Microsoft Defender
The latest Microsoft Defender coverage — news, analysis, and updates from the WindowsNews.AI desk.
Microsoft Defender Earns Perfect Score in Latest Test, Narrowing the Case for Paid Antivirus Suites
Microsoft Defender Antivirus just aced its latest independent exam. In AV-TEST’s March/April 2026 evaluation of Windows 11 consumer security products, the built-in protection scored a flawless 18...
Microsoft Opens AI-Powered Bug Hunting to All: MDASH Vulnerability Scanner Hits Public Preview
Microsoft has quietly launched a public preview of its MDASH vulnerability-scanning technology, putting AI-powered bug hunting into the hands of security teams via the Defender command-line interface...
E3’s Email Security Upgrade Lands by August 1—Here’s Your Setup Playbook
Microsoft has begun rolling out Defender for Office 365 Plan 1 into commercial Microsoft 365 E3 and Office 365 E3 subscriptions, with completion expected by August 1, 2026. The change hands advanced...
Microsoft Defender for Mac Gets Emergency Patch for Privilege Escalation Flaw—Update Now
Microsoft has patched a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Defender for Endpoint on macOS that could allow an attacker with a foothold on a Mac to seize higher system rights. The company...
Defender Flaw Lets Attackers Go from Guest to Admin on Macs — Update Now
Microsoft has patched a serious vulnerability in its Defender for Endpoint security software for macOS that could allow an authenticated attacker with basic user rights to seize complete control of...
Local Attacker Can Steal Personal Data via Microsoft Defender for Mac Bug — Here’s the Fix
Microsoft shipped a critical update for its Defender for Endpoint security software on macOS on July 14, 2026, patching a vulnerability that could let an attacker with low-level access to your Mac...
CVE-2026-55012: Why the Latest Windows Update Won't Fix This Defender Vulnerability
Microsoft disclosed a remote code execution vulnerability in its Malware Protection Engine on July 14, 2026, and the fix isn't part of any monthly Windows security release. CVE-2026-55012 sits in the...
Defender Engine Update Fixes Critical RCE Flaw – But It Won’t Show in Windows Update
On July 14, 2026, Microsoft fixed a critical remote code execution vulnerability in its Malware Protection Engine, the core scanning component of Microsoft Defender and other antimalware products....
Defender’s RoguePlanet Fix Spawns a Disk-Draining Bug—How to Protect Your PC
Microsoft delivered Malware Protection Engine version 1.1.26060.3008 on July 14, 2026, sealing the notorious RoguePlanet vulnerability. But the same update has a dangerous side effect: a new,...
Microsoft Ships OAuth Risk Scores to Block ShinyHunters’ Silent Salesforce Data Theft
Microsoft released a set of OAuth governance controls and risk-scoring models inside Defender for Cloud Apps on July 13, aimed squarely at the abuse of trusted Salesforce integrations that...
Prepare Now: Microsoft Permanently Removes Kerberos RC4 Rollback on July 14
Microsoft’s July 14, 2026 cumulative updates will strip out the long‑standing Kerberos RC4 rollback control from all supported Windows Server domain controllers. At the same time, administrators...
Microsoft Defender Will Surface Purview IRM Triage Summaries in August 2026 Preview
In August 2026, Microsoft will preview an integration that places Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management’s Data Security Triage Agent summaries directly inside the Microsoft Defender alert...