Is Windows antivirus software still necessary in 2022?

For years, I’ve assumed that most people don’t need third-party antivirus tools and have passed this suggestion along to others. After all, Microsoft’s Windows Security suite, also known as Windows Defender or Microsoft Defender, provides built-in virus protection for your PC, and it’s free. I’ve been using it for years, and the last time I can recall having virus problems on my PC was well over a decade ago.

And yet, looking around for confirmation of this long-held belief quickly turns up an alternate universe, full of experts who insist that everyone should be paying for).