Windows Defender ATP support in Windows 7 and 8.1
Rob Lefferts, Microsoft Partner Director, Windows & Devices Group, Security & Enterprise, announced yesterday on the official Windows Business blog that Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) will come to Windows 7 and 8.1 this summer.
Before Windows 7 and 8.1 (home) customers get their hopes up: support appears to be limited to Enterprise customers who can add Windows Defender ATP Detection & Response functionality to devices running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1.
Windows Defender ATP is a cloud-based security solution for Windows that protects devices running Windows 10 from a variety of threats and includes a central management console. It includes security features such as Windows Defender Exploit Guard, Windows Defender Application Guard, or Windows Defender Application Control, some of which are also part of home editions of Windows 10.
Microsoft added support for Windows Defender ATP to the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.
It was not clear back then whether Microsoft would ignore its Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 operating systems by not integrating the functionality in those systems, or if the company would release some of the security features such as Exploit Guard or management options for Enterprise customers to these older but still supported versions of Windows as well.
Microsoft will release down-level support for Enterprise customers so that all company devices may be monitored using Windows Defender ATP. Enterprise customers will see all events in the cloud-based Windows Defender Security Center console for Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection.
Microsoft plans to release a preview this Spring and the final version this Summer. Microsoft revealed in the announcement that admins can run the new solution alongside existing antivirus solutions but that it is "better with Windows Defender Antivirus" because it allows security teams to view all malware detections and responses in a single console.
Microsoft's main incentive to provide Enterprise customers with down-level support for Windows Defender ATP is simple: many Enterprise customers have not switched to Windows 10 completely (or at all) yet.
What about Windows 7 and 8.1 home users? Lefferts did not mention if features such as Exploit Guard would come to home systems eventually as well. While there are plenty of third-party security solutions available for those systems, Microsoft made it clear that it won't support many of its existing security solutions such as EMET for much longer.
Support for Windows 7 ends in January 2020 and support for Windows 8.1 ends three years later in January 2023.
Now You: Which security tools do you use currently, and why?
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System: VoodooShield – simple, light and not to beat!
Browser: Yandex Browser with Protect
“Now You: Which security tools do you use currently, and why?”
Shutup10 with most of the boxes ticked
Windows Defender with most of the boxes ticked
Windows firewall with most of the boxes unticked
I know that many would say that is not nearly enough but it has been working for me. Of course it also helps that I use linux for the most part. :)
Though question was not specific I believe he was talking about 7 and 8.1
Windows 7
Defender = OFF
Firewall = OFF
UAC = OFF
MSE/MSRT = N/A
I’ve been using my PC like these for.. five years, maybe more. No problems whatsoever. I did a few scans just to check, and all MSE, Kaspersky and MBAM have found zero issues. Ofcourse, MSE did find a couple of false positives, Microsoft always likes to complain about DAZ’ Loader and MTK, whenever they find them they tell you about trojans and whatever (KAV and MBAM don’t do this, interestingly), or programs like ImgBurn containing PUPs, but aside from these programs, of which I know how to completely avoid those PUPs (just disconnect from the internet when installing them), my PC is clean. And no resources wasted on things I do not need.
Ofcourse, I don’t recommend to anyone IRL do this. I alway tell people to have MSE installed and enabled, same as firewall, and UAC to the second from bottom level, this way it is less intrusive and annoying. And ofcourse, uBlockOrigin, but more importantly, a hosts file, MVPS more precisely. I find that recommending an ad blocker to many people, they somehow manage to uninstall it, having no recall how that happened, and now their browser is a complete shitshow of ads. A hosts file is more difficult to get rid of accidentally, and even if not updated regularily, it will for the most part still be relevant few months down the road.
Windows 7
Defender = OFF
Firewall = OFF
UAC = OFF
MSE/MSRT = N/A
Microsoft Updates = OFF (for 3 years now)
Hard configured Router, KAV 2018, HitmanPro Alert, uBlock Origin+Extra, 90% of app are portable.
Windows7 = Windows Defender. Windows Firewall. UAC is off. Run Malwarebytes (an old version) once a week. If Microsoft ends support, I’ll go to my XP method of protection.
XP = No Antivirus. Run Malwarebytes (old version) once a week.
I depend on backups. Without antivirus apps running, systems are smooth and quick.
Oh yeah, still running GWX to protect against Windows10.
W7x64 since 4 years with all concerning “security” from Microsoft disabled + Windows Privacy Dashboard. With Simplewall + Filters, Hostsman, uBlock Origin + Filters & uMatrix, + AOMEI Backupper for regular backups. I consider any antivirus or antispyware as virus or spyware, or both or vice versa.
…Precision: of course I do not use Microsoft Office and I have disabled Microsoft Scripting Host. Never too prudent.
Windows 7
360 Antivirus (OFF by default)
Windows Firewall (haha, like that ever worked)
Windows Defender (disabled)
Firefox
I will be running Windows 7 until software and games start dropping support for it, I have no intentions to switch to Crapdows 10 anytime soon.