Bitdefender And Windows Defender: Which One Is Better In 2023?
The antivirus market is highly competitive and extremely crowded. With so many different companies competing for attention, it can be tempting to just go with the first suggestion your friend makes. But what if that friend does not know what they are talking about? What if your friend does not know that windows have a built-in native antivirus? The antivirus we are talking about is none other than windows defender itself. Let’s take a look at it and compare it with one of the most popular antivirus programs i.e., Bitdefender.
Windows Defender
Windows Defender is a free antivirus program that protects your computer against viruses, spyware, and other malware. It’s part of Windows and was first released by Microsoft in 2006.
Windows Defender works with the safety features built into Windows to help protect your PC from viruses and other malware. Windows Defender also comes with several built-in tools designed to protect your privacy.
At the heart of a Windows machine, Windows Defender provides real-time protection against viruses and other malware. It works hand-in-hand with other Microsoft security integrations to provide you with optimum safety.
Bitdefender
Bitdefender is an antivirus software that protects your computer, mobile, and other devices against viruses, malware, spyware, and other cyber threats. It protects you from threats by giving real-time protection against all sorts of digital beings. It is one of the most popular antivirus programs out there, with various awards, such as AV-Test Award 2021 to its name.
It brings on board a broad number of features, such as a firewall that monitors all the incoming traffic. And it will only let the good things pass. Bitdefender provides a safe environment for you to browse the web. You no longer need to worry about any malicious content lurking on the pages you visit.
Real-time protection
Real-time protection is a feature that requires the antivirus to be able to detect new threats as soon as they enter. Most modern antivirus products have this feature enabled by default. If you want to see if your current antivirus has this feature enabled, go to Settings > Protection and look under the Real-Time Protection section.
Most modern antivirus products support real-time protection because it’s crucial for effective malware detection and removal. The only way to protect against zero-day attacks is to prevent them from running in the first place. Real-time protection works by checking files as they are being downloaded or opened. And stopping any actions that might be harmful before they happen.
Windows Defender and Bitdefender both have real-time protection enabled by default, and they’re both really good at what they do.
Virus Definitions
In case you are wondering how antivirus programs detect viruses and why don’t they flag normal programs? Well, antivirus programs have a large database of viruses. And they detect viruses based on this database. These databases are called virus definitions. Anything which presents on this database is flagged by antivirus as a virus.
Antivirus programs scan for viruses with different definitions based on their databases. For example, Windows Defender uses a Windows Defender definition, while Bitdefender uses its own definition. The definitions are updated regularly to keep up with new virus threats.
When it comes to definitions, both Windows defender and Bitdefender have extensive databases. However, windows defender lacks a bit behind. It is able to detect 96 percent of viruses, while Bitdefender detects 99 percent.
Additional Features
Windows Defender is not as great as you may think when it comes to additional features. It protects you from hosts of viruses however you won’t get anything extra with it. It is just an antivirus, that is it. However, Bitdefender brings on board an array of enticing features. And some of these include.
In-built VPN
Bitdefender provides you with a VPN service that protects your privacy online by encrypting all your internet traffic and hiding it from others. It also provides an added layer of protection against hackers, ID thieves, and other criminals who may be trying to steal your info.
File Shredder
File Shredder deletes files or folders so that no one else can ever recover them. And this comes inbuilt with Bitdefender; windows defender has nothing like that.
Parental Control
This feature allows parents to manage children’s Internet usage by blocking access to harmful websites, limiting time spent online, and keeping an eye on the websites visited.
Miscellaneous Features
Anti-theft, This feature helps you to protect your data against theft or loss by wiping it clean if it gets stolen. Password Manager saves your passwords in one place so that you don’t have to remember them all over again.
Support
Windows Defender is a great product. However, there is a problem.
The biggest problem with Windows Defender is that it does not have any kind of support, no matter what the issue might be. If you are having issues with Windows Defender or want to get help from their helpdesk, then you will have to wait for days and weeks before getting anything done. Of course, you can get Microsoft support, but everyone knows how Microsoft’s support is; let’s not talk about that. And the support won’t be specialized. They need to take care of the whole Operating system. You likely won’t get personal help.
Bitdefender, on the other hand, has excellent customer service, and they can solve your problems within minutes. And since their primary business depends on the antivirus program, unlike Microsoft, so they pay good attention to your personalized problems.
Conclusion
They both have a lot in common, along with the name. Both are strong antivirus programs and can defend your PC from a large number of malicious programs. Windows Defender, on the one hand, is minimal. It does what its name says i.e. Defends. It also comes preinstalled with the Windows operating system, and the biggest thing is it is “free.” If you are up for normal protection, nothing fancy for free, then go for Windows Defender. However, if you are up for a potent antivirus that can protect you against all. And if you want additional features alongside, then you might want to consider buying the latter.
Visit: central.bitdefender.com