it doesn’t offer the extra features you get with paid security suites, so you’re not as well protected against dangerous websites, scams lurking in social media feeds, and in phishing emails.
Of course, there are always advantages: Defender costs nothing and it is already installed, which is convenient. Remember that it does not protect your phone or tablet.
Why pay for antivirus software?
I hope you already know the answer to this question.
We’ve already explained that Windows Defender can slow down your computer and – at least in the most recent test – didn’t catch 100% of viruses and so-called zero-day threats.
But a paid security app, such as Norton 360 or McAfee Total Protection, offers a wider range of features that protect you as well as your PC or laptop.
You can expect to receive alerts when apps want to access your webcam, notifications that an email address or password has been exposed in a data breach, and website warnings false and dangerous.
Paid antivirus software is regularly updated and new features are added. So even though it’s another thing you have to pay for, it could save you a lot more than you spend.
If you want to see which security suites we recommend, read our roundup of the best antiviruses.
The bottom line is that if you want the best protection, you need to get good security software. Often a single subscription will protect your entire family’s devices, including cell phones and tablets.
What can I do to make Windows 10 more secure for free?
You can’t get the same level of protection for free without putting a lot of work into it, and in some areas you just can’t get protection at all.
But there are things you can do. Here are two you should do right away:
A good password manager like Bitwarden will store all of your credentials and grab them when you need to log in to an app, website, or service. This may mean changing duplicate passwords on many sites, but try to have a different, strong password for all websites and services that store personal information that you wouldn’t want compromised.
Often password managers will tell you where you used the same password so you can change it more easily. Some will even take you directly to that site’s change password page.
Second, a VPN encrypts your internet connection and helps to enhance security and provide privacy when visiting websites, downloading files and other online activities. You don’t need to use one all the time, and you should only use a reliable VPN service, but there are some good free VPNs to choose from.
Be very careful what you click on
Many scams these days work by tricking you into clicking on links in emails, which then download malware, or clicking on fake versions of websites which then ask you to log in, stealing the your account details.
A good rule of thumb is to always navigate to a site yourself. If you get an email saying your account password needs to be changed, or even that there’s a great sale, don’t click the link. Instead, go to your browser and type in the site address. If the sale is real, you will be able to find it.
Also, be very careful with links in emails or social media posts, as they can be just as dangerous. Basically, treat every link or download as suspicious, and you can avoid a lot of trouble.
Here are common scams to avoid.
Make regular backups
Another way to protect your data is to make regular offline backups. Yes, using online services is a good idea, and as you’ll see in our best cloud storage roundup, there’s plenty to choose from, but with Ransomware becoming more and more of a threat, we also strongly recommend that you create your own local offline backups.
Follow our guide on how to back up Windows for more details on what software you can use and how to set up a regular schedule to protect your valuable data.
Do not use an administrator account
Another thing you can do, especially if you want to add protection to the laptops or PCs your kids use, is to avoid using Windows accounts with administrator privileges. This simple change can eliminate many threats, as malware, spyware and the like will not be able to install.
To do this, you will need to create a new administrator account (because you will want one on your system) and then change your existing account to a standard account.
This can be achieved by Settings > Accounts > Family & other peoplewhere you add a family member or a generic account.
Set it as administrator, then log out of your existing account. Log in as new, click on your normal account and when the option to Change account type appears click on it. This opens a window where you can choose to create this account either Standard Where Administrator.
With this in place and running, it should offer good protection against downloads containing malware.
If you find that some programs you use regularly require higher-level access, you can always assign them a special pass. Read how to run programs as an administrator in Windows 10 for more details.
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