Phishing, Trojan horses, viruses and other malware – the internet is not only an open space for in­for­ma­tion, but also a play­ground for shady char­ac­ters who are coming up with ever more so­phis­ti­cat­ed ways to crack passwords, steal credit card details and gain access to other people’s online bank accounts. Anyone who browses care­less­ly risks com­pro­mis­ing the security of their private data. Those who use the internet without antivirus programs leave them­selves vul­ner­a­ble to attacks by cyber criminals.

With Windows Defender, all users of the popular Microsoft operating system now have access to a free antivirus program that offers excellent features and reliable pro­tec­tion against viruses, malware, and similar threats. We explain how to turn on Windows Defender.

What is Windows Defender?

Windows Defender is Microsoft’s free pro­tec­tion solution against all virtual threats from malware, spyware, ran­somware to Trojan horses, viruses, and phishing tools. Defender comes pre-installed and activated on Windows 10. From the very first time you switch on your Windows PC, you can count on Defender’s extensive pro­tec­tion. Microsoft’s antivirus software is free to use.

By turning on Windows Defender, you can benefit from a range of practical features. Custom security settings can be con­fig­ured thanks to the per­son­al­iza­tion options, and children and youth safety options can also be set up as necessary. One of the most helpful features is Windows Defender’s real-time pro­tec­tion. Once activated, real-time pro­tec­tion runs a virus check on all files and ap­pli­ca­tions that are down­loaded, opened or started. Since the threat scenarios in the fast-paced online world change on a daily basis, it’s important to update Windows Defender on an ongoing basis. This happens au­to­mat­i­cal­ly with Windows Updates.

Ad­di­tion­al security solutions allow monitored folders to be set up. This enables you to set as many pro­tec­tion flags for folders as you wish. In the event of data loss due to virus infection or other malware, files in monitored folders are given special pro­tec­tion. Another element of the com­pre­hen­sive Windows Defender is the secure start function. In this mode, Defender prevents rootkits from au­to­mat­i­cal­ly running their harmful content on your system when you restart the computer.

How to turn on Windows Defender

Microsoft’s antivirus software is com­plete­ly free of charge and provides reliable pro­tec­tion from viruses.

Note

The following tutorial describes how to turn on Defender on Windows 10. The menu structure may differ somewhat in older versions of the operating system.

If you want to benefit from the free virus pro­tec­tion by Microsoft, you may need to activate Windows Defender. You can do this as follows:

Step 1: Click on the Windows logo in the task bar.

Image: Main menu of Windows
After clicking on the Windows logo, the main menu will open.

Step 2: Now open the settings by clicking on the cog icon.

Image: Button for opening Windows settings
The settings can be accessed via the cog icon.

Step 3: Look for the “Update & Security” section choosing from the options displayed. Click on this section.

Image: Settings screen in Windows
The available sections under settings include the option “Update & Security”.

Step 4: Select the option “Windows Security” in the tab on the left side. Now click on the gray button “Open Windows Security”.

Image: Windows Security menu
The center for “Windows Security” can be found in the settings.

Step 5: In the security center, click on “Virus & threat pro­tec­tion” on the left-hand side. Then select the option “Manage settings” under the heading “Virus & threat pro­tec­tion settings”.

Image: Virus and threat protection in Windows
You can find the “Manage settings” option in the security center for virus and threat pro­tec­tion.

Step 6: Now turn on Windows Defender by ac­ti­vat­ing the switch for “Real-time pro­tec­tion”, “Cloud-delivered pro­tec­tion”, “Automatic sample sub­mis­sion” and “Tamper Pro­tec­tion”. Your Windows pro­tec­tion is now set up.

Image: Settings for virus and threat protection in Windows
You can turn on Windows Defender by ac­ti­vat­ing all the switches in this section.
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