The performance/quality of Microsoft Defender has been a mixed bag over recent tests. AV-TEST ranked the suite as one of the best antivirus options for home users in February, but later tests by AV-Comparatives found no improvement, while TechPowerUp (TPU) recently found Defender is hogging resources on Intel machines.
In the latest round is Microsoft Defender good or bad, the suite is getting another win to fit into the “good” category. Specifically, AV-TEST has found that Microsoft Defender is one of the best antivirus solutions at preventing ransomware attacks.
In its February 2022 (the latest) Advanced Threat Protection Test Against Ransomware, AV-TEST found Defender is seriously impressive for home users and in enterprises:
“The Advanced Threat Protection tests provide vendors and users with substantial findings as to how securely a product can protect against ransomware in real-life scenarios.
The manufacturers of the products for consumer users are: Avast, AVG, Bitdefender, F-Secure, G DATA, K7 Computing, Kaspersky, Microsoft, Microworld, NortonLifeLock, PC Matic and VIPRE Security.
[…]The solutions tested for business users are products from the following vendors: Acronis, Avast, Bitdefender (two versions), Comodo, F-Secure, G DATA, Kaspersky (two versions), Microsoft, Seqrite, Symantec, Trellix and VMware.
All the products have to successfully defend against ransomware in 10 real-life scenarios under Windows 10. The test involves threats such as files containing hidden malware in archives, PowerPoint files with scripts or HTML files with malicious content.”
Microsoft Defender consistently performed amongst the top solutions in both personal and business categories. The suite was able to detect ransomware attacks early, which is important for alerting customers and giving them time to act to precent threats.
In home use, Defender detected all but one infection, while in enterprise Defender was able to detect all 10 infection tests.
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