Last Updated on May 20, 2024 by sunjava22
Does Microsoft Windows 10 Need 3rd Party Antivirus? – A Guide
Have you just gotten your new Windows 10 installed? Do you want to know if it needs a 3rd party antivirus software or if an already built-in antivirus software i.e. Windows Defender is enough? Well, if you want to know, then keep on reading!
Antivirus software is very important because a Windows Defender in Windows 10 can’t provide high-security protection as compared to 3rd party antivirus software because there are very harmful viruses that won’t go away even though your Windows 10 has a Windows Defender set in place.
For such predicaments, antivirus software is needed.
What is antivirus software?
Any software that protects your computer systems from spyware, rootkits, phishing attacks, spam attacks, Trojans, and viruses, as well as many different cybersecurity threats, is called antivirus software. Antivirus software identifies all kinds of viruses in your computer system. After the antivirus software detects the virus on your system, it tries to remove it completely. Not only does the antivirus software remove the virus entirely, but it also makes sure no other future virus can get into your computer system again.
Now, what is a computer virus?
A computer virus is a program that unwantedly and unknowingly comes into your computer system. It can duplicate itself and spread throughout your system if not taken care of. A virus can act maliciously by decreasing the speed of the computer system by affecting its files and data ultimately reducing its performance of it entirely.
What is the Importance of antivirus software?
Antivirus software plays a huge role in defending your computer from unwanted programs and viruses. Antivirus is basically the doors and windows of a house, they keep the bad things away, like dust, wild animals, harmful insects, and intruders. In the same way, if a computer does not have antivirus software set in place then it can end up giving way to its own “dust, wild animals, harmful insects, and intruders” in the form of viruses, Trojans, rootkits, spyware, etc.
Therefore, an antivirus will keep the doors of your computer closed from all kinds of harmful viruses. So, it is all up to you to keep your computer system safe.
How can a virus affect your computer system?
A virus can affect your computer system the moment it enters it. Since they replicate upon entering, they can spread fast, and this is what they can do to your system if no secure antivirus software is set in place:
- They can delete your important system files and damage them permanently too.
- These viruses can seriously halt your computer’s speed and slow it down.
- You will notice your computer will crash often.
- Your valuable data on your hard disk can be gone due to reformatting.
You won’t be able to browse fluidly as before and do any other task on other applications on your computer system.
Advantages of having a 3rd party antivirus software
Having a 3rd party antivirus software can give you numerous benefits—some of the most vital ones are the following which just a Windows Defender won’t be able to give you:
- It will protect you and your shared networks from strong viruses
With third-party antivirus software, you can make sure the virus won’t be able to breathe for even a second inside your computer system. This antivirus software works by quarantining the incoming virus from the network or any other source to a selected place away from your valuable files and folders and rectifying it before it harms your system. The viruses are handled way before they even reach your computer system. A virus can even affect your friends and family easily because of sharing different files that may have viruses in them, but there is no need to worry about such a thing with an antivirus software set in place.
- It will protect your valuable data from hackers
Hackers are on their computers all the time, and they use various kinds of viruses or malware to hack into a computer system. Without the knowledge of the computer user, they can easily install their malware through different files like emails and get a hold of the victim’s personal data such as credit card information, personal photographs, and personal files, etc.
They can easily take away the victim’s data, they can steal anything, delete anything, but you don’t have to go through this. Windows Defender may not be able to help you in this matter much, but 3rd party antivirus software can definitely help you by offering you full protection.
- Keep an eye out for your files and folders
A 3rd party antivirus software can keep an eye out for you at all times. You won’t have to worry about downloading anything shady, as the antivirus software will easily detect it and delete it, and your data will stay safe on your system. Your files will always be scanned as long as you are using the computer. Because of viruses, you can easily lose your entire data, but antivirus software will stop that from ever happening even if your colleagues use their portable devices on your computer such as a USB stick that may be full of viruses, antivirus software will delete it after scanning and detecting it.
- Limits access to harmful websites
Antivirus software can easily detect if a website has any harmful viruses on it. Going to a website that is not secure can be a reason for spyware, ransomware, and hackers to get in which can be quite harmful but antivirus software will limit these kinds of malicious websites—giving them no chance to even enter your Windows.
- Will block ads and spam
The easiest way to get viruses on your system is by clicking on pop-up ads as well as visiting spam websites—the moment you click, a virus can sneak its way into your Windows and start attacking your files, but a 3rd party antivirus software can make sure this never happens by blocking these spam websites and pop-up ads.
Final and last thoughts
Windows 10 has a lot of features in place, even a Windows Defender to protect itself from unwanted viruses, but that won’t help against strong viruses. Hence, that is why you should choose a 3rd party antivirus software as it can give you 10% to 40% more protection from viruses as compared to Windows Defender.
You need antivirus software to scan your files at all times because you never know where a virus might come from. You can set automatic scanning schedules and real-time protection as well—keeping you forever safe from hackers. Antivirus software doesn’t use much memory and is easy on the PC, although Windows Defender doesn’t use much memory on Windows 10, 3rd party antivirus software still wins in this department too.
Therefore, look for different 3rd party antivirus software, and pick the one that suits you. But all in all, you need antivirus software to keep your data safe and protected at all times.
