Do I need an anti-virus with Windows 11?

Sorry if this has been asked before, but I'm confused.

I've been using ESET anti-virus for more years than I care to remember, and have never had any reason to change.

However, since Windows 11 came out, I've noticed a lot of comments from people saying they aren't using an anti-virus at all now. Looking at what ESET offer compared to what Windows 11 does, I'm not actually sure it's offering me much extra.

Anyone able to comment? Thanks

Defender is a cumbersome AV, but it will do. Give it a try, you will either love it or hate it.

Defender is ok, but it is also one of the only EPPs you can disable with a GPO and it's somewhat trivial to bypass it.

There was a point in the past where you wanted more antivirus than one, but NOT running ! Now most people find that Windows Defender is good enough to not pay for others or the free ones do not do what they expect ! I recommend WD to all my clients around the world ! Malware Removal Specialist will use ESET to run a scan after the cleaning of a computer !

I personally use AVG Ultimate. But that is just because my internet security is precious to me. Personally if Windows Defender could be all that I use, then that's what I would do. It just does not cut it with some things I need in my life.

Nothing but Windows Defender for me.

MrYossu said:

Anyone able to comment?

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Totally depends upon your comfort level.

What serves one person well, may not be adequate for another.

Personally, I use the built-in Windows Security, and Malwarebytes Premium.


Of course, a good dose of common sense/sound judgement, while on the net, is your strongest defense.

All the best.

WXC said:

Of course, a good dose of common sense/sound judgement, while on the net, is your strongest defense.

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I hope I have a bit of that. Glad to say that in all the years of using ESET, I think I've only ever had about two viruses anywhere near my PC, and ESET knocked them on the head straight away. I tend to be fairly cautious about what I open/download, and keep away from the obviously dubious sites. Still, need caution in today's world.

MS Defender and the entire Windows Security suite are more than enough although the UI is not optimal. Nonetheless it's not difficult to tweak the protection in Defender via Powershell, GPO or a nice little app called ConfigureDefender . Add vulnerable programs to Exploit protection and enable Smart App Control.

WXC said:

Totally depends upon your comfort level.

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Or just use the default settings and heed Smartscreen warnings.

Totally agree with @NavyLCDR

WD all the way.

Windows Defender antivirus is just one part of an overall security suite.

I have not had a single virus for years, and I am not the most super safe person when it come to browsing.

To me, ransomware is the biggest issue. I make regular image backups to protect myself.

By the way version 40 of WD is best thing since Tiger Bread.

just to clarify something: Windows Defender has been rebranded as Windows Security. There's a new Microsoft Defender that is part of a Microsoft 365 subscription, it provides some extra features including a panel for monitoring all your computers in one place -and identity theft monitoring/protection in the US

Windows Defender seems to work quite well. I have a subscription to Kaspersky, and tried it on this new desktop, but it has a little drag on system performance compared to WD. I will download Webroot and test that out since I have sub for it too. It's nice to let a machine breath, so it can run as fast as it's meant to.

I used only Defender with Windows 10, 8.1 and 7. Had a system with HDD storage back then and only 8GB Ram - and since Defender had the lowest resource usage - was good enough for me. Present day... even tho i can agree that Defender is more capable (high enough detection rate to compete with some of the top contenders) - i find it to messy for a modern PC. Seriously, on a system with SSD - doesn't utilize even 30% of CPU while dealing with a treat - "yet, it breaks on a minor threat (goes into a continuous loop with windows notifier - breaking & restarting itself)". Same way it happens/breaks in this video:


To a large extent - beyond an improvement to finding threats - it's still a lot like that outdated version from Windows 7 with very limited info in terms of reports. That being said... it's actually Windows 11 where i chose to switch from Defender to a Free AV (one of the top contenders). Mainly because they're properly optimized & updated to modern standards. Thus, despite of having more functions than Defender - a modern AV does run smoother. Even the impact on resources is not what it used to be (like needing around +200 MB more ram). This days - it's actually Defender who can have an impact on the system (slowing it down - like in above video - while the competition runs smooth as butter).

Windows Security (Defender) for me!