This month, Microsoft has quietly released several updates and among them, KB5001716which is intended to force Windows PCs to update (of which Windows Defender is, in fact, a part), in addition to the WinRE update KB5041979 and the Setup update KB5041178 for Windows 11 24H2.
Windows Defender: Microsoft has updated it “secretly”
In addition to these, about a week ago, Microsoft also released a new Windows Defender update for Windows installation images, which applies to Windows Imaging Format (WIM) and VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) formats; it is worth noting that this new update supports Windows 11, 10 and servers, including Server 2016 which will reach end-of-service status next year; for this reason, the company has released a detailed guide for uninstalling and decommissioning Windows Server 2016.
This update package is required because a Windows installation image may contain Anti-malware definitions and outdated software binaries; in addition to improved security, these updates may also offer performance improvements in some cases.
Microsoft Explains Why This Windows Defender Update Is Important
Microsoft is distributing the latest security definitions (Windows Defender) for Windows images via security update version 1.413.494.0. The Defender package version is 1.413.494.0. In the support document describing the new update, Microsoft explains: “The first few hours of a new Windows deployment can leave your system vulnerable to a Microsoft Defender protection gap. This is because the operating system installation images may contain outdated anti-malware binaries.“
Microsoft, however, specifies other details regarding Windows Defender: “[..] Devices that use Windows’ built-in antivirus or another security solution may benefit from these updates. [..] This article describes the anti-malware update package for Microsoft Defender in operating system installation images (WIM and VHD files). This feature supports the following operating system installation images:“
- Windows 11
- Windows 10 (Enterprise, Pro, and Home editions)
- Windows Server 2022
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows Server 2016
Version information
- Defender Package Version: 1.413.494.0
This package updates the anti-malware client, the anti-malware engine and signature versions in the operating system installation images to the following versions:
- Platform Version: 4.18.24060.7
- Engine version: 1.1.24060.1
- Security Intelligence Version: 1.413.494.0
From Microsoft’s security bulletin, we learn that the version Intelligence Update 1.413.494.0 security update was released last month and it adds threat detections for various trojans, adware, and backdoor exploits, among others.
In case you’re wondering, the latest available intelligence update is version 1.417.71.0 at the time of writing.
Explanation for non-experts
When you install Windows on a computer, the operating system is copied from an installation image, which is like a “template file” that contains all the necessary files; however, these images may include older versions of security software, which means that the computer may not be fully protected immediately after installation.
The updates released by Microsoft are intended to ensure that these images are equipped with the latest anti-malware protections, thus reducing the risk of your computer being vulnerable immediately after installation.
Many people rely on third-party antiviruses, because Windows Defender is (wrongly) considered less effective than more “commercial” antiviruses, unfortunately in some cases, not only do these antiviruses not offer real-time protection, but they even disable Windows Defender leaving your Windows computer completely vulnerable to cyber threatsdoing more harm than good, in the end.
#Windows #Defender #Microsoft #Silently #Updates
