Microsoft Security Essentials
"I just read something about a new security tool from Microsoft, that's supposed to be better than Windows Defender, which I use now. What is your recommendation?"
What Is Microsoft Security Essentials?
You are correct, Windows Defender has been superseded by another free Microsoft utility. On September 1, 2009, Microsoft released Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). It protects against a broader spectrum of malware than Defender does, including viruses, rootkits, and trojans as well as spyware.
Windows Defender detects and removes spyware only. It won't protect your computer from other malicious software, such as viruses, worms, and Trojans. The new Microsoft Security Essentials, on the other hand, is a comprehensive anti-malware solution. MSE is meant to replace both your existing anti-spyware and anti-virus programs.
If you're running Windows Defender, you don't actually have to uninstall it. MSE is smart enough to detect and disable Windows Defender. But, if you are currently using some other anti-spyware program such as Malware Bytes Anti-Malware, SpyBot S&D or Ad-Aware, OR an anti-virus program such as Norton, McAfee, AVG or Avira, then you SHOULD disable or uninstall them before installing MSE. Anti-malware programs tend to fight with each other, if you have more than one active.
How Good is MSE?
Reviews have been positive, for the most part. A Washington Post review found that Microsoft Security Essentials is light on system resources, consuming only 4 MB of RAM, and fast. A "quick scan" took only 10 minutes and a full system scan only 45 under Windows 7. PCWorld lauded MSE's clean, straightforward user interface and small installation footprint.
MSE found 89 per cent of malware samples deliberately installed on a test computer, but only 30 per cent of keyloggers - programs that record everything you type and can capture passwords for bad guys. MSE found only 67 per cent of rootkits. Alarmingly, these results are considered "average" for the anti-malware industry.
Should You Install MSE?
It's fair to say that for most users, Microsoft Security Essentials is an acceptable alternative to other free security products on the market, and certainly preferable to pricey commercial products. From a user standpoint, it's certainly nice to have one program that provides comprehensive security protection, eliminating the confusion between anti-spyware and anti-virus tools.
But does MSE provide the best possible protection? Perhaps not. If you read the reports at AV Comparatives you'll see how various security programs compare in terms of detection rates. Many of them score in the high 90's for detecting viruses and malware. AV Comparatives has not yet tested MSE, so this may not be a true apples-to-apples comparison. Even so, I think it's fair to cut MSE a little slack, since it's only been out for about a month. Microsoft always did a good job of updating Windows Defender, so I think we can expect that MSE will get better over time as well.
Here's my recommendation... If you currently have a commercial anti-virus program, and you'd rather not be paying for security, dump what you have and give Microsoft Security Essentials a try. If you already have a free anti-virus program that you're happy with, AND good anti-spyware protection, stick with it for now. You may also want to check out my list of Free Anti-Virus Programs.
Have you tried Microsoft Security Essentials? Post your comment or question about MSE below...
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Posted by Bob Rankin on October 23, 2009 05:44 PM
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Microsoft Security Essentials (Posted: October 23, 2009 05:44 PM)
Source: http://askbobrankin.com/microsoft_security_essentials.html
Copyright © 2005 - Bob Rankin - All Rights Reserved
Most recent comments on "Microsoft Security Essentials"
Posted by:
Mary
27 Oct 2009
MSE is indeed a very light utility. It takes up 11.5MB on my laptop with all the latest signature updates. By comparison, other "suites" I've tried such as AVG 8.5 used 45MB, Avira 70MB, McAfee over 90MB. But MSE will not install if your system doesn't pass the WGA validation test which is required during the installation process.
MSE also has a very user friendly interface and settings can be customized with just a few clicks. I'd also have to agree that scans are pretty fast. My first quick scan took about 8 minutes and a full scan just over 30 minutes. Of course scan time depends on hard drive size and how much "stuff" is on the hard drive. :-)
One possible negative: you'll automatically be enrolled with a basic membership in the Microsoft SpyNet Community which was originally started under Windows Defender.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Join-the-Microsoft-SpyNet-community
If someone wants to run MSE but not have to join SpyNet, it might be possible to edit the registry. I have not tried this work-around and would caution people to proceed at their own risk.
http://www.malwarehelp.org/how-to-block-microsoft-spynet-2009.html
Personally, I don't mind if Microsoft or any other antimalware provider can thwart a new problem I might have found by receiving data from me. In the short time I've been using MSE on my laptop running XP Pro, I've been very satisfied. One other added benefit is my boot time had gone from about 20 seconds to 10 seconds. Not too shabby!
Posted by:
Bill
27 Oct 2009
Unfortunately, at least on my fully-patched XP box when MSE discovers a nasty, it hangs while taking the "recommended action" (normally to delete the item). It can only be stopped by CTRL-ALT-DEL or a reboot. After this point, it may or may not give you a green icon. There's not much help as yet on the web for this annoying, endless loop of futility.
Posted by:
Sharron Field
27 Oct 2009
Hey Bob
I was using Avast! free edition for quite some time, until I got infected by ASX.Winmad.AN and ASX.Winmad.CJ, which slipped in past Avast! unseen. These programs are Trojan downloaders, and they must have been on my system for quite some time before they were activated. - Suddenly my LAN-connected network was crawling with malware and sending spam emails.#
A scan with Avast! showed a couple of these malware infections, a scan with AdAware showed up even more, including a backdoor Trojan, but as they were eradicated they just returned where the unseen downloaders were re-downloading them.
I'd heard from another tech site that MSE had just been launched and was free; so I decided to install it on my 32-bit XP box and see if it could flush anything else out. (I uninstalled Avast first.)
I isolated the box from any other possible source of infection and ran a scan with MSE: It got the lot, including the spam-sending Trojan, which nothing else I'd tried could see. Subsequent scans with Avast!, AdAware, and Symantec online scan were negative. Installing it on my Windows 7 RC 64-bit box gave the same result, and subsequent scans by the aforementioned products were once again negative.
I can't praise this software enough, and I now run it on both comps.
It hasn't had any conflicts with AdAware, which has been running happily alongside it on both boxes.
Posted by:
badgervan
27 Oct 2009
I've been using Windows Live One for two and a half years now, and been happy with it for 48 bucks a year. Is this new MSE better than Live One, or just a re-naming of Live One?
Funny I never see Live One advertised or even mentioned online, since it seems to do the job pretty well for 4 bucks a month.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I was under the impression that the paid-for Live One Care service had been discontinued, and that the free MSE was the replacement for it.
Posted by:
Joe M
27 Oct 2009
I wouldn't settle for an "average" product from a company whose bread 'n butter isn't security. Yes, Microsoft has the resources to make a top notch product in any market, but it would seem they don't have the interest. Why would they put out an "average" product?
I use Vipre from Sunbelt Software and am very satisified. I am disappointed that I didn't see it in the comparisons at AV-Comparatives.org.
The only downside I've found to Vipre is it's lack of integrated firewall, which they say is going to change at the end of the year to a "complete" suite.
Posted by:
chesscanoe
28 Oct 2009
I've been using Microsoft Security Essentials on my Vista x64 SP2 desktop since the day MSE came out of beta. It replaced avast! because a full scan MSE found a virus and Trojan not detected by avast!. Further research proved to me these ware not false-positive detections.
MSE has to be manually updated by me for signatures, as I have Windows Update intentionally set to download and notify me of updates, but not install them automatically. However the weekly complete scan I have scheduled does first download and install updates, as I have that option checked. Microsoft offers another signature update solution. Downloading mpam-fex64.exe to get the latest updates also works for me using Vista Business x64 and MSE x64.
https://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Definitions/HowToMSE.aspx#MSE64bit
Posted by:
Murray W
28 Oct 2009
For years, many of the users and admins in PC Tech on Paltalk have recommended the use of Spywareblaster, Spybot, Iobit 360, AVG or AVira or Avast but the consensus now is to replace all of these with MSE and just keep Malwarebytes and SuperAntiSpyware as a "spare tire". So far MSE has found and cured anything that users coming into the room with spyware problems etc has had thrown at it.
Posted by:
Charles Friederich
29 Oct 2009
Bob, your useful article on Microsoft Security Essentials said that other security programs should be removed before installing MSE. Does the same advice apply to CC-Cleaner?
EDITOR'S NOTE: No, CCleaner would not need to go. Only anti-spyware and anti-virus programs that are "always on" would need to be removed.
Posted by:
Roelof@nl
13 Nov 2009
Bob, does it make a difference which browser is being used? I wouldn't put it past MS if MSE only works if IE is the browser of choice. I would like to give MSE a try but I'm a Firefox user and I would like to keep it that way. TIA for helping me out.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I'm sure MSE will work regardless of your browser choice.
Posted by:
Buddhi
11 Jan 2010
Hi Bob, I have been using Norton 360 for last 2-3 years.
It does everything for me and I have no problems,except it costs about $ 100 in Canada per year. In a few months I will have to renew it. Should I stop using it and use MSE which is free? Or if I can afford $ 100 per year I should continue with Norton? my OS is Windows 7, 32 bit.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I just installed MSE on a machine that had been infected with dozens of viruses and spyware. It did a great job of cleaning it up. I honestly don't see any reason to buy anti-virus software.