antivirus

PCMag’s security reviews and lab-test coverage make one point very clear: antivirus is no longer a single-number contest between scanners — it’s a layered decision about detection, usability, privacy, and cost that must be matched to how you actually use Windows. Background / Overview PCMag’s...

Malwarebytes still leads the pack in 2026 for consumers who want a lean, effective antivirus that does the job without turning every click into a configuration exercise, but the landscape has shifted: built‑in Windows Security (Microsoft Defender) is now genuinely competitive for everyday users...

The antivirus conversation for Windows in 2025 has shifted from “does it catch viruses?” to how it fits into a modern security stack — protecting legacy servers without costly downtime, reducing analyst fatigue through automation, and balancing performance with visibility across cloud and...

Windows Security is a capable, built‑in shield for Windows 11 — and for most people it should stay on; yet there are legitimate, narrowly scoped situations where temporarily pausing it makes sense. This piece breaks down when turning off Windows Security (Microsoft Defender) is reasonable, what...

Windows Security is one of those features that quietly does its job until it doesn't — and when it interferes with an installer, game, or specialized tool you trust, the question “should I turn it off?” becomes suddenly urgent. Background / Overview Windows Security (the built‑in suite that...

Modern PCs are easier to maintain than ever, but a short list of once-popular “optimization” utilities still prop up myths, waste time, and in some cases cause real harm — Pocket‑lint’s recent primer calling out five categories of tools to avoid is a useful wake‑up call for anyone tempted by...

PCMag UK’s 2025 roundup of free antivirus tools lands where many of us expected: the familiar names—Avast One Basic, AVG AntiVirus Free, Avira Free Security, Bitdefender Antivirus Free, and Microsoft Defender—again dominate the conversation, but the real story is how independent lab testing and...

A MakeUseOf writer’s deliberate experiment — uninstalling every third‑party antivirus on a Windows PC and relying solely on Microsoft Defender — produced a counterintuitive result: faster boot times, lower idle resource use, fewer nuisance alerts and no obvious infections during the test period...

If you’re still clinging to Windows 10 and think swapping in a new third‑party antivirus will buy you time, that shortcut is a trap: antivirus updates matter, but they do not replace missing operating‑system patches, and Microsoft’s official guidance makes that plain — Defender will keep getting...

Microsoft Defender Antivirus (the modern name for Windows Defender) is the default, built‑in security layer in Windows 11 — and for most users it already provides a strong, integrated baseline of protection if its settings are understood and properly configured. This guide walks through the...

If your PC still runs Windows 10, Microsoft hasn’t abandoned you completely: Microsoft Defender will keep delivering threat intelligence and definition updates for a limited window, but that protection is a partial safety net — not a substitute for OS security patches or a long‑term supported...

Windows Server 2019 administrators face a simple but urgent choice: rely only on built‑in protections or add a purpose‑built server antivirus to harden critical services and data. A recent roundup of “7 Best Antivirus for Windows Server 2019” names ESET, Bitdefender, Norton, Avast, VIPRE and...

Windows 10 reaches a hard stop on October 14, 2025 — after that date Microsoft will no longer deliver routine security updates, feature patches, or technical support for the mainstream editions — and every Windows 10 PC owner needs a realistic plan now to avoid rapid security and compatibility...

Windows 11 ships with a lot of useful functionality — and a lot of defaults that many users find noisy, intrusive, or simply unnecessary. A recent community write-up that recommends three Group Policy tweaks — turning off Microsoft Defender, disabling toast notifications, and preventing OneDrive...

For years the reflex was simple: buy a third‑party antivirus suite and assume you were safer — but the calculus has shifted. A growing number of users and reviewers now say you can reasonably ditch paid antivirus software and rely on the built‑in protections in Windows Security (Microsoft...

When a Windows 11 feature update refuses to finish, the installer’s cryptic codes and endless rollbacks can make a routine upgrade feel like a high‑stakes forensic investigation; the good news is that four targeted steps—firmware and driver checks, consulting Microsoft’s release health, a...

When a Windows 11 upgrade refuses to finish, the experience is equal parts opaque and infuriating: cryptic error codes, a rollback that restores your old desktop, and little explanation of what went wrong or how to fix it. These four troubleshooting “secrets” — polished through hundreds of...

Windows’ built‑in antivirus has quietly become the practical choice for millions of users, and the recent pushback against paid suites is no accident — the free Windows security stack now combines deep OS integration, modern cloud and AI detections, and targeted anti‑ransomware controls that...

Google Chrome’s terse banner — “Your browser is managed by your organization” — is both a useful audit cue and a common source of anxiety for home users who didn’t expect any outside control. The message is honest: Chrome has detected at least one non-default policy or managed preference. For...

ExplorerPatcher’s latest release finally restores several long-broken customizations for Windows 11 24H2 and includes a practical — if controversial — workaround that lets the utility avoid the upgrade safeguard that Microsoft introduced for 24H2 builds. The update, published as release...