Newsletter Archives

• Microsoft Defender could be your free antivirus fix

  Posted on October 21, 2024 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  Microsoft Defender — a free antivirus app that’s included in Windows — provides a highly rated service, but it’s rarely mentioned in comparative reviews of AV programs by security blogs. Why not?

  Ever since Windows 8 came out in 2012, a service originally called Windows Defender (WD) has been enabled by default in the OS. Prior to that, you might remember, was Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), a free download that Redmond first released in 2009. MSE is no longer with us, because WD — renamed Microsoft Defender in 2018 — has completely replaced it to block viruses, rootkits, Trojan horses, spyware, you name it.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.43.0, 2024-10-21).

  Public Defender Antivirus, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Security Essentials, Newsletters, Windows Defender

• The US has banned Kaspersky software — should you worry?

  Posted on October 14, 2024 at 02:45 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.42 • 2024-10-14

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  The popular Kaspersky antivirus program quietly disabled itself on computers in the US last month, making millions of users fear malware had struck them.

  The switcheroo was prompted by the US government banning Kaspersky Lab, a Russia-based company, from sending updates to American devices after September 29, 2024. Kaspersky had sent out an email — which many users didn’t read or felt was unclear — before its app shut down on September 19. Kaspersky then remotely installed on US computers a little-known antivirus alternative called UltraAV.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.42.0, 2024-10-14).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Public Defender Antivirus, Kaspersky, Microsoft Defender, Newsletters, Privacy, Security, UltraAV, Windows Defender

• DefenderUI — Windows Defender is great, when turned on fully

  Posted on July 29, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Deanna McElveen • Comment in the Forums

  FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT

  

  By Deanna McElveen

  Microsoft’s first attempt at antivirus software was Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), released in 2009 to Windows XP and later to Windows Vista and Windows 7.

  Then it was replaced by Windows Defender.

  MSE was not great. It updated just three times a day. Although its 2009 certification from AV-TEST was a big win for Microsoft, the certification was lost in 2012. That’s probably because it tagged Google Chrome as a virus in 2011, a memorable day at our computer shop. To make things even worse, in 2013 it received the lowest score possible for an antivirus product. It wasn’t until 2018 that MSE was able to win a top score, with an 80% detection rate from AV-TEST.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.31.0, 2024-07-29).

  Freeware Spotlight DefenderUI, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Security Essentials, Newsletters, User Interface, Windows Defender

• Watch out for fake ‘Windows Defender’ scare

  Posted on June 5, 2023 at 02:44 CDT by B. Livingston • Comment in the Forums

  PUBLIC DEFENDER

  

  By Brian Livingston

  My readers are reporting a new wave of fraudulent “security warnings” that freeze the screen, threaten to auto-delete users’ files, exhort victims to call what is supposedly a Microsoft phone number, and demand a fee for useless “virus removal.”

  Bogus messages from “Microsoft,” “Google,” and every other famous name in the tech industry are as old as the Internet, of course. But the frauds seem to be getting more intense and, unfortunately, more convincing all the time.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.23.0, 2023-06-05).

  Public Defender Antivirus, Newsletters, Scams, Tech Support Scams, Web Browsers, Windows Defender

• Microsoft Defender (nee Windows Defender) throwing error Events 7000, 7001

  Posted on August 7, 2020 at 14:38 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  This was just posted by @glnz:

  Windows Security [Microsoft Defender] has started throwing error messages in Event Viewer, in both 1909 and 2004, apparently in the latest Defender Platform 4.18.2007.8:

  Event 7001:  “The Windows Defender Antivirus Network Inspection Service service depends on the Windows Defender Antivirus Network Inspection System Driver service which failed to start because of the following error:   The supplied user buffer is not valid for the requested operation.”

  Event 7000:  “The Windows Defender Antivirus Network Inspection System Driver service failed to start due to the following error:   The supplied user buffer is not valid for the requested operation.”

  The only fix found so far is to disable Core Isolation and Virtualization Based Security, by going to:  Windows Security->Device Security->Core Isolation->toggle off memory integrity.  Then, on reboot, the above errors stop.

  This is discussed in two places:

  https://www.tenforums.com/antivirus-firewalls-system-security/161859-windows-defender-network-inspection-service-fails-start.html

  and

  https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-defender-antivirus-network-inspection/e3ed244b-6fd1-4a46-9828-1c0ba973dacc

  Are you seeing the same thing?  Thoughts?

  Windows Patches/Security Windows Defender

• Reports of Windows Security (nee Microsoft Security Essentials) crashing after installing this morning’s definition updates

  Posted on April 16, 2020 at 06:56 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  This is quite rare, in my experience, but it looks like we got a bad Windows Defender definition update this morning.

  Poster Mike Reynard on the Microsoft Answers site says:

  I’ve got an issue that’s come up today in Windows Security. On ‘virus and threat protection’ a notification shows: ‘The threat service has stopped. Restart it now.’ I have tried to do this but it does not work. Another message reads: ‘Unexpected error. Sorry, we ran into a problem. Please try again.’ This started happening after the following update: … Version: 1.313.1638.0… Released: 4/16/2020 4:53:09 AM

  

  I’m running the same virus definition (screenshot above), and not seeing any problems, but there’s a similar complaint lodged on the Microsoft Answers forum by KevinThomas1. @Sumit, here on AskWoody, posted about it a couple of hours ago.

  If you see a similar crash from Windows Security, could you let us know? Be sure to include your Antivirus Version value from the Windows Security About page. (Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > click “Open Windows Security” > at the lower left, Settings > About.)

  UPDATE: Lawrence Abrams has a full rundown on BleepingComputer, showing crashes with Antivirus version 1.313.1666.0.

  By the by: Microsoft’s branding of its antivirus software is so convoluted you need a scorecard. Several scorecards. As I understand it, Microsoft AntiSpyware became WinXP and Win7’s Microsoft Security Essentials. Then MSE became Windows Defender in Win8 (prior to that, “Windows Defender” was an antispyware program). After that, the product gained some features, shed a couple, and changed names to “Microsoft Defender” and “Windows Defender Antivirus” and “Windows Security” and “Son of Windows Microsoft Defender Security Antivirus.” Ok. I made the last one up.

  Right now, for those of us who don’t pay extra for Microsoft security, the politically correct names are “Windows Defender Security Center” for the suite of protection products and “Windows Defender Antivirus” for the antivirus component. But inside Windows, the product is known as “Windows Security” (see screenshot) and “Antivirus” is an engine in Windows Security.

  Got that?

  Antivirus Apps, Windows 10 1.313.1638.0, Windows Defender, Windows Security crash

• Windows Defender SNAFU: “Items skipped during scan”

  Posted on March 22, 2020 at 07:36 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Günter Born is chasing an odd bug (at least, it looks like a bug).

  In Win10, when you run a scan in Windows Defender, it may tell you

  

  But there’s no indication of which items were skipped, or how or why. And many people are saying they haven’t told Defender to skip anything.

  Looks like the bug’s been out for a couple of weeks. Anybody have any guesses?

  Windows Patches/Security Items skipped during scan, Windows Defender

• How to stop two Windows Defender annoyances

  Posted on September 23, 2019 at 01:10 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  LANGALIST

  By Fred Langa

  Win10’s built-in Windows Defender has matured into a top-ranked anti-malware tool. But several of its default behaviors can be downright irritating.

  Here’s how to tweak Windows Defender with a few buried settings and a Task Scheduler change.

  Plus: Does Adobe Flash Player really need as many updates as it claims?

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.34.0 (2019-09-23).

  LangaList Adobe Flash Player, Anti-malware, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Windows Defender

• How to block malware with Windows’ built-in security

  Posted on September 9, 2019 at 01:00 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  SECURITY

  By Lance Whitney

  For years, it seems as though Microsoft gave little thought to malware protection. But the latest tools in Win10 are robust and comprehensive.

  These days, malware comes in many forms: viruses, rootkits, ransomware, phishing, and others. More than ever, you need to ensure your personal computer is protected. Until recently, your best bet was to use a full-time, third-party anti-malware product. But if you’re running a current version of Windows 10, the tools built into the OS are now probably all you need.

  Read the full story in AskWoody Plus Newsletter 16.32.0 (2019-09-09).

  Antivirus Apps Anti-malware, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Windows 10, Windows Defender

• Windows Defender becomes “Microsoft Defender”

  Posted on July 19, 2019 at 12:04 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Effective with Win10 version 20H1 (gawd, I hope they don’t call it version 2003), Windows Defender will get the new name “Microsoft Defender.”

  I first read about that in a Tero Alhonen tweet, but Martin Brinkmann has a thorough explanation in this ghacks.net post.

  One question has not been answered yet: why is Microsoft making the change? A likely explanation, and our colleagues over at Deskmodder seem to agree, is that Microsoft wants to use the Microsoft name for services and tools that are available on multiple platforms, and the Windows name if a service or tool is only available on Windows.

  Windows 10 Microsoft Defender, Windows Defender

• Tracking down ominous noises in your PC

  Posted on May 27, 2019 at 04:15 CDT by Tracey Capen • Comment in the Forums

  By Fred Langa

  Strange sounds — especially abrasive or grinding noise — emanating from inside a PC are definitely cause for alarm! Here’s how to correct the two most common sources.

  Plus: What are the risks of relying on Win10’s built-in Windows Defender as your primary, front-line anti-malware tool?

  See the full story in the May 27, 2019, AskWoody Plus Newsletter (Issue 16.19.0)

  Hardware, Tech Help Antivirus, AskWoody Plus Newsletter, hard-drive replacement, loud fans, PC maintenance, Windows Defender

• Windows Defender is now working again

  Posted on July 4, 2018 at 06:35 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Remember the problem everyone was having with Windows Defender definitions? (This applies to Win7 and earlier machines still running the ancient antimalware program.)

  Vess Bontchev reports that suddenly, miraculously, they’re being delivered again.

  Windows Update is delivering Windows Defender definition updates on Windows 7 machines again (since yesterday).

  cc @woodyleonhard, @etguenni pic.twitter.com/99l2GldfNr

  — Vess (@VessOnSecurity) July 4, 2018

  Windows Patches/Security Windows Defender
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