Microsoft Defender has a vulnerability in which it is enough to insert an additional comma to bypass virus detection.
Microsoft Defender is included in Windows and now protects the PC quite well against malware. However, a trick now makes it possible to bypass this protection.
Microsoft Defender can be tricked
Security Researcher John Page has discovered a bug in Windows Defender where an additional comma is enough to bypass virus detection. It’s about the Windows file “rundll32.exe”, which attackers can use to execute malicious code. Microsoft Defender checks this and correctly detects malicious code using normal code instructions. However, if you insert an additional comma into the malicious code, Defender will let it through.
As Page reports, the security researcher found a similar bug in 2022, where the characters “..\.” had the same effect. But Microsoft has now fixed this. Until Microsoft patches the new security hole, another antivirus program is recommended. Especially since cybercriminals notice the problem and can specifically exploit it.
Nowadays, anyone who wants to replace their desktop PC with a laptop has a lot of choice. With the Defender P40, ERAZER offers a strong competitor with Intel Core i7-13700HX and RTX 4060 GPU. Can this laptop stand up to the cutthroat competition? Read it in our review.
Since ERAZER shed the Medion name, this brand has been making a lot of progress. We previously tested the ERAZER Major X10 and the Major X20.
This time it is the turn of the ERAZER Defender P40, a laptop with an Intel Core i7-13700HX, 16 GB of RAM and an 8GB RTX 4060 GPU on board.
With a price of around 1600 euros, this laptop falls slightly above the ‘busy’ segment around 1300 euros. Can this laptop meet this additional price? We put the ERAZER P40 on the rack and saw how this cool-looking laptop holds up.
The specifications
specification
value
Type
Erazer Defender P40 MD62522
Housing material
Aluminum, Plastic
Operating System
64 bit Windows 11 Home
Processor
Intel Core i7-13700HX, 16 cores 2.1 – 5 GHz
Random access memory
16 GB (expandable to 32 GB)
Storage memory
1 TB SSD (free slot available)
Video card
GeForce RTX 4060, 8GB
Display
17.3″, 2560 x 1440 (Quad HD), IPS
Connectors
USB 2.0, 3x USB 3.2, HDMI (2.1), 3.5mm
Audio
Nahimic Audio
Weight
2.9kg
Dimensions
262 x 370 x 28x 28.2 mm (lxwxh)
AC power
280W
First impression: Solid performance in a sturdy housing
Anyone who has the Erazer Defender P40 in front of them sees a beautifully finished laptop. When closed, the housing has a beautiful black finish with straight corners and slightly tapering. The clamshell form factor means that it hinges open at the back, just above the power and HDMI connections. The screen can be opened to a slight backward slope and feels solid.
The RGB colored keyboard shines blue light at you by default. The letters are easy to read and the keyboard is accompanied by a numeric island. Also special: the WASD keys are extra emphasized with a white border. The approach is clear: this is a gaming laptop.
The Intel Core i7 processor and Geforce RTX 4060 are slightly lighter than those of the X20.
At the bottom of the P40 we see space for cooling and various openings on both the side and the back. When we unscrew the bottom we see two fans and we see that about a third of the entire laptop is designed to dissipate heat. The sides even have a raised edge to conduct the heat outside. That is necessary, the CPU/GPU combination of the P40 can generate a lot of heat. Even with all fans at full power, the cooling barely manages to keep the laptop within the margins.
The cooling then takes effect quickly. The P40 is perfectly quiet at idle, but as soon as you load the processors, the fans quickly start spinning. Unfortunately, we can’t exactly call the fans quiet and the P40 has no option to throttle the GPU via the keyboard. The laptop does that itself, under full load of both the CPU and GPU, the performance of the GPU collapses to less than 25% of full power.
As soon as the CPU load drops, the GPU quickly takes over the extra space, so that performance is back up to standard. However, we would have liked to have more control over this ourselves. The Erazer P40 does have a callable software package in which various settings can be adjusted, including the RGB color scheme of the keyboard, the lighting and the like. The GPU/CPU load can also be monitored directly here.
The various connections are distributed around the laptop. For example, the power supply is on the back of the monitor, just like the HDMI connection. The USB ports, Ethernet connection and microphone are on the side.
The image may be there
The 17.3-inch IPS screen delivers beautiful colors and is easy to read, even on the go. The image is finished with a small bezel that protects the image well without making the laptop much larger. the image feels solid when opening and closing. The screen is powered by a sturdy RTX 4060, which provides a good compromise between the somewhat weaker RTX 3___ line and the top models.
The same warning applies as for all (gaming) laptops: a laptop GPU is not 100% the same as the desktop version. Due to the limited cooling options that a laptop has and keeping the power consumption somewhat limited, the laptop version of the RTX has a lower clock.
Despite this, the performance of the P40 may be good. With this laptop you can play all modern games at high quality and the laptop even has some capacity left. The P40 is therefore quite future-proof and will also be able to run future releases well. Moreover, Nvidia has an excellent track record when it comes to updating drivers.
With a price of around 1600 euros, the ERASER P40 is slightly above what will be the ‘middle segment’ for many gamers. Many brands aim for a price of around 1300 euros. For those extra 300 euros you get a big performance boost.
Game performance
The target group of the ERAZER P40 consists largely of gamers and they naturally want to know how the P40 performs.
We tested the P40 with various games and settings and it appears that you can play almost any (modern) game at the maximum native resolution (2650 x 1440 pixels) with (very) high image quality and in almost all cases around or above 100. can achieve FPS. This means that the P40, for example, leaves the Major X10 of the same brand far behind.
Lenovo has made an interesting choice for the X10. A ‘traditional’ GPU from AMD or Nvidia was not chosen, but Intel, newcomer to the GPU market.
Below we have compared the performance of the ERASER P40 and that of the Major X10.
Game+Settings
Performance X10
Performance P40
Atomic Heart, 2560 x 1600 px High quality
Avg 50, min 27 FPS, response 19 ms.
avg 150 max 160 min 130
Atomic Heart, 2560 x 1600 px, Atomic quality
avg 95 max 101 min 88
Forza Horizon 5, 1920 x 1200 preset HIGH
85FPS
164FPS
Forza Horizon 5, 3560×1440 preset extreme
93FPS
Woo Long, 920 x 1080 Best Quality
Max 102, avg 70, min 40 FPS
Woo Long, 1920 x 1080 Best Performance
Max 134, avg 86, min 54 FPS
120 capped (minus 100)
Woo Long, 2560 x 1440 Best Quality
avg 100, min 83 FPS
Dying Light, 2560 x 1600 Textures High, Shadow Map size high
Max 231, avg 62, min 33 FPS
Dying Light, 2560 x 1440 Textures High, Shadow Map size high
avg 84, max 110
Death Stranding, 2560 x 1600 Graphics quality Very High,
The ERAZER P40 is equipped with an Intel Core i7-13700HX and RTX 4060 GPU and this is reflected in the performance. With the P40 you can go years ahead without dreading new releases.
The beautifully designed gaming laptop is not equipped with all kinds of RGB bells and whistles and its design can also be used in the workplace. the large 17.3-inch screen offers Quad-HD resolution and a very stable image.
It’s a pity that the ventilation switches on very quickly and quickly makes a lot of noise. When the cooling is fully on, normal conversations cannot be had. Nevertheless, the bottom of the laptop tends to get quite warm.
With a price tag of just under 1600 euros, the ERAZER P40 is not cheap, but you do get value for your money.
Anyone looking for a future-proof laptop with excellent performance can confidently put this P40 on their wish list.
