New Microsoft Defender exploits discovered. How to protect yourself

Microsoft has identified some nasty exploits that could affect your Windows machine if you let them.

Bleeping Computer reported on the exploits, which are specific vulnerabilities in Windows Defender, the built-in anti-malware software in Windows. The company has detailed reports on its security website for both vulnerabilities. While it can be a bit difficult for a layperson to understand what's going on from those reports, the main thing to know is that vulnerable Windows machines can be subjected to denial-of-service attacks using these exploits.

The good news is that Microsoft has already revealed these exploits, and a fix is in the pipeline. If you have automatic updates for Defender turned on, it should have installed the Malware Protection Engine versions 1.1.26040.8 and 4.18.26040.7 to address these exploits.

Bleeping Computer also included a helpful set of instructions for making sure these updates are turned on:

1. Open Windows Security

2. Select "Virus and threat protection"

3. Click "Protection Updates" and then "Check for updates"

4. Select "Settings" and then "About"

5. Check the Anti-malware Client version number and make sure it matches the two numbers above

Hopefully, everything is properly set up, and your machine is good to go.