Windows Defender is a free antivirus and antispyware program from Microsoft designed to protect your PC from malicious software. It uses multiple methods to detect and remove viruses, spyware, rootkits, adware, Trojans, and other forms of malicious software from your system.
Windows Defender is part of Windows Security in Windows 8/8.1, Windows 10, and Windows Server 2012/2016/2019. It can help protect against malware, malicious files, and suspicious activities occurring on your system. It is turned on by default, so you should be protected right out of the box.
The first way Windows Defender detects and protects your computer is through real-time protection. This feature scans all incoming files, email attachments, and downloads as they arrive, looking for known threats and attempting to stop them before they can cause harm. Windows Defender’s real-time protection also monitors system activities and looks for suspicious behavior that could indicate a malicious program is running in the background or being installed without your knowledge.
The second way Windows Defender keeps your computer secure is by using the cloud-based detection and security engine. This is an online database of known threats and develop solutions to combat them. Whenever a suspicious file is detected, Windows Defender sends a copy to the cloud database for further analysis. If the file is found to be malicious, a signature is created for it and sent to all Windows Defender users to ensure their systems are protected from the same threat.
The third way Windows Defender protects your system is through scheduled scans. By default, Windows Defender performs a full scan of your system once a week. During a scan, all files and programs on your system are checked against a database of known threats. If any suspicious activity is found or any potential malicious code is detected, Windows Defender will alert you and take steps to disable and remove the threat.
Finally, Windows Defender includes a Network Inspection System (NIS). NIS monitors network traffic going in and out of the system to detect and block malicious activities such as attempts to spread viruses via email or malicious websites. NIS also helps protect against unauthorized access to your system by monitoring connections and authentication attempts.
Windows Defender is an effective way to keep your system secure. It uses a combination of real-time protection, cloud-based detection, scheduled scans, and network inspection to detect and remove threats before they cause harm to your system. With Windows Defender on your side, you can rest assured that your system is safe and secure.