• Windows Defender – Microsoft’s own security center for handling security threats. Previously known as Microsoft Security Essentials, they contain a range of security features including: 
• Action Center: the feature which helps you ensure firewall stays switched ON and protects your PC against malware attacks.
• Windows SmartScreen: offers protection against malicious apps by scanning them before they are downloaded to Windows 8.
• User Account Control: the feature which allows Windows 8 users to operate certain applications in administrator mode. Which means more security.  
• Secure Boot – Many malware lay dormant and activate themselves when computers boot up. With this in mind, the makers of Windows 8 came up with the secure boot feature, which checks all the applications usually run when your PCs boot up – to find out whether they are malware-infected or not. Pretty useful, isn’t it? 
• BitLocker – Part of Windows 8.1 Pro and Enterprise editions, this is a security measure which lets you  perform full disk encryption. Available in the Settings section, users need administrator permission to turn this feature ON. 

As you can realize, Windows 8 has some pretty impressive security features. And one cannot ignore the fact that turning them ON is going to protect PC(s) to some extent. But is this security enough? Especially considering the ever-changing security landscape of today? 

The answer is unfortunately NO. 3 simple reasons for arriving at this conclusion are: 

1. Hackers Simply Love Windows – because Windows is the most popular OS out there and if the hacking community can get their act right, the chances of them hitting the target are almost 100 percent. 
2. Security Experts Don’t Recommend Windows Security – Since Windows forayed into the security industry in Nov 2008 with its own in-built tools, the prominent figures of the industry have been highly skeptical of these security tools. And the next point proves that they are not so wrong in their judgement.
3. Test Results Have Been Negative: Windows security tools haven't tested well enough with popular antivirus testers like AV Comparatives and AV-Test to be trusted by PC users. This serves as a clear indication that Windows security tools alone are not enough for securing your PC(s). 

What You Need Is a Dedicated Antivirus Software

There are many free antivirus softwares on  the market (including our very own Free Comodo Antivirus) which can protect your PC(s) successfully against the modern-day malware. While no one can for sure suggest the best antivirus for Windows 8, there are certain industry standard features (like Containment technology, Host Intrusion Prevention System (HIPS) among others – all of which are available with our Free Comodo Antivirus) which are indicative of a highly efficient antivirus package.

Got more than 1 PC? Get 3 Licenses for $39.99

Or Even Better – Buy the Whole Package

Most of the malware which successfully infects the target are unknown threats or, in other words, threats which haven’t yet been confronted by the security community. And to handle the unknown, you need much more than just an antivirus software – probably the whole security package, similar to our Comodo Internet Security (CIS), which comes equipped with additional features like Wifi Security, Cloud-based Backup, Malware Removal Service and more .