Given how popular Windows is and how long it’s been around, plenty of security myths around it have arisen—and some persist to this day. Do you believe any of these?

6 Myth: You Need to Pay for Antivirus Software

Many people think their computer will get infected unless they pay for an antivirus subscription. This could be because Windows lacked a built-in antivirus until Windows 8, or because Microsoft’s official antivirus had a bad reputation upon release. Either way, it’s not accurate.

First, Microsoft Defender is included and enabled by default on Windows 11 (and 10). While it’s not perfect (as we’ll see below) its protection has gotten much better since release, and today is enough for most people.

Second, most third-party antivirus tools provide basic protection for free, chargin

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