Windows 8: What Is Windows Defender

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∟Windows 8 Defender for Real-Time Protection

∟Windows 8: What Is Windows Defender

This section describes a free malware protection tool, Windows Defender, which is integrated into Action Center on Windows 8 systems.

What Is Windows Defender? Windows Defender is a free malicious software protection tool integrated in the Windows 8 Action Center.

Windows Defender offers two ways to help keep spyware from infecting your computer:

Real-time protection. Windows Defender alerts you when spyware attempt s to install itself or to run on your computer. It also alerts you when programs attempt to change important Windows settings.
Scanning options. You can use Windows Defender to scan for spyware that might be installed on your computer, to schedule scans on a regular basis, and to automatically remove anything that's detected during a scan.

Note that if you were using Microsoft Security Essentials on your older versions of Windows systems, you don't need it any more now. Microsoft Security Essentials has been merged into Windows Defender on Windows 8 systems.