Windows 8 stops 85% more malware without extra configuration than its predecessor

Windows 8 Defender

Here is another reason to upgrade to Windows 8: The latest operating system from Microsoft is 85% more secure out of the box that its predecessors. That’s what BitDefender security firm and antivirus company said after they conducted various tests, without making any extra configuration to the OS.

The antivirus maker took 385 of the most common malware in the past six months and tried them on the new operating system and only less than 16% of the malicious code were able to infect Win 8.

As you can read here, Windows 8 isn’t bullet proof, but it is pretty darn good and better than not having any protection at all. As many had pointed out BitDefender tried to turn things around making Windows look unsecured. However, stopping 85% of threats only with “basic” protection (Windows Defender) turned-on, in my opinion that’s pretty impressive, besides being realistic no antivirus solution is 100% effective.

Also the same tests were run with a plain installation of Windows 7 and 262 malware were able to infect the system, which is about 68%. This seems to make Windows 7 look bad, but take in consideration that the previous version of the OS didn’t come bundled with any kind of anti-malware software.

On the other hand, if you disable Defender the system will become more vulnerable to infection, making it almost unsecured like Windows 7, but not quite. During the tests about 234 pieces of malicious code were able to take over Windows 8, which is about 60.8%.

Wrapping things up, while integrating Defender in Windows 8 was an excellent move from the software giant, there still a lot of work to do as many pieces of malware successfully executed malicious code inside of Windows. But still a great work from Microsoft.

Now the question is: Should you opt for a third-party antivirus solution? The answer is up to you. You should definitely see a lower number of malicious code infecting any computer by companies that dedicate themselves to build security software.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.