We don't use Windows Defender ourselves as our default antivirus software, but Windows Defender would almost certainly have also spotted and defanged the EICAR test file as well. In other words, malware can't use it to easily seize system control.Īlso, our Bitdefender antivirus software spotted and quarantined the EICAR test file right away every time. That conforms to the Windows user parameters and indicates that this Windows Defender download tool can't be used to escalate privileges. We were not able to download the EICAR test file to another user's download folder or to directories to which we weren't entitled to write to or hadn't created ourselves - even when logged in as an administrator.
This means that any piece of decently functioning malware that infects even a limited-user account will be able to use Windows Defender itself to download any file from the internet. These programs detect malicious files downloaded to the system through the antivirus file download feature.'Ī Microsoft spokesperson clarified that the statement also applies to Windows Defender Antivirus, the antivirus software that comes bundled into Windows 10 Home. 'Despite these reports, Microsoft Defender antivirus and Microsoft Defender ATP will still protect customers from malware.
Microsoft responded to our request for comment with this statement, in full:
(Image credit: Future) Microsoft responds
