Vendor: Microsoft
Supported Operating Systems: Microsoft Windows and MacOS 10.14 and above
General Description: Antivirus software that automatically or manually scans for viruses, malicious, and/or threatening programs.
Licensing Mechanism:
- Microsoft Defender is built-in to all versions of Microsoft since Windows 8.0. Personally owned Windows computers must have Defender enabled, unless another antivirus package is installed and active.
- Apple Mac users should download and install Defender manually on their computer.
- Linux users should download the free ClamAV package from their distribution’s repository.
Method of Obtaining:
- Windows: Download the file at the ITS Software Download site (https://download.mines.edu/MicrosoftDefender/index.html) and follow the instructions in this Knowledge Base article: https://helpcenter.mines.edu/TDClient/1946/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=133350
- MacOS: Download the files (2) from the ITS Software Download site (https://download.mines.edu/MicrosoftDefender/index.html) and follow the instructions in this Knowledge Base article: https://helpcenter.mines.edu/TDClient/1946/Portal/KB/ArticleDet?ID=133353
Mines support: If you have trouble with virus infections, enabling or installing the software, please submit a request at the Mines Help Center.
A note for Linux users: Though they can (infrequently) be targeted by malware, ITS does not provide antivirus software for Linux computers. But antivirus programs are still recommended for those machines — if only to scan documents and USB drives coming from Windows computers. Here are some third-party recommendations for the best free and paid antivirus programs available for Linux.