[Free Antivirus]Microsoft Security Essentials

evolutionqy7

Not sure do alot of people know about it so i thought id share it

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

I used to use ESET Nod before and it seem that MSE seems to pick up threats better than ESET anyway.

Even though it seems to pick up Connectify installer as a threat hehe

Suppose this would solve alot of headaches for people buying an anti virus after buying a pc or when their inlcuded anti virus expires.

So save some bucks for a fully features antivirus at the end :cool:

JonathanAnon

I think everybody is pretty much clued in to it at this stage, though I only installed it for the first time myself in January when I upgraded to Win 7.... No problems so far I have to say..

RolandIRL

much better than AVG imo. had mcafee on my laptop first cos i got it free from the college, but uninstalled it cos it was slowing it up. had MSE on my laptop for a few months now, picked up one or two things that MBAM didn't.

tim9002

I belive it can be used by up to 10 users in small businesses now also.

evolutionqy7

That would be handy for business owners to cut down on unnecessary costs

tim9002

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

That would be handy for business owners to cut down on unnecessary costs

Found the licence agreement on the Microsoft web site.

Small Business. If you operate a small business, then you may install and use the software on up to ten (10) devices in your business.

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/eula.aspx

Kristopherus

I have this on my main computer for over a year now. Absolutely excellent.

paddyandy

Am i finding out that the full AVG sub was'nt necessary?I have wondered why i always had to fork out for a second security system.

Kristopherus

Having more than 1 Security System on your computer is not advised. They tend to conflict & confuse.

paddyandy

Will it tolerate google?I have win 7 and expl 9 and google search with avg full license .Microsoft on it's own?One wants to oust the other i've noticed that.

Fysh

paddyandy wrote: »

Will it tolerate google?I have win 7 and expl 9 and google search with avg full license .Microsoft on it's own?One wants to oust the other i've noticed that.

It's generally a bad idea to have more than one AV product installed, because they may each have their own firewall (multiple software firewalls is just asking for trouble) and they may both run regular system scans and degrade overall performance. And that's before you consider what happens when AV Software Package A finds A BAJILLION VIRUSES ZOMG OHNOES! in what later turns out to be AV Software Package B's quarantine repository. It'll only get worse when AV Software Package A can't clean the infections, and worse again when Package B does the equivalent thing with Package A's quarantine repository...

paddyandy

Kristopherus wrote: »

Having more than 1 Security System on your computer is not advised. They tend to conflict & confuse.

I did as told and i'm annoyed i did'nt know a long time ago my pc is faster and no conflicts .I'm annoyed with the boy's in the shop who i've done a lot of business with....not the money but the problems with both running together and fearing the worst while not being an expert you can feel very vulnerable in pc shops.Very greatful.:)

paddyandy

Fysh wrote: »

It's generally a bad idea to have more than one AV product installed, because they may each have their own firewall (multiple software firewalls is just asking for trouble) and they may both run regular system scans and degrade overall performance. And that's before you consider what happens when AV Software Package A finds A BAJILLION VIRUSES ZOMG OHNOES! in what later turns out to be AV Software Package B's quarantine repository. It'll only get worse when AV Software Package A can't clean the infections, and worse again when Package B does the equivalent thing with Package A's quarantine repository...

Thanks also nearly forgettin FYSH!!1

Charlie-Bravo

I've been installing MS Security Essential on PCs I come across requiring a virus clean. I've found it to be great at rooting out alot of problems that AVG Free didn't even catch on systems. If I do get an infected PC to repair, I run MBam first then MS Security Essentials.

I run MBam as a once-off scan then I leave it in the back of the system - it doesn't run unless I run it. After the MBam scan I run a 'full' scan using Security Essentials...picks up about 3-7 problems (depending on type of intrusions) that MBam hasn't. The full scan will look in every cravasse and can take a good few hours depending on the amount of crap installed on a machine! Any following scans from either program doesn't show any problems.

evolutionqy7

Agree I find it to be great considering its free I usually run that and advance system care. Sorts out everything for me running a 3 year old pc and still running nearly like new

ejmaztec

I've got a psychological barrier telling me that I have to pay for an internet security suite because it's the thing to do.

On the other hand, I've quite happily installed MSE on other people's machines, and they've never reported any problems, but I'm still dubious about going down the same route.

So, the big question is, are there any differences between the free and the expensive, apart from the money changing hands?

RolandIRL

Not really, though many of the paid alternatives are resource hogs. as long as you're careful in what you download and browse, you'll avoid most viruses. i'm very happy with MSE, McAfee which i got free from my college slowed down my laptop to a crawl.

ejmaztec

It's looking more like I'm going to be a "Microsoft whore" when my CAISS 2011 subscription runs out, if not before.:pac:

paddyandy

A month with mse and no problems.I wish i'd known a few years ago.My laptop is used a lot about 6 hrs a day and it's 3 1/2 years old going better than ever tg.I had upgrades i 've wondered if this is unusual.

Packet

I've just bought a Dell XPS 8300 that comes with a 15 month sub to McAfee Security Centre.

Would I be better off in terms of system performance as well as €s by removing it completely and using MSE instead?

Saruman

Mcafee is absolute muck. So yes.

paddyandy

That free stuff is a bit of a ploy.Get rid of it completely it will only conflict with windows.I had ful AVG and got rid of it and NO problems with mse.

PogMoThoin

Packet wrote: »

I've just bought a Dell XPS 8300 that comes with a 15 month sub to McAfee Security Centre.

Would I be better off in terms of system performance as well as €s by removing it completely and using MSE instead?

Yes, definitely. McAfee is a bloated POS.
Also get MalwareBytes and Ccleaner, run both monthly.

Packet

paddyandy wrote: »

I had ful AVG and got rid of it and NO problems with mse.

Just did that on another computer. In fairness to AVG it seemed to remove itself without objections. Hopefully the McAfee bloatware will be as cooperative on the uninstall.

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Yes, definitely. McAfee is a bloated POS.
Also get MalwareBytes and Ccleaner, run both monthly.

Is there a compatibility matrix for all this stuff?

Overheal

In terms of straight antivirus programs theres really no difference between free and paid. the only thing even worth the consideration are the internet suites.

PogMoThoin

Packet wrote: »

Is there a compatibility matrix for all this stuff?

No, they're completely different things. MSE is an anti-virus protection that runs all the time, Malwarebytes is an anti-malware and spyware that you scan with manually once a month, it does not not offer any real time protection. You can have both.
Ccleaner is a crap cleaner, deletes histories and temporary files

RolandIRL

Just a thing to note about CCleaner, i think it's set to empty your Recycle Bin by default so either untick that option or make sure there's nothing in there you deleted by accident.

Packet

MSE seems to be working great, it doesn't hog the computer and seems to get the job done and be well integrated with the OS. I plugged a USB key in with a trojan on it and it detected it straight away. I installed MSE on a few computers. One of them was an old Dell that was dog slow before, it is working much better now that it is free of Norton.

ressem

PogMoThoin wrote: »

No, they're completely different things. MSE is an anti-virus protection that runs all the time, Malwarebytes is an anti-malware and spyware that you scan with manually once a month, it does not not offer any real time protection. You can have both.
Ccleaner is a crap cleaner, deletes histories and temporary files

There's a paid version of Malwarebytes which is useful for realtime warning and blocking of compromised sites while browsing, and it does a better job than most.
Nod32 conflicts with Security Essentials in a mild way. Rarely, the disk will start thrashing; disabling and re-enabling real-time protection on one of the products for a few seconds will sort.
Kaspersky conflicts badly with Security Essentials.

Capt'n Midnight

LIGHTNING wrote: »

Thats nonsense, there is a very good reason why you pay subscription fees.

For businesses there are few free alternatives. And enterprise products include remote deployment and centralised management and reporting.

For home users the most heavily advertised subscription products overlap with the ones that slow your machine down the most

Please explain the benefit to a home user of subscription services. Take for example someone who has bought a €300-€400 laptop and intends to use for the next few years. (ie. spending €100 a year on hardware) How would you justify the incremental difference (if any) between the best of breed free for personal use antivirus/antimalware and subscription software ?

Here is how sophos compares to some heavily advertised products
http://www.sophos.com/en-us/security-news-trends/security-trends/enterprise-review.aspx?utm_source=Non-campaign&utm_medium=Homepage-banner&utm_campaign=HB-TestAug1-Svs

Not sure if they still do it but it used to be that if you had sophos at work you could use a copy at home free.

Overheal

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Please explain the benefit to a home user of subscription services. Take for example someone who has bought a €300-€400 laptop and intends to use for the next few years. (ie. spending €100 a year on hardware) How would you justify the incremental difference (if any) between the best of breed free for personal use antivirus/antimalware and subscription software ?

....to the average user? I can justify it a lot.

Don't get me wrong I enjoy selling people Tech Support Plans and new PCs when they walk in to buy a new laptop because their kid downloaded a bunch of porn and they don't know how to fix it, but honestly, the average person can benefit a lot from good protection software.

It's probably worth pointing out I just decided to buy another year of 3 PC norton internet security on newegg: Free after a $40, Mail in Rebate.

Fysh

Overheal wrote: »

....to the average user? I can justify it a lot.

Don't get me wrong I enjoy selling people Tech Support Plans and new PCs when they walk in to buy a new laptop because their kid downloaded a bunch of porn and they don't know how to fix it, but honestly, the average person can benefit a lot from good protection software.

It's probably worth pointing out I just decided to buy another year of 3 PC norton internet security on newegg: Free after a $40, Mail in Rebate.

Personally, I'd argue that for the average user the money that 3 years of a commercial AV/security software package would cost is better spent on an extended warranty for their new computer.

I maintain, based on personal experience, that Norton and McAfee are the devil incarnate when it comes to security software, due to the additional burden that they put on the host OS. There are several commercial packages that I think are in some ways worth it, but most of them are overkill for home users, who would generally be much better off with a bit of education like an ECDL course than they would be spending money on yet more software that they don't understand and which they'll unwittingly undermine by perpetuating stupid usage patterns.

For that matter, I want to kick someone from Microsoft every time I'm reminded that even commercial consumer packages for Windows are generally inferior to Time Machine, which Apple customers get for free.

Capt'n Midnight

Overheal wrote: »

It's probably worth pointing out I just decided to buy another year of 3 PC norton internet security on newegg: Free after a $40, Mail in Rebate.

Software costs a LOT more over here

http://antivirus.norton.com/norton/ps/2up_ie_en_nis360.html?om_sem_cid=hho_sem_ic:ie:ggl:en:e|kw0000002402&OVMTC=Exact&site=&creative=7369217591&OVKEY=norton%20internet%20security&om_sem_copy=7369217591
Norton 360
1-year Download* €89.99
2-year Download €159.99

Retail Windows 7 can be up to twice the US price

Capt'n Midnight

Fysh wrote: »

Personally, I'd argue that for the average user the money that 3 years of a commercial AV/security software package would cost is better spent on an extended warranty for their new computer.

I beg to differ. Spend it on getting a wireless router with a built in firewall if you don't already have one.

Or should I say the next time you buy an access point or router spend a wee bit extra to get the one with the firewall. It's a layer.

Security is built up in multiple layers. User education being one of them. Relying on a piece of software to do everything means that one day it may be bolting the stable door after the horse has fled as it relies on updates to tell it what sort of threats to block.

Fysh

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

I beg to differ. Spend it on getting a wireless router with a built in firewall if you don't already have one.

Or should I say the next time you buy an access point or router spend a wee bit extra to get the one with the firewall. It's a layer.

Security is built up in multiple layers. User education being one of them. Relying on a piece of software to do everything means that one day it may be bolting the stable door after the horse has fled as it relies on updates to tell it what sort of threats to block.

That decent router is a good idea, but it's not much use if your laptop's had a motherboard die 24 months and 1 day after purchase :P

Considering that the likes of Dell or Toshiba will do you a 3-year NBD on-site extended warranty for between £100 & £200, that's the first place I encourage folks to spend some money if at all possible. (It's also my major bugbear with Apple...) The second place would be their network gear, and the third place would be an ECDL course if I thought there was a hope in hell of them actually going for it.

All of which is for nowt if we're dealing with people who eg all use one shared account, with full admin rights, and who let Little Jimmy download all his games and software from $PIRATEHAVEN. But you do what you can.

Overheal

Personally, I'd argue that for the average user the money that 3 years of a commercial AV/security software package would cost is better spent on an extended warranty for their new computer.

Depends on the warranty. Extended cover from defects is rarely beneficial. A Tech Support package on the other hand can be quite useful, but again the average cost of 1 year of such a service is equivalent to 3 or years of good Internet Security software.

Fysh

Overheal wrote: »

Depends on the warranty. Extended cover from defects is rarely beneficial. A Tech Support package on the other hand can be quite useful, but again the average cost of 1 year of such a service is equivalent to 3 or years of good Internet Security software.

I'm fussy about what brands and ranges I'll recommend to people, and cost/availability of decent warranties is an integral factor there. Toshiba may charge plenty for the Portege range, but you can usually get a 3 year onsite NBD warranty for them for less than £150, which is worth it IMO. I wouldn't go near a warranty from someone other than the supplier because far too many pc repair shops I've dealt with have been cowboys (including some authorised repair centres for Apple and Toshiba, I should add).

A support program that includes software/OS support as well as hardware replacement cover sounds tempting - if you can trust the shop/company providing it. There are various stories about Geek Squad employees abusing their role and privileges to purloin personal data from the computers they fix, for example, and I'm willing to bet they're not the only company to have the issue arise, so you have to be careful.

Overheal

Even manufacturers **** up: http://consumerist.com/2011/09/instead-of-fixing-his-computer-sony-sends-him-7-other-customers-broken-ones.html

Fysh

Overheal wrote: »

Even manufacturers **** up: http://consumerist.com/2011/09/instead-of-fixing-his-computer-sony-sends-him-7-other-customers-broken-ones.html

Well yeah, but then again his first mistake was buying a Sony laptop :P I work for a university and we mainly buy Dell (yay!) and Apple (boo!) kit. We've bought from Sun, Toshiba and IBM-Lenovo as well on occasion. Our Procurement dept won't let us buy gear from the likes of Sony or Acer because their warranty coverage and support quality just isn't good enough. Between that and all the crap Sony preinstall on everything, I wouldn't go anywhere near them or advise anyone else to get one.

Capt'n Midnight

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I work for an anti-virus company, the amount of time and money we spend on threat research is unbelievable.
...
Not all AV software is bloatware, our own client uses less than 1mb of system memory, sweeps take less than 2 mins and the installation file is less than 2mb.

Agreed and commercial users of windows still need to have a subscription because there are few choices of free AV for them (MSE is only for up to 10 users)

The point is that most AV's will pickup most viruses, defense in depth by using OpenDNS to block bogey sites, having a browser that doesn't run scripts inc. flash until you OK it will also help a lot. When it comes to value for money there are many free products you can use to get defense in depth.

But the business model some approach is that giving free AV to home users works as marketing or works to reduce the presence of malware in the wild seems to be catching on over time as there are plenty of free/very cheap solutions out there. While one could argue about low cost AV solutions most home users would be considering the bloated trialware pre-installed on the machines or offered on supermarket shelves. And I'm pretty sure you'd agree that there are many products on the market besides the one you are associated with that offer far better value than those ten times the price.

Capt'n Midnight

Fysh wrote: »

Considering that the likes of Dell or Toshiba will do you a 3-year NBD on-site extended warranty for between £100 & £200, that's the first place I encourage folks to spend some money if at all possible.

Or I could keep the money till there is a problem, pop down to my local Tesco which is open 24 hours and buy a new laptop for €299 :pac:

Don't forget that the Dell/Tosh already has warranty for year one so you are paying for two years warranty. Over time it's probably cheaper to ask around to see if you know anyone who can fix it as a nixer and replace it. (I used to reckon that after three laptops the warranty would pay for the fourth)

It's different if you spend a grand on a laptop, but this from June 09 http://stateofaffairs.info/archive/best-laptop-june-09/ is very similar 2.16 GHz Dual core intel / 3GB / 15" /250 to the tesco one 2GHz dual core intel/ 3GB / 15" / 320 - both have dual layer dvd writers


It really a question of how you want to spend your money. It's like cars really, if you can't afford to replace it then you need comprehensive insurance/extended warranty.

Overheal

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Or I could keep the money till there is a problem, pop down to my local Tesco which is open 24 hours and buy a new laptop for €299 :pac:

Theres still the hidden cost of lost/phished data, reinstalling programs, setting up a new windows environment, running updates, transferring files, etc.

I'm not saying a tech savvy user needs a tech support plan, and hell a good few out there might not even have a good reason to install an antivirus program. But for the average consumer (and I know what those are when I see them, because I see the hole Domain and Range of them every day) they represent a good investment.

My point to you or the average man would be this: if you are ready to drop money on a new one, spend a fraction of that money a new one would cost on ensuring your new one has what you need and is ensured to last.













And my god, I about lost my professionalism with that woman today, that didn't know what windows was; what an update was; what software was. o_O

evolutionqy7

If ya want a reliable PC buy a desktop. I bought a Fujitsu Siemens desktop 4 years ago and it still works fine today.

Fysh

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Or I could keep the money till there is a problem, pop down to my local Tesco which is open 24 hours and buy a new laptop for €299 :pac:

Don't forget that the Dell/Tosh already has warranty for year one so you are paying for two years warranty. Over time it's probably cheaper to ask around to see if you know anyone who can fix it as a nixer and replace it. (I used to reckon that after three laptops the warranty would pay for the fourth)

Yeah, but that's a 1-year CAR warranty (if you're lucky) where you've got no machine for 1-3 weeks while they sort it. The £100-£200 warranty uplifts I'm talking about are for next business day onsite support.

You're right that if you spend £350 buying a laptop spending half that again on a warranty might be a bit silly but on the other hand that's a false economy. If you want a laptop that'll last you 3-5 years and still be usable for that lifespan, you're looking at spending about £100 per year.

If your motherboard dies the day after your 1-year CAR warranty expires, you're screwed. Even if you're lucky and the CPU/RAM aren't fried, you're still £200 in the hole. Just for the sake of not having to think about it, I say go for the extended warranty. If you've got less than £500 to spend on a computer, either buy a netbook or buy a desktop.