With the massive amount of time hackers spend
searching for and creating security breaches in
Microsoft's Internet Explorer, one would expect
them to have included either protection from or
at least a removal program for spyware. Instead,
Microsoft has opted to offer their "Windows
Defender" as an add on you can download at no
extra charge provided you are a licensed Windows
customer. Once installed, you will find this is
one of Microsoft's better ideas.
Windows Defender is a rather new service from
Microsoft and overall they have done a
remarkable job with it. The program gets very
high reviewer ratings and has proven itself to
be very effective in keeping harmful spyware off
your system. Among the extra features in Windows
Defender is a scheduler for automatic scan times
and updates. The scans tend to be reasonably
fast and seem to be performing a thorough job of
deep scanning everything. Defender also offers
an excellent real time guard for your internet
experience. You can utilize an override option
button that allows you to run programs that have
been marked questionable by the program.
Designed to work on the Windows 2000, XP and
2003 operating systems as well, it was developed
as a way to add some needed security to these
older programs as well. As with any anti-spyware
program, the occasional scan from a second
anti-spyware program like "Spybot Search and
Destroy" will increase your chances of
maintaining an uninfected computer.
Being written with Windows in mind, this extra program offered to registered users allows you to access and correct security settings on your computer. It is by far the most intensive and effective measure they have taken in the area of spyware detection and removal and is well worth it to include Windows Defender to your security protocols.