Windows Defender has improved its performance and overall score in recent antivirus tests conducted by security vendors worldwide, and Microsoft is using this opportunity to provide a number of interesting facts in favor of product adoption.
In a post focusing on how powerful Windows Defender is in the enterprise sector, Brad Anderson, vice president of Microsoft's Enterprise Client & Mobility team, says that at least 18% of Windows 7 and Windows 8 devices are running the company's antivirus solution.
While the percentages may not seem particularly significant at first glance, it's worth noting that Windows 7 doesn't come with this security solution pre-installed, so users are opting for Windows Defender over a third-party antivirus. Additionally, more than 50 percent of Windows 10 devices reportedly use Windows Defender, although in this case the percentage is more reasonable given that the antivirus comes pre-installed.
“Our antivirus is a fantastic solution! Looking at the test results above, we really don’t need to say much. With five-month top scores, beating some of our biggest competitors, you can be confident that our solution can protect you from the most advanced threats,” explains Anderson.
Discussing the capabilities offered by antivirus at the enterprise level, Anderson emphasizes that Windows Defender is easier to use and also significantly cheaper compared to third-party solutions, as the antivirus capabilities and features are integrated directly into the operating system.
Pointing to Windows Defender's performance in the latest virus detection tests, the Microsoft expert explains that adopting this security solution eliminates any compatibility issues when releasing a major operating system update.
“You don’t have to wait for a third-party vendor to certify and support their software. Instead, you have full support and compatibility from day one. This means new versions of Windows and all the latest security technologies can be deployed faster. This gives you the ability to gain power, stay up-to-date, and be more secure,” Anderson adds.
Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that Windows Defender is always number one. The recent antivirus awards from AV-TEST showed that Bitdefender, Kaspersky, and Symantec were the top antiviruses worldwide for 2017.
