How can you protect your devices from evil malware? If you’re running Windows 10 or 11, Microsoft Defender Antivirus comes free with the operating system and provides basic services. These services include strong anti-malware protection, a host-based firewall, anti-phishing protection, and parental controls. While there are stronger commercial security suites available for purchase, if your budget is limited, Microsoft Defender Antivirus provides an essential measure of protection.
In the post, “Show Me the Money,” I highlighted the need to understand the business model for products and services, and that anti-malware software required a significant ongoing investment to keep ahead of evolving threats. So why would I recommend Microsoft Defender Antivirus given that it’s free? And why would Microsoft continue to invest in it when it generates no direct revenue?
The short and slightly cynical answer is that running Windows without anti-malware software is like walking around with a “Kick Me” sign taped to your back. The Windows operating system is insecure. And if your customers are constantly getting hacked, this creates brand and market risk, so Microsoft wisely invests in Defender Antivirus.
For macOS and Android, I can’t make a similar argument and don’t recommend free anti-malware products.
I recommend two strong commercial security suites: Norton 360 Standard, and Bitdefender Total Security. Both meet the criteria in the prior post, and have products for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. Their pricing is similar, around $99 per year. They normally offer a significant discount for the first year. Yes, this is a little pricey, but they offer excellent protection. I regret to inform you that both companies will aggressively try to upsell you on other products. This seems to be a feature of this market segment.
The link to Norton 360 Standard: https://us.norton.com/products/norton-360-standard
The link to Bitdefender Total Security: https://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/total-security.html
A brief word on anti-malware protection for iOS. iOS is inherently more secure than other operating systems. Each app runs in its own “sandbox” and has no ability to tamper with operating systems files, or the files and data of other apps. If you purchase a commercial security suite which comes with an app for iOS, I would install it. Just know that it provides limited value. This is not to suggest that no action is required to improve the security configuration of your iOS devices. I will address this is a later post.
Next, we’ll see how Alice and Bob met their anti-malware needs.
Information provided in this post is subject to the disclaimer in the first post of this series.