Protect multiple devices in one place
After a two-year delay caused by the Covid pandemic, I’m delighted to announce that I’m off to America next month. Not permanently – I couldn’t live in a country where you can’t easily buy Scotch eggs, Marmite and pickled onion Monster Munch – but for a 10-day sojourn of eating huge portions, pointing at landmarks and being encouraged to have a nice day. Plus, I’ll be able to stay safe using Microsoft Defender Preview, which is currently only available in the US. In theory, at least – I won’t be taking my laptop, as it’s not a busman’s holiday. Besides, I found a workaround that let me try this new security tool in the UK.
Using Protonvpn, I was able to install Defender Preview from dear old Blighty
As you may be aware, Microsoft Defender Preview (www.snipca. com/41702) lets you protect all your desktop and mobile devices via a single ‘dashboard’, similar to paid-for security suites from Norton and Mcafee.
In the US, it’s been available to try for free since February, but may require a Microsoft 365 subscription by the time it reaches “additional markets”, which is why I – a penny-pinching Brit – wanted to try it now.
First, I needed to fool Microsoft that I was on the other side of the Atlantic, so I opened the Settings app in Windows 10, clicked ‘Time & Language’, then Region and chose United States in the ‘Country or region’ menu. Suspecting that this subterfuge might not be enough, I also used Protonvpn (https://protonvpn.com) to connect to a free US server. I then searched for Defender Preview in the Microsoft Store and was able to install and launch the app from dear old Blighty.
I signed into my Microsoft account, accepted the licence terms and was immediately told that my laptop was protected. Conversely, when I clicked ‘Go to dashboard’, I was told that my device was “not fully protected”, because I hadn’t run a malware scan for a while using my antivirus program – which is Windows Security.
To remedy this, I clicked the ‘Manage in Windows Security’ button on the ‘Device details’ page, and chose the option to perform a quick scan. Twenty-five minutes and one ‘quick’ scan later, with no threats detected, Defender Preview concluded that my computer was now protected, freeing me to spread that protection to other devices.
On the home screen, I clicked ‘Add devices’ in the ‘Protect all your devices’ section (see screenshot above) and was given three options: to copy a link to download Defender, to share that link by email or to scan a QR code. To save time, I chose the latter and scanned the QR code with my Android phone’s camera. This opened my mobile browser but displayed an error message that ‘Microsoft Defender isn’t available in your region’.
In my reckless haste, I’d forgotten that my phone was still located in the UK. I quickly installed the Protonvpn app for Android (www.snipca.com/41804), chose a US server and tried again. This time it worked and directed me to the Microsoft Defender page in the American branch of the Google Play Store, where I tapped Install to download the app to my phone. I opened it, signed into my Microsoft account and followed the instructions to activate Defender’s protection on my mobile device. I then ran a quick scan to confirm that my phone was clean of malware.
Back in Defender Preview on my laptop, my Android phone was now listed under ‘Other devices’. I added my ipad, too, remembering to use a VPN this time when installing the Defender app, and all three devices were then shown as protected. This means I can monitor them all in one place, and instantly see if any threats are afoot.
Currently, there isn’t much else you can do with Microsoft Defender Preview – the option to scan devices remotely isn’t yet available – but at least I didn’t have to fly to America to try it. I’m still going though, obviously!
Need help with security across your devices? Let us know: noproblem@ computeractive.co.uk