Battle Microsoft Defender(DefenderUI) better than Bitdefender Free?

[marksti64]

I am currently using Bitdefender free and it is somewhat limited. Bitdefender free also doesn't appear on av-test or av-comparatives, only the internet security version. Is it possible that Microsoft defender would be better for me? it has some features that Bitdefender free does not. Of course I would still use periodic scanning tools.

 

[Kongo]

I am currently using Bitdefender free and it is somewhat limited. Bitdefender free also doesn't appear on av-test or av-comparatives, only the internet security version. Is it possible that Microsoft defender would be better for me? it has some features that Bitdefender free does not. Of course I would still use periodic scanning tools.

I think you can't go wrong with either one of them. But what's for sure is that I personally had way more problems using Bitdefender.

 

[Back3]

You can check this review on PCMag:

The Best Free Antivirus Software for 2025

Microsoft Defender isn't bad, but it's still insufficient to fully protect your PC. You don't have to pay extra, though. We’ve tested and ranked the best free antivirus apps.

www.pcmag.com

Rubenking is not very fond of Microsoft Defender…you cannot sell it!

I would say that a hardened MD is excellent, and there are good threads about that in this forum. Check this thread about Configure Defender...

ConfigureDefender utility for Windows 10

The website still says: Microsoft Defender is available in English and only in the US. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-defender-for-individuals

malwaretips.com

 

[Shadowra]

In terms of protection, Bitdefender and Microsoft Defender are very similar. I have a preference for Microsoft Defender because their Machine Learning AI is very powerful.

I think that it will be based on the features. Microsoft Defender has a lot more features than Bitdefender.
Bitdefender has already caused several slowdowns and other problems for several members including me....

 

[Guilhermesene]

In terms of protection, Bitdefender and Microsoft Defender are very similar.

@Shadowra Is this serious?

I am not asking ironically. It's just that I have ALWAYS used 3rd party AV's, so I have no experience with Microsoft Defender.

I am even in doubt between Kaspersky in default deny mode or SysHardener+OSarmor. Which is better? Can you give me an opinion? Thanks my friend

 

[Shadowra]

@Shadowra Is this serious?

I am not asking ironically. It's just that I have ALWAYS used 3rd party AV's, so I have no experience with Microsoft Defender.

I am even in doubt between Kaspersky in default deny mode or SysHardener+OSarmor. Which is better? Can you give me an opinion? Thanks my friend

Hi

I had done a personal test some time ago, and indeed MD and Bitdefender are very similar
Bitdefender is going to be more into behavioral blocking while MD will be its database.
I also tried to trick MD by modifying some data from a malware (which is the Pandora Ransomware, I got a Behavior:Win32/Ransomware detection!).

For Kaspersky's Deny mode, it's like Avast's Hardened mode everything that is not signed will be blocked.
A Microsoft Defender configured with DefenderUI or the tool of @Andy Ful , with SysHardener or NVT will be enough (or Voodooshield)

 

[likeastar20]

Windows Defender + DefenderUI is better than Bitdefender Free. However, if it was the paid version, I would've picked that

 

[monkeylove]

Use benchmarks like Novabench to see which one is lighter. In my case, it's Bitdefender, but Avast free is even lighter.

 

[marksti64]

Use benchmarks like Novabench to see which one is lighter. In my case, it's Bitdefender, but Avast free is even lighter.

I had some problems with Avast. I had the premium version, and every time steam started updating a game, the CPU usage went nuts on Avast. I added steam to the exclusions, the download location, steam servers and everything. Even support connected to my PC and they could do anything about it. It was checking downloaded files by steam even with an exclusion added to the software.