Microsoft retreats: tells customers to get third-party AV software

When Microsoft released its Security Essentials software the company claimed it was all the end-user really needed and, for a time, that was mostly right. But the software suite has not entirely been kept up, and is not compatible with Windows 8, though in that OS, it was still present in the background under the name Windows Defender.

Now the Redmond company has officially given up it seems, as in a recent interview it referred to Defender as “baseline software” and claimed that it would “always be on the bottom” of comparison tests — this after failing multiple ones.

Now Microsoft claims to be using Defender, which still comes as part of the OS in Windows 8.1, as more of a research tool. “The company is just sharing its virus tracking findings with the security industry so they can develop better anti-virus programs”.

This is not to say that WD will not continue to be updated every patch Tuesday — it will be. However, the software maker is now recommending users supplement the program with a third-part app.

Several good ones are available, both free and paid, but for the average user,  it’s back to square one, as many do not know that they need such a thing, forget to update it even if they have it or just don’t know enough to stay out of trouble. For the tech-savvy, this is likely not a big deal, as many never used AV before anyway.