There are plenty of reasons to criticize Microsoft but I don't think this is one of them. First, Windows Defender is quite good as far as antivirus software goes. If you ever had to do desktop support in the days when Norton, McAfee, and AVG reigned supreme, then you know what I'm talking about.
Second, one of the biggest challenges for an OS vendor is backwards compatibility. Especially since Windows dominates the enterprise space and has for the last 25+ years. Big corporations can get really cranky about their legacy applications from 1998 that are still basically holding the entire org together. While it's short sighted to not be proactive about keeping your technology current, it's also a reality that many businesses simply aren't proactive.
Windows definitely has its flaws but it has come a long way in terms of both security and reliability over the years.
If Linux was the world’s most popular operating system, it too would have tons of vulnerabilities.
There’s two sides to that statement; one being that increased attention leads to more findings. The second being that in order to become popular, it would need a large set of simplified convenience features aimed for mass consumers; and those are often what lead to vulnerabilities. (Same story pretty much happened with Android)
Meanwhile, giving myself root access to my own computer is a bitch. I need to just switch to Linux
You know what, if it keeps me from getting weird phone calls from my gramps once a month it's good enough.
Precisely because Windows has been the main target for hackers and malware, for being by far the most used OS, it has caused Windows today to be the best protected OS, with a Defender that is currently one of the best AVs on the market and a effective Sandbox system that prevents any changes without user intervention in the root system. Hopefully in terms of privacy it will be just as good, at least by default it is not like that.
Windows Defender bad?
It’s Not Bad, but against the malware that always is a step ahead it stands little of a chance as it can’t solve the “legacy” problems that keep windows from becoming more secure
I disagree. Malware is quite difficult to develop and MUCH more difficult to maintain because of AVs and getting around defender ain't a joke. It can be done but it's neither trivial nor fun.
Defender plus common sense is virtually unbeatable.
Which one are you missing?
I understand that antivirus software is necessary on Windows, but I'll never understand the existence of Windows Defender. If Microsoft knows enough to prevent a virus that exploits something in windows, why are they putting their effort into an antivirus program, and not fixing ththe problem in Windows? If someone has a good explanation for this, I'd love to hear it.
Because... They are? Whenever there is a problem in Windows itself, they release an update to fix that ASAP.
Defender doesn't just work against viruses that exploit weaknesses in Windows. It also works against viruses in programs the user installs. The purpose of Defender is the same as any other antivirus software, to detect known virus signatures in downloaded software, as well as attempt to detect programs that display virus-like behaviour. It also attempts to ensure that users only install software from sources they trust. For these purposes, Windows Defender is at least as good as most other antivirus software on the market.
I would also generally recommend using an antivirus program on a Linux/OSX machine, unless you really know the risk you're accepting by not using one. Even then, I recommend occasionally running ClamAV or a Malwarebytes scan. There is a misconception of "there are no viruses for non-Windows platforms", but the thing is that a lot of viruses these days are cross-platform compatible, and all it takes is one program or dependency becoming an infection vector. Keep yourselves safe, people!
That makes a lot of sense, thanks!
I never got where the misconception of "*nix doesn't have malware" came from. Maybe from the 2k era where "malware" was anything that was slowing down your PC (I also don't get why a malware would slow down your PC, unless it's a ransomware)?
I remember the c99.php shell from way back which is an amazing example of cross-platform (PHP can run anywhere) "virus" and it was considered a golden standard (2010 era?)
Tell me you know nothing about software without telling me.
I know nothing about software. That's... Why I asked.
wow, you should become a teacher or something
ok so let’s start with the exploits. Exploit is a bug (problem) in a piece of software that when… umm… “abused” (well the word is just exploited) it allows you to do stuff that you shouldn’t. An exploit could be live from your browser to the program you use to zip files. The top 2 reasons to use an exploit is to either get initial foothold on a machine (e.g. an exploit in a browser that would allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code when you visit their page or an exploit in winrar that when you open a zip file executes code)
From the attackers perspective, you got in, nice. Mind you you got in through means that have nothing to do with windows (and that’s true most times, especially on desktops). but now? what?
You hacked into the machine for a reason! You might wanna grab the browser cookies (giving you direct access to the accounts that the victim is logged into), grab some files, screenshots, passwords
That’s where the AV kicks in. After the initial exploit the malware behaves like a normal program. But not completely. Assuming that the AV hasn’t seen the same exact malware before (which would an insta kick ban) it’s going to see a random process accessing files in chrome’s directory. HUH. ISNT THAT SOMETHING. quarantined.
Wanna start listening to each and every keystroke? quarantined
Meanwhile the way that the exe ended up in your system was not through an installer, you don’t provide an uninstaller and it was downloaded from www.xXxveryNicEsiteyou.got. HUUUUUUUH
the whole process is a bit simplified of course, but it captures the general idea
So why does linux not have an AV? FUCK IF I KNOW! It would be very, VERY useful. Writing malware that bypasses AV is an art of its own. Can be done for sure, but it’s an extra step and it’s not fun
background: used to get paid to do shit like that (legally, pentest) and it’s a fun hobby (writing code around it, not hacking people)
I‘m sorry you got downvoted for asking a question because you don‘t know. Good old reddit behavior…
