Serious Discussion Is Windows Defender Enough in 2025, or Do You Still Need a Third-Party Antivirus?

Do you use Windows Defender as your main antivirus in 2025?

  • Yes, it’s all I need

  • No, I prefer a third-party AV

  • I use both (Defender + another AV)

  • I rely on other security layers (hardening, virtualization, etc.)

  • Other (explain in comments)

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Parkinsond said:
True, but blocking damage does not necessarily mean no changes have occured to registry or scheduled tasks, which brings us back to Windows reinstall to get sure you are safe.
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Well, maybe you have the time on your hands to reinstall Windows on a weekly basis, but you do realise that there are people out there looking to fire up their devices, do some work (which they are getting paid for), or do their university assignments, connect online and so on.

So such people could appreciate the Defence in Depth concept that many third-party products, for modest payments (often less than a beer at the local pub) offer.

That’s the same discussion typically on Comodo threads.
 
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Trident said:
Well, maybe you have the time on your hands to reinstall Windows on a weekly basis, but you do realise that there are people out there looking to fire up their devices, do some work (which they are getting paid for), or do their university assignments, connect online and so on.

So such people could appreciate the Defence in Depth concept that many third-party products, for modest payments (often less than a beer at the local pub) offer.

That’s the same discussion typically on Comodo threads.
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Reinstalling Windows not because of spare time, but because pre-execution detection has failed, leaving the job for post-execution behavioral protection to stop the threat, with unconfirmed potential changes to Windows.
That is why I am not fascinated with the fancy names of behavioral protection commercialized by several vendors; it will not save me reinstalling Windows, meanwhile, I have no precious data to be saved from exfiltration or encryption.
It is merely individualized according to everyone needs.
 
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Jonny Quest said:
@Parkinsond after Trident's post #13, you replied with 5 follow up posts breaking them down into 1 concept replies. Maybe 1 or 2 combined follow up posts would have been better, more succinct, no?

Time to go for my morning walk, Cheers :)
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Apologies; sometime I forget about multi-reply.
Have a nice walk; I wish I could do the same but temp now is 44 C.
 
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Kaut12345 said:
Several individuals have suggested that Microsoft Defender is sufficient. It appears that most are responding from the perspective of their personal device. How do people feel about Microsoft Defender in a corporate setting?
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Having Defender in a corporate setting is more than enough.
Enterprise don't just rely on AV/ Endpoint, they use Multi Layer Security Approach. Security at the perimeter before it reaches the target. This is mostly a combination of IDS,IPS,Firewall,Filters etc etc using mostly different security vendors and not relying on a single vendor. If one misses,there's another layer that will catch it.
 
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stonjean633 said:
Having Defender in a corporate setting is more than enough.
Enterprise don't just rely on AV/ Endpoint, they use Multi Layer Security Approach. Security at the perimeter before it reaches the target. This is mostly a combination of IDS,IPS,Firewall,Filters etc etc using mostly different security vendors and not relying on a single vendor. If one misses,there's another layer that will catch it.
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In addition, MD for business has more features than the home user version.
 
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bobyshka_aka_srcko said:
Yes, both work and they work perfectly... I think F secure has the advantage, although for example Defender catches it just as well! They have no disagreements, I haven't noticed any slowdowns in my PC. I've been using it for a long time.. And sandboxie too!
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So you recommend using two AVs with real-time protection enabled on both simultaneously?
 
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Kaut12345 said:
Several individuals have suggested that Windows Defender is sufficient. It appears that most are responding from the perspective of their personal device. How do people feel about Microsoft Defender in a corporate setting?
Click to expand...
There's an enterprise version of MS Defender, the university where my wife worked, has been using it for years.
 
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bobyshka_aka_srcko said:
Yes, both work and they work perfectly... I think F secure has the advantage, although for example Defender catches it just as well! They have no disagreements, I haven't noticed any slowdowns in my PC. I've been using it for a long time.. And sandboxie too!
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I'm still "vague" on using both. You left MSD as registered AV and run F-Secure unregistered, or visa versa, in which case MS Defender usually turns off.
 
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Acadia said:
Yes, I use Defender, BUT, I also run Malwarebytes and CyberLock at the same time. (And, of course, I'm always inside my favorite security program, Sandboxie, whenever I'm on the Net).
Acadia
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Long time ago when was using MB free, I was turning off MD realtime protection before performing on-demand scan by MB.
 
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