Windows Defender and Norton, these 2 antivirus stands among the most famous Antivirus products available on the market. These two products highly excel in protecting their users from online threats and malware.
Although you find yourself confused between the 2 while opting for a new one for your PC. Well, there is nothing to worry about, because we have carried out a full comparison review between the 2 programs so that you can understand what all things they have to offer to you followed by how they are different from each other and based on that knowledge you can easily opt the one which suits best to the list of your day to day internet protection need.
Note: As for the Windows Defender Antivirus, it is a stock antivirus product and comes pre-installed on a new PC with the brand new Windows.
So, Let’s get started.
Internet, the major pro as well as a con in today’s time. As you know about it that it is the hub full of merits in it containing all the information you need simply accessing them all by the single click, Although, it has its advantages one thing to keep in mind is that it is also a major housing body of millions of malware and viruses ready to infect the internet users. One can get A job to major viruses in their PC risking all their data just from a single click. At this point, antivirus is the program which comes into action, as these are the ware which tends to protect their customers from such threats.
People while opting for a new antivirus product often find themselves in this perpetual dilemma to decide which one among the 2 will be the best antivirus for them. Since they pack a lot in them and hence have a lot to offer to their customers. Although they may lack in one thing or 2 and may offer something more than the other has to offer which often tends to be the reason differentiating the two. Hence, the detailed comparison for the same is carried out making it easier for readers to decide between them.
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Security products offered by Windows Defender and Norton for home users
The list below explains about products offered by the companies for home users.
Windows Defender
- Windows Defender Security Centre free (Windows Only). Previously known as Windows Defender.
The Norton Antivirus Suites
- The Norton Antivirus Basic (Available in Windows only)
- Security standard version. Norton Security Standard (Available for both Windows and Macintosh).
- The Norton Security Deluxe. (Available for both Windows and Macintosh).
- Norton Security Premium Version (Available for both Windows and Macintosh).
Therefore, the above list provides readers with the availability of all antivirus software. Provided by the 2 companies for home users.
Pre-Comparison Result (Short Verdict)
Note: This section of the article is for those who want to skip the effort of reading an in-depth comparison report of the 2 antiviruses and directly know the result.
As per the research held to write this article, Norton is the winning contender of the Comparison. Since it offers more security features and provides users with many different types of utility tools than Windows Defender has to offer. Apart from that Norton offers more no. of different antivirus versions for its customers to choose from. Although both Windows Defender and Norton had similar results in the “Protection” category deciding to be a tie between the 2 antivirus software, still Norton managed to excel with slightly better results in the Impact test category.
It is recommended to kindly read the full comparison report for in-depth knowledge of what both the software has to offer before opting for any one of them.
A detailed description of everything included in Windows Defender Antivirus Suite
Windows Defender is a very well-known name in the field of antivirus. It is mainly because of the freeware included in the Windows OS. It is a freeware service provided by Microsoft itself. And is mainly used by people in case of the backup.
Windows Defender Security Centre free
The suit provides you with protection from a range of malware threats. But as of advanced protection-related features and extra utilities. You won’t be able to find any of those in it. The most useful and utilized feature is the advanced 2-way firewall. It keeps check on all the outgoing and incoming traffics for malicious activity.
It also has a parental control feature which allows you to set what sites should be visited by the children and helps you monitor their activity. But the disadvantage is that it only works with the Microsoft Edge browser.
Whereas other than those 2 utility tools mentioned above it has nothing in it. It lacks features like file shredder, VPN, password management tool, automatic backup utility, and more.
A detailed description of everything included in Norton’s Antivirus Suites
Norton is a well-known name in the field of antivirus. It is because of its product quality as well as because of the features it offers to its customers. The company provides its users with many versions to choose from according to their needs. Hence the detailed description of those versions are as follows:
Norton Antivirus Basic
Regardless of Avast offering freeware, Norton doesn’t provide users with a free version. Instead, it provides a base version known as Norton Antivirus Basic. This, in particular, is responsible for the protection of users from potential threats. Such as spyware, viruses, identity theft, and other online threats. It also removes hard to remove malicious ware and tends to keep you protected on social media.
Note: Keep in mind that this particular version is only available in Windows Operating Systems.
Norton Security Standard
This is the next level of version Norton provides to its users. This particular Antivirus software consists of a firewall to police the home network, Whereas it comes with premium support and a 100% refund guarantee if the experts failed to keep your system safe and, of course, it consists of all the features available in the Basic version of the software. a single subscription covers off one Windows, Mac and a smartphone.
Norton Security Deluxe
This particular version consists of all the features available in the Standard edition. Also, it adds up a web portal to manage all of your devices in one place and protects up to 5 devices which can be any device regardless of their OS. Additional features added to this software are of disk optimizer, a file cleanup tool, and a startup manager. Startup Manager lets you manage the files which will run during the startup.
Norton Security Premium
This version adds up features of “The Family premiere” which tends to provide you with the ability to set parental control features for your children. Also, the software consists of an automatic backup of selected files from up to 5 family devices and a 25 GB cloud storage.
Must read: Mcafee vs Malwarebytes
Windows Defender vs Norton (in terms of providing better protection)
If we talk about the 2 software stated in this article, Well both of them are considered to be pretty accurate as well as proficient Antivirus in terms of providing protection and providing features. It is majorly because of their protection, utility tools and services they provide to their customers. In today’s date, the number of internet users is booming at a high rate day by day, therefore threats also seem to increase at an alarming rate. Hence, both the software provides nominal features for the protection of an individual from such threats.
Therefore to check how well an Antivirus is against such increasing threats hence AV-Tests and AV-Comparatives conducted tests in regards to the same. Since these are the software responsible for an individual’s internet security and safety.
Note: The tests were carried out on a standard PC as well as a High-end PC.
AV-Test (Tests)
There were 2 round evaluation tests conducted in September and October 2018. The 2 products were tested against 311 zero-day malware and 21,257 widespread malware.
As of the Norton result, it came out with a perfect protection rate of 100% as it successfully blocked almost all of both types of malware samples attaining a perfect 6/6 score from AV experts in the “Protection Category”.
Although, for the result of Windows Defender. It also showed a perfect result of 100% threat protection against widespread malware. But its rating was dropped down because of its poor detection against zero-day malware. Hence it bagged a low rating of 5.5/6 by the AV-Experts in the AV-Test (Tests).
And for the false positives, they both returned single false positives.
AV-Comparatives (Tests)
Therefore, one more test was held by AV-Comparatives. But this test was held in sight of aiming to test a product in real-world malware conditions as well as the Malware Protection Test.
As for the result of the Real-world protection test which was issued by AV comparatives in a summarized format of tests held in the timespan of July to November 2018. Norton showed impressive results and blocked off 99.9% of threats and returned 26 false positives, although it still was rewarded with the second-best “ADVANCED” award.
Whereas Windows Defender also got the second-best “ADVANCED” award because of its impressive protection rate of 99.5%. But it gave out a high number of false-positive count (48). Making it degrade its overall protection score.
And as for the test results of Malware protection test held in September 2018 issued by AV-Comparatives, Both Windows Defender and Norton were able to reflect impressive results with a protection rate of 99% and 100% against malware respectively but was again awarded the second-best “ADVANCED” award as their overall performance was degraded by high false positives , Windows Defender returning 32 while Norton gave 47.
Hence, for the protection test on two software, It is clear that Windows Defender and Norton are pretty capable of providing with the best protection to their customers, but as of the result they both proved to be very competitive in this category as they came up with almost the similar score in the “Protection” category hence providing the results that both the software tends to be same when it comes to protection of their users.
Windows Defender vs Norton (in terms of impact on system)
Real-time scanning or in other words background activity of Antivirus. the process which is mainly responsible for eating up most of the CPU performance. But is pretty important for the sake of safety and security against online threats.
Therefore, for antivirus, it has to ensure the stability of the system, as well as OS, is maintained while at the same time maintaining that it should imply a less strain on PC since the heavy strain can be a more viable reason for unexpected pauses and hang in a system which can be pretty annoying sometimes.
Therefore, tests were conducted by independent labs to carry out the result of how the 2 software fared in a particular category. By carrying out a couple of activities like launching popular websites, downloading and installing, commonly used applications, copying of files, and more.
Note: The tests were carried out on a standard PC as well as a High-end PC.
Windows Defender’s Impact Test
As of the test conducted in regards to checking the load exerted by Windows Defender on the system. It got a low rating of 5.5/6, in the AV-Test study. Whereas, it bagged the third-best rating
“STANDARD” award in the test held by AV-Comparatives. Since the exerted rate on the CPU by it was very high. Hence it exerted more burden than any other software in the test.
Below are the test results of Windows Defender’s Impact test held by AV-Test as well as AV-Comparatives.
Norton’s Impact Test
As for Norton’s impact test result, it attained a perfect 6/6 score by AV experts as it displayed a peak performance resulting in a complete score.
Below are the test results of Norton’s Impact test held by AV-Test.
And for the AV-Comparatives test, Norton was able to bag the topmost “ADVANCED+” award due to its low impact score of 6.7.
Below are the test results of Norton’s Impact test held by AV-Comparatives.
Hence, for the result of the Impact test, Norton tends to excel from Windows Defender in terms of exerting strain as well as the impact on the system, therefore making Norton the winner of the “Performance” category.
Windows Defender vs Norton (Comparing Prices)
Almost both companies resulted in attaining a good score and almost contains similar features. But as for the price tags, it might not be the same case. As in this section, we’ll be stating the allotted price of each software version provided by both companies. Hence making it easier for readers to decide which one falls in their budget range.
Windows Defender Antivirus Software Pricing
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Windows Defender Security Centre free
It is a freeware which can be downloaded for free. Whereas it is pre-installed in the original Windows OS.
Norton Antivirus Software Pricing
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Norton Antivirus Basic
The Norton Antivirus Basic is priced at rupees 899 for a year subscription.
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Norton Security Standard
This version of the software is set at a price of rupees 1,099 for a year subscription.
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Norton Security Deluxe
The price of this version of the software is set to be rupees 2,999 for 1- year subscription.
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Norton Security Premium
This particular version is set to price at rupees 3,999 for a year subscription.
Therefore, the context stated above tells the readers about the prices available for all different types of Norton software.
Since Windows Defender is a freeware and does not have an allocated price tag. Hence no comparison can be carried out in regards to the same.
Final Thoughts
Getting a premium antivirus in today’s time is everybody’s basic need. Since they tend to provide individuals with security and safety from online threats and malware. As of the 2 Antivirus software discussed in this article. The comparison is for people to understand the software better and based on that understanding to opt the one which suits best for their needs.
Hence, the conclusion of the article explains that both of the Antivirus programs are very well functioning, and are pretty successful in protecting the individual from online threats and malicious ware. But as of the result of the comparison between the 2. Although, if we talk about the result, well Norton excels, Because of its streamlined features as well as prices and options available for all the customers. Also, it highly excels in terms of giving out false positives. Meaning that it tend to report very few safe files as a threat. And tend to protect from 100% of malicious files followed by giving out less impact on the system in comparison to the Windows Defender Antivirus.
Therefore, Norton is an Antivirus software that is recommended for all the internet users out there seeking for a new antivirus. Since it has to offer a lot of things at a budget-friendly price. And keep in mind the software is capable of stopping all kinds of threats. As proved in the tests stated above.
Therefore, it is clear that Norton is the winning contender of this head to head comparison between Windows Defender and Norton.