Seriously ?
The given reasoning that MS AV must be good is because of the probable good quality of the company as a whole.
Seriously ?
No evidence given ?
Unfortunately some crappy AV and vendors are being used as the gauge to measure against.
Avira has never given me any problems since swapping to it, and never seems to show in the lists of vendors doing stupid things.
Microsoft are not virus experts. Just like Symantec they bought into the AV scene and have failed to impress or progress with their AV products.
Not 1 AV comparison site shows Defender or MSE as being any better than low-average.
Microsoft themselves have said that their AV should be considered "Baseline".
The baseline is not the bar you are aiming to climb to, it is the lowest you should ever fall to.
I often have to repair people PCs that rely on only MS protection, and know that the AV I then use to fix it, would have protected it if they used it.
MS AV does not stop people going to bad sites, and does not scan web-page content unless you use MS browsers.
It does not even have a sandbox like all good AV, so unknown files are still allowed to run
Yes education is the key, but it is not happening so throw that idea out unless you are actively doing something about it.
Do you trust your Mum to retain the nerd-info you gave her enough to spot a phishing site ?
I don't and I am glad my Mum has Avira keeping her virus-free for the past 5 years (and yes I regularly scan with a standalone).
I am now trialling an AV that also notifies about, and blocks keylogging and webcam activation.
Which part of MS security does that ?
People need to stop comparing how geeks protect themselves, to the needs of the majority users who cannot be bothered with white-lists or regular audits.
They want a MacOS style world where you push a button and it works.
You can teach them to be secure, but it will not last.
AV are never going to be the perfect solution, but as the rate of viri and hacks continues to rise, the sheer stupidity of advising people ditch good AV and rely on only "Baseline" is an act of criminal insanity.
Good tech support means you have tested the options and give evidence based recommendations.
Just because VW did some stupid things with their tests, does that mean all other car makers are as crap and guilty ?
Whould you recommend people stop using seat-belts in all cars, if only some car makers had faulty seat-belts ?