Advice Request Is Bitdefender Free Antivirus better than Windows Defender?

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17410742

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Yep!

The best thing you can do for your computer is to remove Windows Defender, it drags your machine down more than you probably aware of.

IMO - Windows defender offers nothing more than any of the free-antivirus solutions out there,

Yes, I understand its free, but so are many other products, many products that offer better protection with less performance hit.
 
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Ink

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The best thing you can do for your computer is to remove Windows Defender, it drags your machine down more than you probably aware of.
You seem uneducated about WDA and Windows 10. You cannot remove Windows Defender Antivirus, only disable or turned off via Group Policy Editor.

@Marac I would not say it's better or worse.
Edit: Windows Defender Antivirus on Windows 10 is a different beast to WD on Windows 7.
 

shmu26

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Bitdefender free does not receive new virus definitions as fast as the paid version, so that puts it at a disadvantage.

Many people, such as myself, find Windows Defender to be very light on the system (with the exception of when you open a folder with a lot of exe files, such as the download folder. WD will check those files, and it takes a little time)
 

17410742

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You seem uneducated about WDA and Windows 10. You cannot remove Windows Defender Antivirus, only disable or turned off via Group Policy Editor.

@Marac I would not say it's better or worse.
Edit: Windows Defender Antivirus on Windows 10 is a different beast to WD on Windows 7.
So how did i remove it? :unsure:
 
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L

Local Host

There are indeed ways to Remove Windows Defender, but is a complicated process and can cause issues due to W10 depending on it.

I did it once and couldn't even use Windows Update... So just disabling it, is the best option.
 

SumTingWong

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Bitdefender free does not receive new virus definitions as fast as the paid version, so that puts it at a disadvantage.

Many people, such as myself, find Windows Defender to be very light on the system (with the exception of when you open a folder with a lot of exe files, such as the download folder. WD will check those files, and it takes a little time)

Windows Defender full system scan my PC for more than 7 hours while Bitdefender Free can finish it within an hour.
 
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Andy Ful

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Yep!
The best thing you can do for your computer is to remove Windows Defender, it drags your machine down more than you probably aware of.
That is only partially true. Defender is slow when you have to:
  • copy many files,
  • frequently install / deinstall applications,
  • frequently open folders with many executables,
  • manage file exclusions, recover files from the quarantine,
  • performing the full scan.
Defender is quite good in daily tasks like: browsing, downloading files, launching applications, performing quick scans.
.
IMO - Windows defender offers nothing more than any of the free-antivirus solutions out there,

Yes, I understand its free, but so are many other products, many products that offer better protection with less performance hit.
Actually, there is no proof, that on Windows 10, there are many products that offer the better protection, except the top paid AVs.
BitDefender free is, in theory, a quite good idea, but had many problems with Windows 10 compatibility and will probably have such problems in the future. Its development is slow because the main effort is directed to BitDefender paid versions.
The user who prefer AV performance over compatibility & stability, may go for BitDefender or another 3rd party AV. On potential problems see for example:
Avast Antivirus Blamed for Breaking Down Windows 10 April 2018 Update
The truth is that most AVs can have compatibility / stability problems with Windows 10 updates. I remember also the serious issues with Kaspersky and Comodo.
.
There is no need to disable/remove Defender, because it is automatically turned off after installing 3rd party AV.
 
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shmu26

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Windows Defender full system scan my PC for more than 7 hours while Bitdefender Free can finish it within an hour.
Don't waste your time and system resources with frequent full scans. AVs are not so effective in static detection. They detect malware much better heuristically, and that happens when the file executes.
 
L

Local Host

Don't waste your time and system resources with frequent full scans. AVs are not so effective in static detection. They detect malware much better heuristically, and that happens when the file executes.
You should do a full scan at least once... Not to detect malware, but for the AV to make a mapping of the disk and files.
 

motox781

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Apr 1, 2015
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I agree with some posters above. WD has turned into a fine product. Very light on all the installs I do. It just works out of the box.

As far as scans, I do what Local Host said: Run once to populate WD (or whatever AV). I don't do regular scans. When they do take awhile, I am not in a hurry...because I rarely do them.

My recommendation if you want to use a free AV and not WD: I would take a look at KFA 19. Supposedly it will be implemented with System Watcher.

About Kaspersky Free
 
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Chimaira

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Jan 5, 2018
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There are indeed ways to Remove Windows Defender, but is a complicated process and can cause issues due to W10 depending on it.

I did it once and couldn't even use Windows Update... So just disabling it, is the best option.

It is best to remove it from the ISO image before installing Windows. :p
 

Ink

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So how did i remove it? :unsure:
You run the risk of breaking Windows, or some functionality that was original designed to protect users.

Most people run stock Windows 10, don't have backups and hardly anyone bothers to modify their ISO image of Windows 10 - as mentioned above by @Chimaira
 
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