About Security Intelligence Updates for Microsoft Defender

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If you administrate systems protected by Windows Defender, the default antivirus solution that is included in Windows, you may have noticed that Windows Update downloaded a definitions update called Security Intelligence Update for Windows Defender Antivirus.

Windows Update downloaded Definition Update for Windows Defender Antivirus previously. Did Microsoft change the name of the definition update files, or are there differences between Security Intelligence Updates and Definition Updates for Windows Defender Antivirus?

The short answer for those who are in a hurry: Microsoft changed the name from Definition Update for Windows Defender Antivirus to Security Intelligence Update for Windows Defender Antivirus.

Is it a permanent change or a one-time change? We don't know, because Microsoft did not announce the change. The most likely scenario is that it is a permanent change.

Microsoft likes to rename products and services. The company changed Office Online to Office in 2019 and some Windows 10 terminology in 2017. Windows Defender and some of the services that run under the Windows Defender name will also be renamed to Microsoft Defender in 2020 if Microsoft does not revert the change.

A click on the support article link of the definition update opens a page on the Microsoft website. The page uses the new term, Security intelligence updates, already. Microsoft uses the terminology elsewhere already, a strong indicator that the name change is permanent.

A click on the release notes link on that page lists all changes to the definitions file made by the most recent update. Security intelligence update is used on the page as well.

Windows Defender Antivirus definition updates are downloaded via Windows Update on Home systems running Windows. These definition updates update the database that Windows Defender uses to determine whether files are malicious or problematic in nature, or clean.

Windows 10 users may open the Settings application -- from the Start Menu or by using the keyboard shortcut Windows-I -- and select Update & Security > View Update History to get a list of all installed updates. Definition updates are listed in a group for easier recognition.

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