Microsoft Security Essentials - Good Enough? - Comments Page 1

If you really want to get an accurate idea of what impact any AV program has on a system then install it on a system of moderate power or less. I have Windows 7 installed on a 1.7GHz P4 computer (no rude comments please) and MS Security Essentials brought it to its knees. I replaced it with the free Avira and it got its zing back. Zing? you ask. Well for web surfing, email and word processing you might be surprised how well it does.

Bob,

I've been using (MSE) Microsoft Security Essentials for about four to six months, and have no known security breaches on my Windows 7 computer. As a retired computer geek, I think that MSE is as good as any other freeware security software apps or suites I have used before. By the way, I also have the Comodo freeware firewall (64 bit) installed. Even though Microsoft has a two-way firewall as part of the Windows 7 operating system, I strongly recommend the Comodo firewall.

I enjoy reading your newsletter, even for old retired computer geeks like me!

Thanks,

Jerry Ostrer
Vancouver WA

I have been using MSE for the past 4 months here in the office, both the systems we use as well as the test systems. I started replacing the ZV on my clients systems with it about 2 to 3 months ago along with the licensed version of Malwarebytes. To date none of the 100+ systems have had any problems with infections. I add Malwarebytes because I too believe that one product cannot find all of the bad boys out there, so this gives them and us, that added layer of protection. MSE uses very little resources, is free and does a great job. What's not to like?

I'm not prepared to uninstall Avast AV to risk trying MSE, as this uninstall comes as part of the install of MSE - just like a car, if it works don't tamper!

I like MSE, but was told it runs in the background & won't interfere with your work, well wrong, it slows down p/c & freezes it at times. But other than that glitch it's does a great job.

I have been using MSE for several months. My one compliant is computer turn on time from a full start or even hibernate mode. It has added many minutes to this time and even to the extent that The system shield comes up red as well as MSE telling me that my computer is unprotected. Well it just takes several minutes before MSE gets it act together and finds that all is well. Other than that it is nice to use something that has received good ratings, even Consumer Reports had it high in its free AV ratings.

MSE was the first free anti virus that I used. At the beginning it was good but then it started to slow down my computer.It was always running. I've used avira,avast has been the best that I have used.

I've been running MSE 2 beta since it became available and have no complaints. Not a very scientific statement as no formal testing was done, but I've had no problems either. I've seen no test results for this beta anywhere, but assume the MSE 2 beta has better results than the currently available MSE. I'm at:

Security Essentials Version: 2.0.375.0
Antimalware Client Version: 3.0.6509.0
Engine Version: 1.1.6301.0
Antivirus definition: 1.93.121.0
Antispyware definition: 1.93.121.0
per MSE help.

My IT guy at work recommended it to me when I told him I got a new laptop. It has saved me more than once now. When I transferring files from my backup drive to my new computer it found some viruses as I was copying files over. Impressive since my AVG on my old Win XP machine never caught it. It's also saved me on a few downloads from the internet. I've never seem a better virus program. I've been very satisfied.

I installed MS security essentials last June,2009 in three update computers. About 6 months after that one day I noticed strange happenings on my NR1. It was a Trojan, reprocating virus. MS didn't ever see it. I went to Avast where they recognized it but could not eliminate it. Then I went to free AVG and they recognized it and proceeded to take it completely our of my computer. Every little bit. Now using Panda and hope it's better than MS. All on W7 of course.
.LOVE the article!!....Thanks, Dick

I've been using MSE for some time and been quite happy with it. I can't remember ever having to use Help. I also have Superantispyware Pro installed. Both programs have real time protection enabled, and I update and scan in parallel without any obvious problems. Thoughts?

EDITOR'S NOTE: If everything is working, it's usually best to leave things alone. But if I was to change anything, it would be to drop Superantispyware Pro (probably redundant), or run it only occasionally.

I'm wondering how the paid Programs can survive....

If this program is as good as they say , why would anyone Spend up to $70 for a security package? What extra protection do the heavy weights provide?

EDITOR'S NOTE: The paid versions have been competing with about a dozen excellent free alternatives for a while. The answer is differentiation (features) and perceived value (marketing). But I agree that MS has a big advantage, especially if they roll this into the base operating system. But I don't think they'll do that, because it would result in more anti-trust lawsuits.

1. i have installed mse. got two problem. it does not remove thread automatically and other is its update option.
2. i have downloaded an untrusted .exe file on my pc, and scanned by mse. it said no virus. then when i run that software it connects to internet and downloading viruses which was caught by mse itself. i search on the net for the virus and it doesnt solved. i dont know how people use windows firewall. if i could block the the .exe file to connect from internet then i would be help full.

* updates ones a day
* no automatically thread remove
* no firewall (i dont trust windows firewall)

As a blind computer user, software which operates correctly with my screen reader software is a must. I had previously used Avast, as its interface was accessible. But the recent upgrade to Avast 5 has rendered the accessibility of its interface very poor at best. I have switched all of my computers to MSE and it is working great. I had started migrating many of my clients computers to MSE last December and they have all performed flawlessly. The nicest part is that MSE has virtually eliminated the need to manually remove viruses and malware that used to sneak past McAfee, Norton and AVG. I highly recommend MSE, although I never thought that I would be recommending a Microsoft AV product.

I've been using the Avast Free anti-virus program, and it is excellent! Will not try anything from Micro Soft. Still don't trust them absolutely.

Though really a question, this is sort of about this article, so I'll try here.

You said:

>> so I decided to replace my current security software (Avira anti-virus and Windows Defender) with MSE.

I use Avira anti-virus too (for many years, free and Premier). Just installed Avira free on new Win 7 Ultimate load; but it wanted me to turn off Win Defender first. Can one run them together, somehow?

BTW, I'm a fan of yours (also many years). Look forward your 'missiles'. Nice job. Thanks.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Bill, Avira Free does have an anti-spyware component. I can't say how it compares to what Defender offers. You might be able to turn off real-time protection in Defender and still run manual or scheduled scans.

Hey Cal, if you don't trust Micro$oft, why you using Windows? Windows IS from Micro$oft! If I am going to use Windows, I would be likely to trust an antivirus from the people who developed Windows, thus know the OS intimately rather than one from a third party.

If you hate Micro$oft, go to Linux, and get rid of Windows completely. Otherwise, get real...

I have been using MSE for a year now and find it works very well. Have used almost every AV scanner available as freeware and while others work well, MSE is a great "set it and forget it" program. Besides MBAM one should also keep SuperAntiSpyware available so you have a couple of "spare tires".

Many of us admins in PC Tech in PalTalk use these programs daily to assist users in cleaning their systems. As I write we are trying to assist a user to remove ThinkPoint which is quite a nasty.

I used MSE, Avira and AVG. But I found that MSE can detect many more viruses and malware that Avira or AVG can't detect. So, it is best to use MSE.

I use mse on my dell demension 2400 computer. It takes about twelve hours to run a full scan. How come you say it only takes about one hour.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Wow, that seems excessive. I wonder, do you have any other anti-virus or anti-spyware tools running at the same time? That could be slowing things down. Also, the speed of your processor, the amount of RAM (and free RAM), and the number of files you have, will all affect the time required. Try disabling other security tools, and running it in Safe Mode and see what happens.