windows defender no longer free?

[bearsboi]

my pc had to reboot after losing power do to a storm and i had previously manually disabled windows update on startup so it never should have happened in the first place, but upon turning my pc back on windows forced an update which apparently now makes windows defender a paid service and not usable unless you pay a subscription fee. did anyone else get this?

if microsoft continues down this road this is especially concerning because most games on steam only work on windows, so this OS monopoly they have, paired with predatory practices like this might make me quit gaming entirely

[Nx Machina]

Windows Users Need Not Worry

In the end, there’s no actual change to Microsoft Defender Antivirus on Windows.

The new Microsoft Defender for Individuals strictly protects non-Windows systems. It offers antivirus protection on macOS and Android (but not iOS) and web protection on Android and iOS (but not macOS). Web protection refers to what Windows users know as SmartScreen Filter, which I’ve zinged in the past for protecting only Microsoft browsers.

[Crashed]

Escrito originalmente por Nx Machina:

Windows Users Need Not Worry

In the end, there’s no actual change to Microsoft Defender Antivirus on Windows.

The new Microsoft Defender for Individuals strictly protects non-Windows systems. It offers antivirus protection on macOS and Android (but not iOS) and web protection on Android and iOS (but not macOS). Web protection refers to what Windows users know as SmartScreen Filter, which I’ve zinged in the past for protecting only Microsoft browsers.

Running Canary branch (which could become Windows 12), still have free Windows Defender.

[Crazy Tiger]

Escrito originalmente por bearsboi:

Escrito originalmente por Crazy Tiger:

Defender for 365 is paid, the basic Defender in Win10/11 is free. There are different versions of Defender. If you look at the info for the 365 version, then yes you'll find that you need the 365 sub for it.

The article also talks about the basic Defender being free. It's in the "Windows Users Need Not Worry" part of the article.

i saw that part in the article but now windows security on my pc doesnt seem to work now and is giving errors about memory integrity being turned off and unable to perform any scans. the update seems to have broken it, then when i tried to launch defender initially is when i got the screen that said i needed to subscribe, it mentioned nothing about a cross platform cloud thing, it just said you must be signed into microsoft 365 to continue with defender

Not sure what to tell you. We've had that screen on the Win 11 laptops of my wife and daughter and in both cases Defender is simply free to use.

[RiO]

Escrito originalmente por bearsboi:

Escrito originalmente por Crazy Tiger:

Defender for 365 is paid, the basic Defender in Win10/11 is free. There are different versions of Defender. If you look at the info for the 365 version, then yes you'll find that you need the 365 sub for it.

The article also talks about the basic Defender being free. It's in the "Windows Users Need Not Worry" part of the article.

i saw that part in the article but now windows security on my pc doesnt seem to work now and is giving errors about memory integrity being turned off and unable to perform any scans. the update seems to have broken it, then when i tried to launch defender initially is when i got the screen that said i needed to subscribe, it mentioned nothing about a cross platform cloud thing, it just said you must be signed into microsoft 365 to continue with defender

If you have Windows configured to install updates for not just Windows but also other Microsoft products (which is the default - and the only way you can get proper automated updates for some of their stuff) and you have a Microsoft 365 Personal plan attached to your signed in user account, then Microsoft force-installs the Microsoft Defender for Individuals SKU together with the 365 app updates.

This is basically the commercial enterprise version of Defender with some of the more enterprise-aimed features disabled and a new UI sauce on top. Defender for Individuals requires that you sign-in with a (personal) MS account.

[TRethehedgehog]

By the time they make Defender paid, Linux will be suitable for gaming
No need to quit gaming if Windows sucks for you. Just switch to Linux

[NakiBest]

Escrito originalmente por TRethehedgehog:

By the time they make Defender paid, Linux will be suitable for gaming
No need to quit gaming if Windows sucks for you. Just switch to Linux

See you on Linux come 2050! :)

[🦊Λℚ𝓤ΛƑΛᗯҜᔕ🦊]

Just go load windows system restore -> restore your computer to a date before the update -> grab winaerotweaker and disable updates again. Follow up with Shutup 10 and check some extra boxes to make sure windows updates are completely disabled -> go on with life.

Search for both Win Aero Tweaker and Shutup10 in google. They're free programs.

[RiO]

Escrito originalmente por 🦊Λℚ𝓤ΛƑΛᗯҜᔕ🦊:

Just go load windows system restore -> restore your computer to a date before the update -> grab winaerotweaker and disable updates again. Follow up with Shutup 10 and check some extra boxes to make sure windows updates are completely disabled -> go on with life.

Search for both Win Aero Tweaker and Shutup10 in google. They're free programs.

That would leave them bereft of future security updates as well.
Poor advice and sort of the elephant gun solution to the problem, wouldn't you say?

If the problem is indeed that they have a 365 subscription and MS auto-installed Defender for Individuals, then they're better served figuring out how they can block just that, if they don't want it. Microsoft usually has ways of selectively blocking the installation of such applications using registry keys or group policies. (In 365 for businesses that's directly available as deployment templates; but I doubt the personal version has that.)

[lailaamell]

oh remember good old days when windows had no anti virus and you had to pay for a license to be protected and half of those antiviruses were bit of crapware. but i have not seen this on my win 11 pc after updating but it can be some registery got damaged from powercut

[(͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)!!Mr.MangO¡¡(]

Opino lo mismo, creo.

[ShadowShifterMarlith]

What Update did you get?

[🦊Λℚ𝓤ΛƑΛᗯҜᔕ🦊]

Escrito originalmente por RiO:

That would leave them bereft of future security updates as well.
Poor advice and sort of the elephant gun solution to the problem, wouldn't you say?

Nope. You're following along the spoon-fed BS from Microsoft that updates are required. They are not. I haven't installed any updates in any of my windows computers going back 15+ years even with WindowsXP. I have never had any malware, virus, trojan, rootkit, etc on any of my computers. Updates aren't important, don't matter, and they're only an annoyance fed by Microsoft to people who don't know better.

Even connecting a laptop directly to a public wifi spot without updates doesn't leave us vulnerable anymore with windows firewall and windows defender built in. Plus most people use 3rd party programs / Anti-Virus suites with their own firewall on top of windows defender and windows firewall for double protection. Windows updates don't matter at all today.

Microsoft has done a good job of brainwashing all it's users into thinking updates are a critical requirement when they actually are not. I also have quite a lot of my friends that actively disable updates on windows 10, don't want to install them and never will install them. We also do it on anyone's computers we install for friends and family members. The whole stigma of "Updates are forced on us in windows 10 and windows 11" is a lie.

Don't be a sheeple and follow blindly behind the crap microsoft tries to feed us.

[lailaamell]

Escrito originalmente por 🦊Λℚ𝓤ΛƑΛᗯҜᔕ🦊:

Escrito originalmente por RiO:

That would leave them bereft of future security updates as well.
Poor advice and sort of the elephant gun solution to the problem, wouldn't you say?

Nope. You're following along the spoon-fed BS from Microsoft that updates are required. They are not. I haven't installed any updates in any of my windows computers going back 15+ years even with WindowsXP. I have never had any malware, virus, trojan, rootkit, etc on any of my computers. Updates aren't important, don't matter, and they're only an annoyance fed by Microsoft to people who don't know better.

Even connecting a laptop directly to a public wifi spot without updates doesn't leave us vulnerable anymore with windows firewall and windows defender built in. Plus most people use 3rd party programs / Anti-Virus suites with their own firewall on top of windows defender and windows firewall for double protection. Windows updates don't matter at all today.

Microsoft has done a good job of brainwashing all it's users into thinking updates are a critical requirement when they actually are not. I also have quite a lot of my friends that actively disable updates on windows 10, don't want to install them and never will install them. We also do it on anyone's computers we install for friends and family members. The whole stigma of "Updates are forced on us in windows 10 and windows 11" is a lie.

Don't be a sheeple and follow blindly behind the crap microsoft tries to feed us.

you dont need antiviruses either i used none for a decade never got a single virus but i didnt connect that pc to internet drivers how ever i dont feel any need or desire to update

[kolumuani12]

Escrito originalmente por bearsboi:

my pc had to reboot after losing power do to a storm and i had previously manually disabled windows update on startup so it never should have happened in the first place, but upon turning my pc back on windows forced an update which apparently now makes windows defender a paid service and not usable unless you pay a subscription fee. did anyone else get this?

if microsoft continues down this road this is especially concerning because most games on steam only work on windows, so this OS monopoly they have, paired with predatory practices like this might make me quit gaming entirely

Bro you are a bit late on the "most games on steam only work on windows", could have been true a while ago but not the case anymore.

[76561199521118219]

i think its just part of using windows, ie even linux does have weird spyware that can press buttons in front of you, in case of windows for example many people think updates themselves cause os to break over time if not that there is so called "malware" which i believe is just another name of updates, its just updates are automatic and malware is manually installed in case of that i dont think there is no way to block it since source code is closed, so as far as safety it can be just a bunch of viruses hiding in the kernel.