Microsoft Defender is described as 'Windows Security (known as Windows Defender Antivirus before Windows 10 May 2020 Update, Windows Defender before Windows 10 Creators Update, or Microsoft Defender Antivirus before Windows 11) is an anti-malware component of Microsoft Windows' and is a very popular Anti-Virus app in the security & privacy category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Microsoft Defender for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Mac, Android, Linux and iPhone apps. The best Microsoft Defender alternative is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, which is free. Other great apps like Microsoft Defender are ClamAV, Avast Free Antivirus, Bitdefender Antivirus and Spybot - Search & Destroy.
Microsoft Defender alternatives are mainly Anti-Virus Apps, but if you're looking for
Anti-Malware Apps or Firewalls you can filter on that. Other popular filters include
Free and
Linux. You can also filter by region, for example
EU-based alternatives if you prefer software developed in the European Union. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Microsoft Defender.
Its real-time scanner (if you've shelled out for the premium version) uses less system resources than that of Microsoft Defender.