Windows 10 and antivirus

mta999

I am currently running Windows 10 on my PC and it is not upgradable to Windows 11 as it is too old

Assuming for the moment I don't want to use the various bypasses to force upgrade to Windows 11, can anybody let me know:

1. even though Microsoft has said Windows 10 will not be updated after October do you know if the antivirus will be updated ie will Windows Defender continue to receive definition updates?

2. if not, can anyone kindly recommend an antivirus to replace it (preferably free)

Thank you

Vitor

Windows Defender on Windows 10 will get virus signature update until Oct 2028. ALso - 

More options for Windows 10 Extended Security Updates after Oct 2025 — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Frozen_up_north

The Which? test of free AV software rates Bitdefender as the best. Most of the others nag the user over buying the product.
The Which? people claim that the built-in Windows security software is inferior to the 3rd party packages, something many will disagree with.

mta999

Thanks for both replies looks like keeping Windows Defender is the option until 2028 and after that bitdefender

mluton

For Security updates, you can enrol in ESU: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/windows-10-consumer-extended-security-updates-esu-program-33e17de9-36b3-43bb-874d-6c53d2e4bf42

mta999

Thank you but I believe that is a chargeable service ?

debitcardmayhem

You can get W10 updates for a year free if you set up Windows Backup … google/bing/ddg or your favourite search engine

WOTSWOT

mta999 said:

Thanks for both replies looks like keeping Windows Defender is the option until 2028 and after that bitdefender

I have free bitdefender on my W10 and it is very powerful. I agree it is much better than defender and would not work without it.

The main problem I had was that it slowed my PC down every time it updated, which my PC always set as a priority and I could not change that setting, so I changed the bitdef updates setting just to every time I restarted. You don't really need the very latest updates all the time. My W10 is a rather ancient lenovo ideapad with only I3 processor and 4G Ram, so you may be much better.

I have now given up on W10 as it is so slow and bought a new Acer with I5 processor and 16G Ram.
it's very fast and the only problem is the fan soon spins to full blast if I load a lot of tasks.
I have changed the settings to best economy from best performance and that has helped a lot.

Annemos

WOTSWOT said:

mta999 said:

Thanks for both replies looks like keeping Windows Defender is the option until 2028 and after that bitdefender

I have now given up on W10 as it is so slow and bought a new Acer with I5 processor and 16G Ram.
it's very fast and the only problem is the fan soon spins to full blast if I load a lot of tasks.
I have changed the settings to best economy from best performance and that has helped a lot.

I have also just purchased a new HP Laptop with 16G Ram. To get Windows 11. 

I have been moving stuff across.

Now that I have switched to the new one, I cannot stand that old one anymore, which was 4G. 

I knew the old one was getting slower and slower, but I had not quite grasped just how bad it was. 

This one switches on its functions instantly after Switch-on. The old one took forever. 

Sicard

Avast free is one of the best av's.