An anti-malware tool monitors incoming emails for malicious files and programs and warns users when potential threats are detected. Guard Against Phishing: Phishing emails trick users into believing they’re from a legitimate source to gain access to confidential information.Anti-malware software offers ransomware protection by detecting and blocking ransomware attacks before they can cause significant damage. Protect Against Ransomware: Ransomware is an attack that locks users out of their computers or networks and demands payment for access.Prevent Data Theft: Anti-malware tools can detect and protect against malicious programs designed to steal sensitive information, such as passwords, financial records, customer data, and more.In some instances Defender may need you to take some actions such as quarantining or removing the dangerous file or process. If Defender finds malware on your device it'll block it, notify you, and try to remove the malware if it can.

For more information see How to start a scan for malware in Microsoft Defender What if Defender finds malware? If you're concerned and want to have Microsoft Defender run a scan right now, you can do that by going to the Device protection page from the Microsoft Defender dashboard. If it spots something it will attempt to block it, and alert you so that you can take action if necessary. Microsoft Defender will also run quick scans of your device on a daily basis, in case anything manages to elude the real-time protection. Microsoft Defender's real-time anti-malware protection runs whenever your device is on, keeping an eye out for malicious activity. When you first set-up Microsoft Defender on your device we'll run an initial scan to make sure you're starting off clean.

Note: Microsoft Defender currently offers anti-malware only on Windows, Mac, and Android.

Antimalware program