Windows Defender

[Gig-O-Ram]

Does anyone have any thoughts on this utility? I read about it in a comp magazine - Microsoft's foray into security/spyware protection. I thought about getting it (even though I have some other utilities for that), but I read that I may have to re-validate Windows after installing it, which seems like a waste of time. That said, I wasn't sure if it was worth it to get the thing.

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Gig-O-Ram

Does anyone have any thoughts on this utility? I read about it in a comp magazine - Microsoft's foray into security/spyware protection. I thought about getting it (even though I have some other utilities for that), but I read that I may have to re-validate Windows after installing it, which seems like a waste of time. That said, I wasn't sure if it was worth it to get the thing.

Hmm revalidate is a different thing from re-activate, you know. It's just a click on a button and that's it.
I install it with every Windows installation I do at work.

[screwballl]

I have had to remove it from all my computer here at home. It has crashed 3 of them now. It starts with a harmless "Windows could not start the Windows Defender service. Please check to ensure the location is correct and the application is installed properly".

Then it starts causing windows to locks up momentarily.... then a few application blue screens... this is on 3 different computers and drove me nuts for a month. Once I removed WinDef it all went away immediately.

[yurimxpxman]

Originally Posted by Gig-O-Ram

Does anyone have any thoughts on this utility? I read about it in a comp magazine - Microsoft's foray into security/spyware protection. I thought about getting it (even though I have some other utilities for that), but I read that I may have to re-validate Windows after installing it, which seems like a waste of time. That said, I wasn't sure if it was worth it to get the thing.

It's the best application in its class. You should definitely get it. No Windows user is complete without it

[Quakindude]

I had it running on both of my desktops and have it running on my laptop now. I personally have had few problems with it. Right before you download it, it asks you to validate your Windows install. As long as you aren't using a pirated copy of your OS, there won't be any problems.

[Gig-O-Ram]

Originally Posted by screwballl

I have had to remove it from all my computer here at home. It has crashed 3 of them now. It starts with a harmless "Windows could not start the Windows Defender service. Please check to ensure the location is correct and the application is installed properly".

Then it starts causing windows to locks up momentarily.... then a few application blue screens... this is on 3 different computers and drove me nuts for a month. Once I removed WinDef it all went away immediately.

Originally Posted by yurimxpxman

It's the best application in its class. You should definitely get it. No Windows user is complete without it.

Um...alrighty...opposing viewpoints on the subject... Now I AM confused

Originally Posted by Quakindude

I had it running on both of my desktops and have it running on my laptop now. I personally have had few problems with it. Right before you download it, it asks you to validate your Windows install. As long as you aren't using a pirated copy of your OS, there won't be any problems.

No, this time around I am totally legal, validated, activated...all that stuff. But as polobunny has pointed out, I may be confusing validation and activation. I guess I did think they were kind of the same thing.

[stinger608]

I downloaded Defender today, did the update, and the scan, without a hiccup!!!!

Have it set to do an automatic scan at 2:00am

Will see how it turns out.

[Gig-O-Ram]

I downloaded it, and so far I've not seen any problems. It did it's updates and initial scan, found nothing, and we go on with life. I see that the validation was no big deal as polobunny pointed out.

Let's see...I've got WD now, all the AOLSS stuff, nVidia ActiveArmor Firewall, AdAwareSE, SpyBot...I'm all protected!

[Carl Martin]

I've installed Defender on about a dozen computers now and have never had any problems with it. I do have a few criticisms, however. The earlier, beta versions were closer to the original Giant version and much more versatile, especially the "Tools". MS has removed most of these functions. Second, it really doesn't work well on a laptop. If the machine has been idle for a couple of days and you boot it up, Defender will run on it's own. (Can leave one wondering why your machine has slowed down to a snail's pace.) Third, I can't recall that I've ever seen it discover a single piece of adware.

Still, it's free and I continue to use it.

[Gig-O-Ram]

Originally Posted by Carl Martin

I've installed Defender on about a dozen computers now and have never had any problems with it. I do have a few criticisms, however. The earlier, beta versions were closer to the original Giant version and much more versatile, especially the "Tools". MS has removed most of these functions. Second, it really doesn't work well on a laptop. If the machine has been idle for a couple of days and you boot it up, Defender will run on it's own. (Can leave one wondering why your machine has slowed down to a snail's pace.) Third, I can't recall that I've ever seen it discover a single piece of adware.

Still, it's free and I continue to use it.

With the exception of the "Options" settings, I have noticed the "Tools" area seems a bit limited, and has some things in it that I wonder why they're in there. Also, I haven't quite figured out what exactly I'm supposed to do if it does find anything unsavory. According to "Help", you need to run some other spy/adware removal tool. I get messages periodically telling me that something (a driver or other file) changed the system, but but I'm still not sure what I'm supposed to do about it...