Since the introduction of anti-virus software on the Windows operating system by default, there is no shortage of questions and confusion about this among Windows users.
One such common question is McAfee Antivirus better than Windows Defender? The answer to this question can be given in one word, but it will not remove the confusion of the users.
So in this article, I will discuss in detail Windows Defender and McAfee Antivirus. As a result, I hope you can understand for yourself which one you should use. So if you also have confusion or questions about this, stay with me till the end of this article.
What is the use of antivirus software?
There doesn’t seem to be anything new to say about the use of anti-virus software. Because almost all users are aware of antivirus software. And its importance will increase further in the future
Antivirus is primarily used to ensure the security of offline and online devices. Because of the increase in the use of the Internet, the number of hackers has also increased a lot.
Their hacking system has changed a lot and is constantly trying to hack into new processes. Antivirus software works to thwart hacker processes. An antivirus constantly tries to protect the system from hackers.
This is basically the job of antivirus software. But protection may be different for different viruses.
Windows Defender
Windows Defender is a free antivirus by default with the Windows operating system. This software provides round-the-clock security to protect the computer from spyware, malware, ransomware, and various security threats.
At the same time, real-time protection, a monitoring system that works against spyware, prevents them from entering the computer system without the user’s permission. However, since it is a free antivirus, it works perfectly in the case of basic threats.
Because tests have shown phishing detection, Ransomware Protection is giving a poor performance in the case of more advanced threads.
Since Windows is the default operating system, we can call Defender a part of the security setting.
McAfee Antivirus
McAfee antivirus software is one of the most widely used antivirus software. It has support versions for multiple platforms. For that reason, it can work to protect multiple devices. All packages have this basic malware, malicious files, VPN, password security features.
McAfee antivirus programs are also able to provide better protection against advanced threats. The reason is that when scanning the McAfee system completely, it uses a lot of system resources.
Is able to play a major role in all operating systems to protect the device from all types of virus threats.
McAfee Antivirus Vs Microsoft Defender
There are several things to consider when talking about McAfee Antivirus vs. Microsoft Defender. The first thing that comes to mind is that Microsoft Defender is a completely free antivirus, but McAfee Antivirus is a paid anti-virus. There are four types of paid versions of McAfee, which I mentioned once above.
However, to understand the real difference between these two antiviruses, you need to understand the differences between their features. We can divide their skills into several parts. These include Price, Scanning, Threat, Platform, Interface, Support.
So let’s take a look at the features of McAfee Antivirus and Microsoft Defender.
- Price :
| Microsoft Defender | McAfee Antivirus |
| Completely Free | Paid |
- Scanning :
| Microsoft Defender | McAfee Antivirus |
| Manual | yes |
| Auto Virus Scan | yes |
| Scheduled Scan | yes |
| Real-time Scanning | yes |
| USB Scanning | yes |
| Registry Startup Scanning | yes |
- Threat Types:
| Microsoft Defender | McAfee Antivirus | |
| Trojan | Yes | Yes |
| Rootkit | Yes | Yes |
| Spyware | Yes | Yes |
| Worm | Yes | Yes |
| Phishing | Yes | Yes |
| Adware Prevention | No | No |
| Spam | No | Yes |
| No | Yes | |
| Chat/IM | No | No |
- Platforms:
| Microsoft Defender | McAfee Antivirus | |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| Mac | No | Yes |
| Android | No | Yes |
| iOS | No | Yes |
- User Interface :
| Microsoft Defender | McAfee Antivirus |
| User Friendly | User Friendly |
- Extra Features
| Microsoft Defender | McAfee Antivirus | |
| Gamer Mode | Yes | Yes |
| VPN Service | No | Yes |
| Devices Tune-up | No | Yes |
| Safe Browser | No | Yes |
| Live help | No | No |
| Ticket Support | Yes | Yes |
| Phone Support | No | Yes |
| Email Support | No | Yes |
In the table above we have seen the features and functionality of Microsoft Defender and McAfee Antivirus. It is easy to understand that the McAfee Antivirus software is much more powerful than Windows Defender. I hope you agree with me and understand the issues.
Now, look at the pros and cons of these two anti-viruses.
Microsoft Defender Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Spyware, viruses, malware, with free real-time protection.
- Able to protect automatically.
- Offline scanning provides perfect protection.
- It can also detect and remove malicious files while rebooting the PC.
Cons:
- Protects only one Windows 10 device.
- Only performs well in real-time to protect against malicious files or threats.
- Gives very poor performance in case of email spam or phishing.
- Gives very poor performance in online security.
- Since there is no VPN and password management system, online privacy fails.
McAfee Antivirus Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Supports Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android all operating systems.
- With VPN it is able to protect online privacy.
- At the same time, it is able to provide security both online and offline.
- Refunds are guaranteed if you fail to protect the virus.
Cons:
- All are paid packages.
- VPN and anonymity or theft issues are only included with Auto-Renew.
- An extra subscription is required for complete identity protection.
Our Verdict:
There was a lot of talk about McAfee Antivirus and Windows Defender. Whose main goal was whether McAfee was better than Windows Defender. The main goal was to clear up whether McAfee was better than Windows Defender.
However, I think it is quite clear from the above discussion that McAfee Antivirus is much better and more powerful than Windows Defender. So if you want to keep your computer safe offline and online, I would suggest using McAfee Antivirus.
Windows Defender is designed to perform fairly well on the basics of viruses. And because it’s not constantly updated, that’s why it also fails to provide protection against new viruses.
However, I hope you have read all of the above well and realized that McAfee Antivirus is able to give better performance than Windows Defender.
