BleepingComputer.com: Windows Defender

I use Norton AV, Zone Alarm Pro firewall and PC Tools Spyware Doctor. Do I really need Windows Defender? WD seems to hog resources and I'm no sure if it's worth it. Thanks for you advice ...

Moderator Edit: Moved topic to the more appropriate forum. ~ Animal

Probably not since you have SpywareDoctor but WD uses no where near the resources as SD.

If your not familiar with everything WD does, here are some links to read:
"Windows Defender Overview"
"How does Windows Defender work?"
"How Windows Defender identifies spyware"
"How to use Windows Defender Software Explorer"
"Manage startup programs in Vista using Windows Defender’s Software Explorer"

Thanks, I'll check these links ... jcurtis

Your welcome.

Personally I prefer Spybot S&D over WD. It's not that WD doesn't do a good job but you don't need more than one or 2 tools for malware if you use your computer sensibly. I run AVG Free, Spybot, and if I need another one I'll Ad-Aware.

Does the trick for me.

You have enough good protection Windows defender can however detect harmful changes. I have the same protection you have until I had to uninstall SD because of a corrupted license. It's a good anti-spyware though

It definitely shouldn't hurt to run Windows Defender but I don't think it's good enough to only rely on it without anything else.

TheNerd, on Apr 1 2008, 09:14 AM, said:

I use CCleaner with Defender and Aviria free. I just am very careful with Email. At this moment I am in Ibex w/no installed anything. 30 gig partition in Vista 32 bit.

yes spybot-sd is really great and even malwarebytes anti-malware does a great job, windows defender is equal to them so i dont use it, am i correct?

No single product is 100% foolproof and can detect and remove all threats at any given time. The security community is in a constant state of change as new infections appear. Each vendor has its own definition of what constitutes malware and scanning your computer using different criteria will yield different results. The fact that each program has its own definition files means that some malware may be picked up by one that could be missed by another. Thus, a multi-layered defense using several anti-spyware products (including an effective firewall) to supplement your anti-virus combined with common sense and safe surfing habits provides the most complete protection.

mvps.org is no longer recommending Spybot S&D or Ad-Aware due to poor testing results. See here - (scroll down and read under Freeware Antispyware Products).

Further, most people don't understand Spybot's TeaTimer or how to use it and that feature can cause more problems than it's worth. TeaTimer monitors changes to certain critical keys in Windows registry but does not indicate if the change is normal or a modification made by a malware infection. The user must have an understanding of the registry and how TeaTimer works in order to make informed decisions to allow or deny the detected changes. Additionally, TeaTimer may conflict with other security tools which do a much better job of protecting your computer and even prevent disinfection of malware by those tools.

WD does use up a lot of juice but the benefits of using WD do outweigh the bad.

I personally find it a must to have on your PC, however there are other products just as good.

SuperAntiSpyware,Malwarebytes & AdAware will also get the job done and are free.

I still recommend AdAware but I agree with quietman7 Spybot S&D is starting to look very undesirable with too many false positives ,lack of a more thorough scanner and incompatibility issues with other AV,AS,AM software. Also I find TeaTimer very annoying.

In case you didn't know PC Tools Spyware Doctor & Zone Alarm Pro firewall use up way more juice than WD.
This is really your problem not WD.

Zone Alarm is also extremely difficult to uninstall if you should change your mind on it.I think there are guides here to
show you how to uninstall it.

Keep Norton & WD . Uninstall or at least disable PC Tools Spyware Doctor & Zone Alarm Pro firewall if you want more juice.


PC Tools Spyware Doctor is still very good to have but only use it when you need it.

If you need another firewall , you can try Comodo firewall (free) or you may have to buy another AV product with a firewall.
Also keep in mind you should only have 1 firewall.

The top 5 anti-spyware softwares are as follows
1) Malwarebytes Anti-Malware
2) Super Anti-Spyware
3) Spybot-Search & Destroy
4) Spyware Blaster
5) Windows Defender

The top 5 anti-virus softwares are as follows
1) Avast
2) Avira
3) Nortan/Symantec
4) NOD 32
5) AVG

The top 5 Firrewalls
1) Router with software firewall
2) Windows firewall
3) Zone alarm
4) Comondo
5) Online Armour

Comparative testing results will vary depending on who is doing the testing, what they are testing for, what versions of anti-virus software is being tested, etc. There are no universally predefined set of standards/criteria for testing and each test will yield different results. Thus, you need to look for detailed information about how the tests were conducted, the procedures used, and data results. Read Anti-virus Testing Websites: An overview of testing sites

Kaspersky Internet Security/Anti-virus has excellent detection ratings when it comes to detection. I would definately recommend this.

I had been thinking about disabling Windows Defender for a long time as it literally never seemed to have any detections. After my normal demand scans a while back with Avira, Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware which were all clean I ran a full scan with Windows Defender and it popped up with several detections.

As quietman7 has indicated "No single product is 100% foolproof". I will continue to run Windows Defender.