On March 21, 2019, Microsoft announced Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac for business customers to protect their Mac devices from attacks on a corporate network, and a year later, to expand protection for mobile devices, announced Microsoft Defender ATP for Android and iOS devices, which incorporates Microsoft SmartScreen, a firewall and malware scanning. Compared to other antivirus, Microsoft Defender lacks advanced security features such as a password protector, sandbox, or website phishing checker, yet it offers protection against malware installed on the computer. It has evolved into a full antivirus program, replacing Microsoft Security Essentials, as part of Windows 8 and later versions.
It was first released as a downloadable free anti-spyware program for Windows XP, and was later shipped with Windows Vista and Windows 7. Windows Security (known as Windows Defender Antivirus before Windows Update, Windows Defender before Windows 10 Creators Update, or Microsoft Defender Antivirus before Windows 11) is an anti-malware component of Microsoft Windows.
