Battle Avast vs Windows Defender vs Bitdefender

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My vote was for Avast! which now has sandboxing, a feature available only after the time I'd last used it. In 2013, I'd first used Windows Defender on our 8.1 system, and later Avast! Premier w/o activating it's firewall opting instead for Windows Firewall alone (for lightness) which was essentially Avast! Free without ads. At that time Bitdefender free was not compatible with our then new 8.1, and as I've read (wasn't it somewhere here on MT?) Bitdefender Free is currently not compatible with Windows 10 on which we've moved to on each of our lap top systems. This is the only reason I would not choose Bitdefender, although I shall remain open for the future.:)
 
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Depends on what other security products you have. BitDefender is good if you want something to install and forget (AVC is the best protection module), Avast is very good if you use custom settings (hardened mode on aggressive + pup enabled and in web shield to warn when downloading from low reputation site and hips/bb on level 3). Windows Defender, I can't way much since last time I've checked was a year ago.

When it comes to protection, BitDefender Free is not that good against Ransomware/PUPs. Avast is not that good against PUPs/Riskware (another issue with Avast is when the HIPS/BB will appear because you need to know what to allow and what to block, hardened mode has a few FPs). Windows Defender was really good, the only issue I had was some performance issues.

In the end, I vote BitDefender Free, AVAST, Windows Defender.
 
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Bit Defender Free I voted for, light free version... good install and forget type, with nice overall features working in background, however the scan was slow 2 yrs ago when I used it.

Bitdefender has a good uninstaller if no longer using.
 
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Choose Avast if you want something balance protection, powered by numerous features that can help to hardened your system.

HIPS, Hardened Mode, CyberCapture and many more should sort out your needs.

A complete package already (next to Qihoo)

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Meanwhile Bitdefender focused purely on detection which very essential for typical users that rely too much on internet connection, their AVC helps a lot to determine suspicious programs.

Windows Defender is more on basic protection that have high risk to bypass some sophisticated threats.
 
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Personally I would choose Avast, because of it has a lot of innovative and powerful technologies (as @Cats-4_Owners-2 said), which can guarantee a really solid protection. I also like Bitdefender Free, and it is light on almost all systems, and it has a detection ratio high, very high. But I think Avast is more customizable and stable.
Windows Defender (on Windows 10) can be a mediocre protection solution, it is more easy to configure and use. But it depends on what you do, for example if you navigate a lot I would suggest Avast, of course.

Finally my vote goes to Avast!
 
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Windows Defender is improved a lot but currently it offers just a basic protection.
BitDefender free has a good scan engine ( the same as the paid version) and a good phishing protection but it has no advanced functions ...install and forget and it is not upgraded from years.

@Cats-4_Owners-2 BD free is not officially supported, but I tested it on Win 10 and it seems works well :)

So my vote goes to Avast which, in my opinion, has the best compromise: technology, security, features.
 
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I voted Avast as I have liked it since I first installed it over 3 years ago..
It cannot say anything negative about Bitdefender Free as I have not used it..
As for Windows Defender...Well,I have always used a 3rd party AV so cannot say..
If Avast suddenly becomes a poor quality AV or others like Avira keep improving (I only ever use Free Security Software) then I will replace it,but until then I will continue using it.:)
 
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I'd have to go with Avast here. As mentioned, DB has always been buggy on my system (but that's just me) whenever I tried testing it out, not to mention the limited options with the free version. Avast has pretty much every option of a paid suite for free, and offers a good level of protection (especially in hardened mode) I just uncheck certain options during installation that I don't need. As for Windows Defender, well it's pretty much useless.
 
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Spawn said:
For ultimate compatibility, Windows Defender on Windows 8, 8.1 and 10.

For better protection, at the cost of minor performance and potential FP from zero-day protection techniques, then you can try Avast Free Antivirus.

Bitdefender Free Antivirus is NOT officially supported on Windows 10, although it may run fine.
Click to expand...

+1, depend what is your priority, for me it is stability & compatibility. I don't install softs that modify the core elements of my system.
 
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You can go in either BD Free or Avast Free both won't let you down in protection capability. Both has its Pros and Cons and you can try both to decide between the two. There is not even a question of using Windows Defender unless you pair it with other security apps like Zemana AM, Voodoo Shield etc.
 
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bluemind7x said:
My vote goes to Bitdefender if you are on Windows platform and Avast is better on Mac OSx as i tested a while ago
Click to expand...
Avast has more configurable settings of their technologies (CyberCapture, Hardened Mode and Heuristics Sensitivity) on Windows than Bitdefender Free. Bitdefender Free is install and forget, after you register your Bitdefender Central account, which is required unfortunately.

One could argue that there is less need for an Antivirus on macOS than Windows, but that's for another topic.

Currently I have switched between Avast and Windows Defender, both are very good in the right hands. Avast may better for the less security-conscious when compared with Windows Defender.
 
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I'd go with Avast.

Their technologies like Evo-Gen, CyberCapture, Filrep and now Behavior Shield are top notch! Behavior Shield is what was missing but now it's here with new release.

If it truly does not require registration or some sort of activation every year, it's my free AV of choice that I will be installing.
 
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I think Avast (hardened) is far better than the other two. That being said, Windows Defender is excellent if you are careful or just don't torrent.
 
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