Over the past few years, Microsoft has been working hard to bring Windows Defender at the same level as the other, paid, antivirus software. Unfortunately, in its efforts to improve the security application, Microsoft ended up breaking it.
Microsoft recently issued an update to resolve a tiny flaw in the Windows system file checker that caused errors while checking and repairing system files. The fix, released with good intentions, caused a more serious problem.
Users who installed the update have reported that both, full scan and quick scan on Windows Defender are not working properly. The scans just check a few files before ending in a few seconds.
According to the Microsoft spokesperson,
Only manual or scheduled scans conducted by administrators were temporarily impacted and we are working to resolve it.
Fortunately, Microsoft has confirmed that a fix has been rolled out in the security intelligence update. After installing the new update, you can check if it has been properly installed by checking the updates in Windows Security Virus & Threat Protection window.
Microsoft was quick in rolling out a fix, however, faults like these, especially the ones that involve user’s data security end up causing people to lose faith in the software and the company.
When you talk about a good antivirus, most people don’t consider Windows Defender among the good ones. However, Microsoft has done a lot to improve it over the years.
In June this year, the industry-respected AV tests evaluated 20 home user security products (antivirus software) to find out how efficient they are. Microsoft’s Windows Defender along with F-Secure Safe 17 and Norton Security 22 was given one of the highest ratings, which is good news for all users since Windows Defender is one of the few free security solutions available.