Solved Is Windows Defender Working?

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longbelly

New Member
I use the Vista Firewall plus AVG Free 8.0 together with Firefox 3.5 Browser with Adblock. I also carry out a periodic manual scan using AdAware Anniversary Edition free.

Vista comes with Windows Defender, but in the 2 years I have had Vista, whenever I have scanned with it, it always reports 'no unwanted or harmful software detected - your computer is running normally!' Very reassuring or what? Does this mean everything else is doing a really good job or could it mean that Windows Defender is really not much use?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire T180
    CPU
    AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+, 2611MHz
    Memory
    2048 MB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 7300 SE/7200 GS
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Iiyama Prolite H481S 19.1"
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 1024
    Hard Drives
    ATAPI DVD W DH16W1P ATA Device 288 GB in 2 partitions
longbelly said:
I use the Vista Firewall plus AVG Free 8.0 together with Firefox 3.5 Browser with Adblock. I also carry out a periodic manual scan using AdAware Anniversary Edition free.

Vista comes with Windows Defender, but in the 2 years I have had Vista, whenever I have scanned with it, it always reports 'no unwanted or harmful software detected - your computer is running normally!' Very reassuring or what? Does this mean everything else is doing a really good job or could it mean that Windows Defender is really not much use?
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Hi longbelly,
I am always very happy when any of my Security Progs report "no unwanted or harmful software detected etc" ;)
Different people will have different opinions on the use of Defender, AVG & so on.
Suffice to say it is part of my security set up & will remain so.
Just in case you are not familiar with the Defender info, [which reads well] refer link below.
IMHO Defender has a lot of good points. It provides a layer of extra security for your computer. It also works well with AVG.
Let us know what you eventually decide to do about Defender.
Windows Defender: Home Page
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    LAPTOP. HP Pavilion dv7-1005TX .
    CPU
    IntelCore [email protected] x2
    Memory
    4.00 GB installed, max capacity 8 GB.
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT & 512MB DDR2 dedicated graphics mem.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.0" diagonal WXGA + High definition brightview widescreen infinity display.
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    SPECS. Drive 1. 298.09 GB Fujitzu MHZ2320BH G2 ATA Device Drive 2. [ All as above.] CONFIG. C:\287.65 GB, D:\298.09 GB, E:\10.44 GB.
    Case
    Laptop / notebook.
    Cooling
    Stock.
    Mouse
    Synaptics PS/2 Port touch pad.
    Keyboard
    IBM enhanced
    Internet Speed
    ADSL [ Too slow.]
    Other Info
    Webcam.
Thank you for your comment, which I largely agree with. My only puzzle is that to my knowledge - unless Defender is keeping things secret! - it has never even caught an innocuous tracking cookie, even when I knew they were present on my PC and were subsequently picked up by AVG or AdAware.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire T180
    CPU
    AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5000+, 2611MHz
    Memory
    2048 MB
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 7300 SE/7200 GS
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Iiyama Prolite H481S 19.1"
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 1024
    Hard Drives
    ATAPI DVD W DH16W1P ATA Device 288 GB in 2 partitions
I must agree with you longbelly, from all the years i have used vista, defender has not once reported a single nasty regardless of what my other stuff has or hasnt found, it may very well be a usless waist of space and time but i suppose i might surprise us all one day, again tho i have never heard of anyone's defender ever finding anything
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Me :P
    CPU
    Core 2 Quad Q6600
    Motherboard
    Abit IN9 32X MAX
    Memory
    8 GB OCZ PC2-6400 nVIDIA SLI-Ready Edition (4X2GB)
    Graphics card(s)
    AMP! GeForce GTX 260² 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 (650MHz/2100MHz
    Sound Card
    Realtek 7.1 CH HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Fujitsu siemens TFT + 32" LG HD LCD TV
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 + 1360x768
    Hard Drives
    150GB Raptor HDD 500GB Caviar HDD
    PSU
    Thermaltake W0133RB 1200W PSU
    Case
    Antec 900
    Cooling
    Stock + Antec 900 case fans
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Revolution
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 (full layout)
If I applied the same logic viz 'Defender never finds anything - is it doing it's job?' to my other Security programs, I would have doubts about their usefulness too. Apart from one false positive I have not had any suspicious incident reported ever.
I trust myself absolutely as a first layer of defence - & my Security progs including Defender as a second layer.
Nothing is going to defend you against stupidity.;)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    LAPTOP. HP Pavilion dv7-1005TX .
    CPU
    IntelCore [email protected] x2
    Memory
    4.00 GB installed, max capacity 8 GB.
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT & 512MB DDR2 dedicated graphics mem.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.0" diagonal WXGA + High definition brightview widescreen infinity display.
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900
    Hard Drives
    SPECS. Drive 1. 298.09 GB Fujitzu MHZ2320BH G2 ATA Device Drive 2. [ All as above.] CONFIG. C:\287.65 GB, D:\298.09 GB, E:\10.44 GB.
    Case
    Laptop / notebook.
    Cooling
    Stock.
    Mouse
    Synaptics PS/2 Port touch pad.
    Keyboard
    IBM enhanced
    Internet Speed
    ADSL [ Too slow.]
    Other Info
    Webcam.
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