Sorry I can’t answer your question as I use Norton, seems ok to me and comes consistently recommended in independent reviews. What do you mean by controlling?

Tony

Just look out for the fake fake reports of infection pretending to load Norton or Mcafee for you. Look at the URLs they are trying to guide you to.

I haven’t used anything other than the MS software for years now without any problems whatsoever.

Viruses are very much still a thing, unless the platform is Apple, or Linux.   Android is in the middle; though based on Linux it’s had some incidents.  The perception that there are no viruses may be because Defender is part of the operating system and it activates automatically if nothing else is protecting Windows.

ISPs are rather better at blocking malware than they used to be, so much crud never gets to us, especially compared with the past.

These days Microsoft Defender is competent whilst some previously famous names have degraded badly, either technically, or with unfriendly sales methods,  rubbish add-ons, false positives, refusing to uninstall, or all of the above!  Unfortunately it’s hard to find truly independent reviews because many security websites are biased promotions.  One giveaway they’re biased is a long list of paid products with something nice to say about all of them and no mention of Defender or ClamWin!

I only use MS-Defender, but never use Windows for money or personal data.  One reason is that Microsoft upgrades often undo my security lockdowns, creating loopholes, and it’s a pain having to put them back.  Another is that Microsoft systems are enthusiastically targetted by criminals.

The need for anti-malware products is reduced by maintaining a high-level of internet hygiene. Avoid dodgy websites and freebie downloads!  And take strong precautions if you enjoy walking on the wild side!

Running two anti-virus products at the same time wallops performance and stops legitimate stuff, so don’t do that.

Dave

If anyone needs a good uninstaller … I can recommend Revo

https://www.revouninstaller.com/

.. even the free version is very effective.

MichaelG.

Another very satisfied user of Microsoft Defender, I found the others intrusive and a non-valid expense, cannot recall first usage date, but a considerably long time ago.

Also another useful tool is Reg Organizer, not really expensive but remarkably good, used it for years too, it keeps your operating system very clean…

Useful thread!

I’d not know of Microsoft ‘Defender’ and had been using Bullguard for years until its take over (for destruction?) by Norton.

Norton is a pain by forever running scans (at least I take it that it is) and telling me my computer is full of clutter it will remove if I simply cross its greasy digital palm with plastic.

It is enormous, too, at nearly 600Mb. None of the Microsoft “applications” are anywhere near that size. What on Earth is in it?

Hi, yes Paul is correct, so if you want to keep Defender, you’ll have to get Window’s 11, and if your machine won’t upgrade to W11, you’ll have to get a new one. and it’s quite likely that Norton will stop supporting anything less than W11 in the not too distant future as well.

Regards Nick.

Hi Andrew, you can check on the Microsoft website if yours is compatible, and a free upgrade to W11 is very often available. Sadly mine my I5 one is not, but it was upgraded from W8.1 to W10 years ago, but it is old and slowish now anyway, though do have a W11 I5, which I can still get updates on.

Regards Nick.

On 9 June 2025 at 09:06 Andrew Crow Said:

On 8 June 2025 at 22:44 Nigel Graham 2 Said:

…

… I am still using Window’s 10 and will have to upgrade soon. My pc uses an I5 processor so not sure if it will work with W11.

My Windows 10 Settings/Update pane has a button for this, but I see Microsoft recommend downloading and running their pc health checker.  (The download link is in the “How to open PC Health Check” section.)

Maybe it’s time for a new pc anyway, nothing like built-in/automatic obsolescence of perfectly good equipment.

Andy

 

I was considerably annoyed by Microsoft when I bought a new Windows 11 laptop a few months ago.   The latest version of the domestic W11 installer makes it difficult to avoid opening a Microsoft Account in the cloud, which should be a choice.   Setting the account up gives Microsoft private information they don’t need, then they track what you are doing, gives them a shop-window, and it’s another thing to go wrong. Which it did!

This chap explains on Youtube.

Microsoft are progressively making it more difficult for domestic customers to avoid setting up a cloud account.  Unethical in my opinion – folk are steered into something controversial they don’t need because they don’t understand it.  And if they object Microsoft are deliberately making it difficult to circumvent.  For commercial reasons, not technical.   Caveat emptor!

Back to obsolescence and anti-virus, when Windows 10 support ends, it’s possible to buy Extended security updates for $30 pa, but Microsoft are remarkably unclear about what customers get, probably deliberately.  Might include Defender updates or not, dunno!

May not be necessary to upgrade to Windows 11:

• As Linux, Apple, and Android don’t have these problems, bite the bullet and dump Microsoft!   Reasons to stay loyal: stick with the devil you know because life is short and/or old dogs struggle to learn new tricks!  Or a vital application, like 3D-CAD, only runs on Windows.
• Stay on W10 and manage vulnerabilities by breaking the attack vectors.  Vulnerabilities don’t matter if malware can’t get into the computer.  Don’t browse the web or use email, and maybe lock down the network as well.  (This is what I do with W10 and W11: browsing is limited rather than banned outright, email is disabled, systems are privacy hardened, and downloads are carefully managed.  Edge is banned.  Security and privacy sensitive computing is done with Linux, not Windows, because Windows is both more vulnerable and harder to keep secure.)
• Ideally don’t connect to the internet at all, and only import/export via checked physical media, such as memory sticks.
• Set up a bastion. (This what corporates do, too much work for me unfortunately.)

Lots more options for those interested in computing!  For example, put Linux on a PC and use Virtualbox or similar to install Windows on a virtual machine.  The VM protects the host operating system, contains the damage if Windows is infected, and makes it easier to remove the mess and start again if the worst happens.   Linux and Windows applications are available at the same time.   Same trick is often used the other way round with Windows running the virtual machine with Linux inside.  Also possible for Linux to host another Linux or for Windows to host another version of Windows.  The benefits are similar.

Dave