Windows Defender is enabled by default, and handles all anti-malware needs.

The Windows firewall is enabled by default.

If you’re running Windows 10, you already have everything you need. Today, that inequality has mostly fallen by the wayside, and you’d be hard pressed to find a tool that doesn’t address both adequately. For example, they might be a good anti-virus tool being packaged with a lower-quality anti-spyware tool.

I used to say that a single “security suite”, as they were once called, typically compromised the quality of either the anti-virus or anti-spyware component. And that’s what the industry has effectively settled on. That the tools to scan for either would merge into a single effort only makes sense.

More and more viruses employ spyware-like tactics, and a lot of spyware acts more like a virus. In many ways, this was inevitable, as the line between the two has become blurry. “Malware” - short for “malicious software” - is an all-encompassing term for viruses, spyware, and anything else we might consider harmful.Īnti-malware tools today cover both anti-virus and anti-spyware. Today’s standard: a single anti-malware tool I see no need to install an additional firewall. The two together handle any firewall needs quite well. Windows now includes its own software firewall, and since Windows 7, it’s enabled by default.For many years, I’ve suggested that’s all you really need. It’s not that you don’t need one - you do - it’s that you likely have one (perhaps two) without even realizing it. I want to remove firewalls from the discussion right away. It was complex, because some tools in one category attempted to cover (or partially cover) one or both of the others - often poorly - and could easily conflict with other security tools installed.

Antimalware program