Microsoft makes Defender for M365 Personal and Family subscribers official

Kip Kniskern

Microsoft Defender

Today, Microsoft is announcing Microsoft Defender for individuals, now available for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers. The new security application, which we told you about when it showed up as a preview, is meant to be a one stop shop for malware protection across family members and their devices. The app will not only apply malware protection to your Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices (if they don’t have an anti-malware solution in place already) using Microsoft Defender for Endpoint technology, but act as an anti-malware hub, bringing your Norton, MacAfee, etc. solutions to the app’s dashboard.

From a blog post on the Microsoft Security blog:

Microsoft Defender is simplified online security that meets you and your family where you are by bringing multiple protections together into a single dashboard. It provides online protection across the devices you and your family use. It offers tips and recommendations to strengthen your protection further. And, as you grow your digital footprint, by adding family members and devices, Defender grows with you and keeps your defenses up to date using trusted technology.

As malware continues to get more sophisticated and widespread, users are at an ever increasing risk of falling prey to cyberthreats, and Microsoft Defender for individuals could help to make managing and applying anti-malware solutions easier. It’s available with Microsoft 365 Family or Personal subscriptions beginning today across Windows, MacOS, iOS and Android as a separate download.