As Microsoft Defender is available for all, do you need another antivirus app?

It has been a long wait, but as they say, better late than never. Microsoft’s Defender security app is finally available to all users and not just businesses. Microsoft Defender’s wide compatibility should further help with appeal since it’ll be available for not just Windows PCs but also for Android phones, the Apple iPhone and iPad as well as Mac computing devices. But does this mean you can consider it as the all-in-one alternative to other antivirus apps for computers and smartphones?Available within Microsoft Defender will be antivirus protection, malware protection that’ll also scan for malicious apps already installed and also scan new apps you download, web protection that’ll check for harmful links shared on messages ,and regular scanning of the device for any malicious pieces of software. A lot of what’s available will depend on the platforms and operating systems.“To help keep your data private and devices secure, people often turn to multiple security products, with scattered security monitoring and device management. This fragmentation makes keeping up with increasing online threats even harder,” said Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President, Security, Compliance, Identity, and Management at Microsoft, in a statement. Defender will also let you view and keep tabs on any existing antivirus apps you may be using. This will include protection from the likes of Norton and McAfee, which have multi-platform apps too including for Android phones and the iPhone.This sort of complication also stems from the varied device preferences in most households, which would likely include a mix of Windows or Mac computing devices as well as the iPad, the iPhone, and a variety of Android phones to be picked from. That said, Defender itself isn’t exactly free from complications – there is no standalone antivirus protection on iOS and iPadOS as of now.The way the Microsoft Defender subscription works allows for a single dashboard monitoring of multiple devices. You’ll need either a Microsoft 365 Personal or a Microsoft 365 Family subscription. That’ll also include access to the Office suite (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint software), OneDrive cloud storage, Teams and Family Safety tools. Microsoft Defender isn’t a free security tool but gets added to the bundle of an existing subscription you may already be paying for.The former costs ₹489 per month and can be used by a single Microsoft account, but on as many as 5 devices at the same time signed in. The latter plan costs ₹619 per month and can be shared with as many as 6 family members who can further access all the subscriptions on as many as 5 devices each. The dashboard becomes relevant particularly in this case, allowing for a single screen monitoring of all devices Microsoft Defender would be installed on.The question still is: does Microsoft Defender replace any existing antivirus app you may have, to the extent that you can go ahead and not renew that subscription in the future? There are two ways of looking at this. If you don’t have an active antivirus and anti-malware protection on your phone, tablet, or computer already, Microsoft Defender really should be the simplest choice for you particularly if you’ve got the Microsoft 365 subscription for work or online classroom apps.Secondly, if you are already paying for an antivirus app but also have the Microsoft 365 subscription, it makes sense to add this overlay – for the recommendations and the dashboard, more than anything else. But if you still haven’t subscribed to a Microsoft 365 plan already, you might want to skip this, particularly if you are using an iPhone or iPad (where the functionality is a notch lesser).Microsoft Defender will add more functionality with future updates. It’s currently missing a layer of protection for online frauds, for instance. “As we look forward, we will continue to bring more protections together under a single dashboard, including features like identity theft protection and secure online connection,” said Jakkal. Perhaps then, there will be greater value to pay for this solution.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vishal Mathur is Technology Editor for Hindustan Times. When not making sense of technology, he often searches for an elusive analog space in a digital world.
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