Windows Defender For Xp

[Jen Ondrey]

Microsoft Defender Antivirus (formerly Windows Defender) is an antivirus software component of Microsoft Windows. It was first released as a downloadable free anti-spyware program for Windows XP and was shipped with Windows Vista and Windows 7. It has evolved into a full antivirus program, replacing Microsoft Security Essentials in Windows 8 or later versions.[3]

In March 2019, Microsoft announced Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac for business customers to protect their Mac[4] devices from attacks on a corporate network, and a year later, to expand protection for mobile devices, it announced Microsoft Defender ATP for Android[5] and iOS[6] devices, which incorporates Microsoft SmartScreen, a firewall, and malware scanning. The mobile version of Microsoft Defender also includes a feature to block access to corporate data if it detects a malicious app is installed.

Microsoft Defender Antivirus provides several key features to protect endpoints from computer virus. In Windows 10, Windows Defender settings are controlled in the Windows Defender Security Center. Windows 10 Anniversary Update includes several improvements, including a new popup that announces the results of a scan.[16]

In the Windows Defender options, the user can configure real-time protection options. Windows 10's Anniversary Update introduced Limited Periodic Scanning, which optionally allows Windows Defender to scan a system periodically if another antivirus app is installed.[16] It also introduced Block at First Sight, which uses machine learning to predict whether a file is malicious.[17]

Integration with Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge enables files to be scanned as they are downloaded to detect malicious software inadvertently downloaded. As of April 2018, Microsoft Defender is also available for Google Chrome via an extension[18] and works in conjunction with Google Safe Browsing, but as of late 2022, this extension is now deprecated.[19]

A feature released in early 2018, Windows Defender Application Guard is a feature exclusive to Microsoft Edge that allows users to sandbox their current browsing session from the system. This prevents a malicious website or malware from affecting the system and the browser. Application Guard is a feature only available on Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise. In May 2019, Microsoft announced Application Guard for Google Chrome and Firefox. The extension, once installed, will open the current tabs web page in Microsoft Edge with Application Guard enabled. In April 2024, Microsoft announced that Microsoft Defender Application Guard will be deprecated for Edge for Business. The Chrome and Firefox extensions will not be migrating to Manifest V3 and will be deprecated after May 2024.[20]

Controlled Folder Access is a feature introduced with Windows 10 Fall Creators Update to protect a user's important files from the growing threat of ransomware. This feature was released about a year later after the Petya family of ransomware first appeared. The feature will notify the user every time a program tries to access these folders and will be blocked unless given access via the user. Windows will warn the user with a User Account Control popup as a final warning if they opt to "Allow" a program to read Controlled Folders.

Windows Defender was initially based on GIANT AntiSpyware, formerly developed by GIANT Company Software, Inc.[21] The company's acquisition was announced by Microsoft on December 16, 2004.[22][23] While the original GIANT AntiSpyware officially supported older Windows versions, support for the Windows 9x line of operating systems was later dropped by Microsoft.

The first beta release of Microsoft AntiSpyware from January 6, 2005, was a repackaged version of GIANT AntiSpyware.[22] There were more builds released in 2005, with the last Beta 1 refresh released on November 21, 2005.

At the 2005 RSA Security conference, Bill Gates, the Chief Software Architect and co-founder of Microsoft, announced that Microsoft AntiSpyware would be made available free-of-charge to users with validly licensed Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems to secure their systems against the increasing malware threat.[24]

On November 4, 2005, it was announced that Microsoft AntiSpyware was renamed to Windows Defender.[25][26] Windows Defender (Beta 2) was released on February 13, 2006. It featured the program's new name and a redesigned user interface. The core engine was rewritten in C++, unlike the original GIANT-developed AntiSpyware, which was written in Visual Basic.[27] This improved the application's performance. Also, since Beta 2, the program works as a Windows service, unlike earlier releases, which enables the application to protect the system even when a user is not logged on. Beta 2 also requires Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) validation. However, Windows Defender (Beta 2) did not contain some of the tools found in Microsoft AntiSpyware (Beta 1). Microsoft removed the System Inoculation, Secure Shredder and System Explorer tools found in MSAS (Beta 1) as well as the Tracks Eraser tool, which allowed users to easily delete many different types of temporary files related to Internet Explorer 6, including HTTP cookies, web cache, and Windows Media Player playback history.[22] German and Japanese versions of Windows Defender (Beta 2) were later released by Microsoft.[28][29]

On October 23, 2006, Microsoft released the final version of Windows Defender.[30] It supports Windows XP and Windows Server 2003; however, unlike the betas, it doesn't run on Windows 2000.[31] Some of the key differences from the beta version are improved detection, redesigned user interface and delivery of definition updates via Automatic Updates.[32]

Windows Defender includes has the ability to remove installed ActiveX software.[33] WindowsDefender featured an integrated support for Microsoft SpyNet that allows users to report to Microsoft what they consider to be spyware,[34] and what applications and device drivers they allow to be installed on their systems.

The Advanced Tools section allows users to discover potential vulnerabilities with a series of Software Explorers. They provide views of startup programs, currently running software, network connected applications, and Winsock providers (Winsock LSPs).

In each Explorer, every element is rated as either "Known", "Unknown" or "Potentially Unwanted". The first and last categories carry a link to learn more about the particular item, and the second category invites users to submit the program to Microsoft SpyNet for analysis by community members.[36][37] The Software Explorer feature has been removed from Windows Defender in Windows 7.[38]

Windows Defender was released with Windows Vista and Windows 7, serving as their built-in anti-spyware component.[39] In Windows Vista and Windows 7, Windows Defender was superseded by Microsoft Security Essentials, an antivirus product from Microsoft which provided protection against a wider range of malware. Upon installation, Microsoft Security Essentials disabled and replaced Windows Defender.[40][41]

In Windows 8, Microsoft upgraded Windows Defender into an antivirus program very similar to Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows 7,[3] and it also uses the same anti-malware engine and virus definitions from MSE. Microsoft Security Essentials itself does not run on Windows versions beyond 7.[40] In Windows 8 or later, Microsoft Defender Antivirus is on by default. It switches itself off upon installation of a third-party anti-virus package.[42][43]

Until Windows 10 version 1703, Windows Defender had a dedicated GUI similar to Microsoft Security Essentials.[3] Additionally, Windows Security and Maintenance tracked the status of Windows Defender. With the first release of Windows 10, Microsoft removed the "Settings" dialog box from Windows Defender's GUI in favor of a dedicated page in the Settings app. Then, in the 1703 update, Microsoft tried to merge both Windows Defender's GUI and Windows Security and Maintenance into a unified UWP app called Windows Defender Security Center (WDSC).[45] Users could still access original GUI by alternative methods,[46][47] until the 1803 update, which saw the UI removed altogether.[a] The Security and Maintenance app, however, was never removed.

Microsoft continued to decouple the management front-end from the core antivirus. In addition, to WDSC and PowerShell, it is possible to manage the antivirus via Windows Admin Center, Group Policy, WMI, Microsoft Endpoint Manager, and Microsoft Intune's "tenant attach" feature.[54]

In Windows 10 version 1703, Microsoft renamed Windows Defender, calling it Windows Defender Antivirus.[55] Windows Firewall and Microsoft SmartScreen also saw their names changed to Windows Defender Firewall and Windows Defender SmartScreen.[56] Microsoft added other components under the "Windows Defender" brand name, including Windows Defender Application Guard (WDAG),[56] Window Defender Exploit Guard (WDEG),[56] Windows Defender Application Control,[57] and Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (Defender ATP).[57]

A year later, Microsoft began dissolving the Windows Defender brand in favor a of the cloud-oriented "Microsoft Defender" brand. The company removed WDSC from the brand in the 1809 update, renaming it Windows Security Center (WSC).[58] The 2004 update renamed Windows Defender Antivirus, calling it Microsoft Defender Antivirus, as Microsoft extended Defender ATP's capabilities beyond the Windows OS.[59][60] As part of this branding change and shift in focus, they have also changed branding of Windows Defender Firewall and Windows Defender Smartscreen into "Microsoft Defender Firewall" and "Microsoft Defender Smartscreen" Respectively,[61][62] although the former branding name is also often still ambiguously used despite this branding change.[63][64]

Windows Defender Offline (formerly known as Standalone System Sweeper)[65] is a stand-alone anti-malware program that runs from bootable removable media (e.g. CD or USB flash drive) designed to scan infected systems while the Windows operating system is offline.[66] Since Windows 10 Anniversary Update in 2016, the option to boot into Windows Defender Offline can be initiated from within Windows itself, negating the need for the separate boot disk.

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