MAY 2021 • TECH ADVISOR 83top notch. Internet Security also offers
enough features to satisfy most users, it
won’t drag down performance except
perhaps in rare circumstances, and the
price is right.
BEST FREE ANTIVIRUS SUITE
Windows Security
Price: Free (bundled with Windows 10)
For years, the attitude towards Windows
10’s built-in security was that it’s a nice
idea, but you really shouldn’t rely on it.
That stared changing in 2019, with the
major testing houses giving Windows
Security top marks.
Could it be true? Can you really
ditch your annual antivirus subscription
and rely on Microsoft’s native solution
instead? Here’s our opinion.
Windows Security is a very basic
utility. In a way, it doesn’t need to be
fancy, since it’s part of Windows itself.
If you need extras like backups or hard
drive cleaning, you can find that in other
parts of the operating system.
Windows Security is accessible via
the Start menu or an icon in the system
tray. It has seven sections: Virus &
threat protection, Account protection,
Firewall & network protection, App &
browser control, Device security, Device
performance & health, and Family options.
The first five sections will display a
green check mark when everything is
fine or a yellow alert symbol when it’s
not. Unfortunately, these alerts aren’t
always being honest. The Account
protection section alerts you when
you’re using a local account and not a
Microsoft account. That means you’ll
always have a yellow check mark on the
Windows Security icon in the system tray
unless you dismiss
that particular
alert, which few
people do. That’s
unfortunate, since
more vital alerts
could be ignored
as the yellow alert
status just blends
into the background.
The Virus &
threat protection
The Windows Security dashboard. is where Microsoft