it's on my new computer and wonder how good it is compared to norton and
MCafee? Is it free or is there a time limit until I must pay for protection
and updates?
Several points:
1. You can not compare Windows Defender with Norton or McAfee, since
they do different things. Norton and McAfee are anti-virus programs,
and Windows Defender is an anti-spyware program.
2. You need *both* anti-virus and anti-spyware protection on your
computer.
3. Regarding anti-virus software, you've named the two *worst*
products available. Norton is the worst and McAfee is next to worst.
4. The best anti-virus software is NOD32, which is not free. If you
want free anti-virus software, I recommend either Avast or Avira--both
very good, but not quite as good as NOD32.
5. When it comes to anti-spyware software, no single product is
anywhere near perfect, and for decent protection, you should run at
least two or three products.
6. Windows Defender is not the best anti-spyware product, but it
doesn't hurt to run it as well as some others.
7. The single best anti-spyware program is Malwarebyte's Anti-malware,
and I receommend that you run it.
8. In addition to Malwarebyte's Anti-malware, pick at least two or
three from this list
Super Anti-spyware
Spyware Blaster
Spybot Search and Destroy
Ad-aware
Windows Defender.
9. All the programs in number 8, above, are free, including Windows
Defender.
