Microsoft won't turn on Windows Defender for unprotected PCs
Microsoft representatives said Wednesday that the company will not turn on Windows Defender for unprotected PCs, contrary to what executives said earlier in the week.
Holly Stewart, the senior program manager from the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, misspoke, according to representatives, when she said that Microsoft would turn on Windows Defender if a user’s anti-malware subscription lapsed.
“During an interview when discussing the results of the Microsoft Security Intelligence Report, Microsoft misspoke in response to a question, which resulted in an inaccuracy in the resulting article,” a Microsoft representative said in a statement Wednesday. However, Windows Defender will be turned on, automatically, if there is no other anti-malware on the system the first time the PC is activated, Microsoft said. If a third-party anti-malware system is activated, Windows Defender will automatically turn off in favor of the third-party solution, Microsoft said.
