I never considered doing away with my antivirus, but one day, it froze my system just as it had on earlier occasions. That was it for me. I uninstalled it. This is probably the equivalent of ripping off the airbags from a speeding car on the highway. It was bold, maybe stupid, and probably guaranteed to end badly.
Well, nothing happened. In fact, things actually seemed smoother. I stopped experiencing annoying freezing, and my browser no longer stuttered. It struck me that Windows was already doing so much behind the scenes to protect my PC. Yes, this was an impulsive uninstall, and several modern antivirus programs wouldn’t freeze your computer. But still, it was an eye-opener—the built-in Windows Security is feature-rich, and I don’t have to pay for antivirus.
The myth of the third-party safety net
Modern operating systems already do the heavy lifting
The first thing I do on a new PC is install an antivirus. But this has changed after my experience uninstalling my antivirus. The biggest surprise was noticing the level of security Microsoft builds into Windows by default. I assumed that Windows Defender was still as basic as it was during the Windows 7 era, but it has been significantly improved. It now uses cloud-based machine learning, automatic sample submission, SmartScreen reputation checks, and kernel-level integration.
Between 2013 and 2016, Windows Defender ranked between 0.5 and 3.5 for protection AV-TEST’s independent security testing. However, it has steadily improved since then and is now rated a near-perfect 6 for protection. This puts it near the top for protection, at par with several reputable paid options—and frequently beating them.
Of course, premium security suites bundle extras like identity monitoring, VPNs, or stronger parental controls, so it really comes down to what you need. You may find value in grabbing a third-party tool with all of those features bundled because it offers value. However, Windows Defender doesn’t require any configuration. It quietly updates, stays out of my way for the most part, and I don’t get constant upgrade notifications.
Extra antivirus software actually expands your attack surface
More privileged code means more points of failure
I never considered how many antivirus apps themselves have become major targets until very recently. They have to install drivers deep in your system, enabling thorough scans and allowing them to work effectively.
According to security researchers at Google’s Project Zero, several popular anti-malware tools have had several high-severity vulnerabilities. These range from insecure network filters to flawed file parsers. Because your antivirus runs with full system privileges, any vulnerability within it is a golden ticket for an attacker. For example, in 2024, Tech Monitor reported on malware that exploited a vulnerability in an Avast/AVG kernel driver, allowing attackers to disable the security software and target other parts of the system.
The point isn’t that all antiviruses are insecure. However, when you add such a massive and highly privileged code base to your system, your computer isn’t automatically “safer.” So, when I uninstalled my antivirus, I removed a complex system component that could have been exploited.
My old antivirus slowed my PC—and ironically made me ignore warnings
Performance drag and pop-ups create their own risks
Performance was another issue. While my computer wasn’t exactly slow, virus scans were stressful. They dragged boot times, apps stuttered, and I would notice the occasional spike in background tasks. This isn’t peculiar to me: this Reddit thread, for instance, shows complaints, with AVG featuring quite often.
Slowdowns can also depend on the specific antivirus, hardware, and configuration. Most modern antiviruses run efficiently.
The constant pop-ups from some antivirus tools are akin to marketing tools. I received upgrade prompts and a recurring “Your PC may be at risk!” banner, which created security fatigue. After a while, you get used to these warnings and pop-ups. You assume it’s all upselling and stop paying attention, putting your computer at risk when there’s an actual threat.
Uninstalling my antivirus made my computer feel fresh again. I wasn’t getting the notifications and stopped being startled by surprise pop-ups. It’s also noteworthy that not all antiviruses would act this way. In fact, there are specific antivirus tools I would usually avoid.
Modern malware doesn’t play by old antivirus rules
Signature-based scans aren’t enough anymore
Antivirus vendors have added heuristics but still rely on a core signature engine that uses a list of known malware patterns. The problem is that modern software threats are not waiting to be cataloged. Some of the most current threats are fileless and script-based, often blending seamlessly into legitimate system processes.
Examples include PowerShell abuse, Office macro exploits, and living-off-the-land techniques. These are behaviors, not just files you download like in the 2000s, and operating systems are now much better at behavior-based detection. Windows 11 uses SmartScreen to block any suspicious downloads based on reputation. Also, within seconds, Defender’s cloud protection can flag unusual activity. Ironically, after deleting my antivirus, I had to rely on these modern protections. It shifted my dependence from a model built around threats that barely exist anymore to relying on my PC’s behavior-based protection.
I stopped paying for antivirus after I learned about these 5 Windows Security features
Stop paying for expensive antivirus software. Instead, use these 5 features in Windows Security.
What deleting my antivirus actually taught me
Uninstalling my antivirus software introduced a calculated risk that I could cautiously manage by relying on Windows Security, plus safe habits. I could focus on habits that actually keep my PC safe. I stopped downloading every single app, was more mindful of email attachments, and replaced blind trust with an understanding of browser sandboxes and reputation checks.
I was able to close several real gaps. Today, browsers are one of the biggest threats. Now, I don’t use Chrome without certain security extensions. With good habits, SmartScreen, the firewall, and Windows’ own protection, I’m able to keep myself safer.