Microsoft Defender
The latest Microsoft Defender coverage — news, analysis, and updates from the WindowsNews.AI desk.
Microsoft 365 Family Now $99.99/Year: 1TB OneDrive, Office, and Defender for Up to 6 People
As of July 2026, the Microsoft 365 Family plan costs $99.99 per year or $9.99 per month, and it covers up to six people. That breaks down to just $16.67 per person per year—a figure that undercuts...
Windows Defender RoguePlanet Flaw Lets Any Local User Become SYSTEM — No Fix Yet
Microsoft has published a security advisory for a critical Windows Defender vulnerability that allows a standard user account to gain SYSTEM-level access on an unpatched machine. The flaw, catalogued...
Microsoft Defender in 2026: The Best Free Antivirus That Comes With Windows 11 — And Its Limits
Microsoft Defender once was the security equivalent of the \"I have a friend\" excuse. You’d tell your tech-savvy relatives to ditch it immediately and install something — anything — else. That...
Microsoft Rolls Out AI-Powered Vulnerability Scanning and Entra Backup in June 2026 Security Update
Microsoft dropped its latest security update on June 30, packing a suite of features that signal a decisive shift toward agentic, AI-driven defense and cross-platform identity resilience. The update...
Defender vs. Third-Party Antivirus in 2026: Why Your Windows PC’s Security Depends on Risk, Not Brand
Microsoft shipped Windows with its own antivirus for the first time nearly two decades ago, and in 2026 the question for Windows users is sharper than ever: is the built-in Microsoft Defender stack...
Microsoft's Defender Hit by 'RoguePlanet' Zero-Day: Privilege Escalation Risk Before Patch
Microsoft has disclosed a new zero-day elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in the core malware protection engine that powers Windows Defender, assigning it the identifier CVE-2026-50656 and the...
Defender for Office 365 Wins on Pre- and Post-Delivery Protection, Microsoft Benchmark Shows
Microsoft’s latest quarterly email security benchmark, published on June 15, 2026, declares Defender for Office 365 the clear winner over third-party secure email gateways (SEGs) in both pre- and...
Nightmare Eclipse Drops Two Windows Zero-Days: Defender LPE and WinRE BitLocker Bypass
A security researcher operating under the pseudonym Nightmare Eclipse publicly released proof-of-concept code for two previously unknown Windows vulnerabilities in June 2026, immediately drawing...
RoguePlanet Zero-Day Exploits Defender for SYSTEM Shell on Patched Windows
Nightmare Eclipse, a security researcher known for probing Microsoft's defenses, dropped a zero-day exploit dubbed RoguePlanet on June 10, 2026—barely 24 hours after Microsoft's June Patch Tuesday....
Decode Windows 11 Pro Security Alerts: When to Act or Ignore
Windows 11 Pro floods users with security alerts—from the Windows Security app, Microsoft Defender Antivirus, SmartScreen, and Smart App Control. Each one pushes a specific action: update,...
Microsoft Defender Offline Update Patches Windows Image Security Gap
Microsoft has shipped a fresh offline update package for Microsoft Defender, aimed directly at closing a persistent blind spot in enterprise Windows deployments. The refreshed package injects the...
Huntress and Microsoft Deliver 94% Ransomware Reduction with Managed EDR for SMBs
Small and midsize businesses now have a powerful new weapon against sophisticated cyber threats, thanks to an increasingly tight partnership between Huntress and Microsoft. Huntress has officially...