Nonetheless, it’s a free program that already comes pre-installed in most Windows machines and it does a good job of keeping you protected from most threats. However, if you’re looking for more features, such as online privacy tools, a VPN, or encrypted cloud backup, you may want to use a third-party program instead as these are not currently available in Windows Security.

To learn more, see our video on How to use Windows Security. Plus, you avoid the nuisance of a third-party suite’s regular upgrade notifications. Windows Security also has ransomware protection, which many free options don’t.

If Windows is already working, why add anything else? If its built-in security suite, Windows Security, performs on par with the best of the free AV options-as we discovered in our roundup of the best free antivirus-why add the extra baggage of a third-party program? Sure other AV programs might offer marginally better protection, but not enough to outweigh the convenience of rolling with Microsoft’s home-grown offering.

Norton total security 2021