Microsoft Security Essentials - Good Enough? - Comments Page 2

I have been using AVG on an older notebook and have Spybot in the background to run when I want it to run. After reading comments, I am ready to try MSE and give it a whirl. I have also tried using Iobit software, but it occasionally seems to be a memory hog, and heavy on the resources. I have been using Zone alarm for a firewall, instead of the windows firewall. (but have switched back and forth to see what's going on with my resources) Any other comments or suggestions because I don't like running out of memory when I seem to have so few things running. I have 1.5 gb of memory that always seems a third or more is being used, with almost no programs running. And yes, it can take a while to run AVG or Spybot... I think I have tried MBAM, but it seems like it had a lot of extra junk loaded with it at the same time unless I downloaded a copycat malware version...

I have used Avast (free) and AVG (free, then paid version) before trying MSE. The experts say it does the job as well as any of them, so that's was good enough for me to give it a try, which I did when my paid subscription ran out. The program installs easily and is very easy to manage (although I forget its there, which is a good thing). It never seems to intrude other than an occasional alert when it finds something. What more could you want?

I have been using MSE very contentedly since the initial release, and now it's at least in edition 3. It has caught a number of problems even though I am a bit conservative in my Internet use. I am quite satisfied with it, and I have even found that a quick scan - of generally around 90,000 items - takes only about 4 minutes. Though it does update automatically I usually do run an update as part of each use. The only problem with this is that my update history file is well over 2 pages on a 27" monitor. I run Windows 7 Ultimate x64bit and am very happy with MSE.

Hi well I use to use mse as my main security solution untill it horibly failed to fend off a very very distructive worm. I had this program I downloaded that had a keygen and msc detected it it and tried to remove it and when the computer restartedc the hard drive processed and processed and when everything got through mse was no longer in the system tray in fact nothing to that nature was there so I attempted to run it from the desktop the drive processed and then it said your security software is enfected do you want to turn on security suite demo now? Well when I did that I realized that not only had mse been destroied but everything else was pretty much a mess and the mschost.exe files which I think are for networking and the internet were savatoged too. So I tried to uninstall that dumby program that the worm installed, not only would that come off but nothing else would uninstall either and I even used revo uninstaller with no success. Needless to say, mse allowed that worm to do a number on my system making the only choice be to reformat and reinstall. Now I know that no security software is perfect and I guess you can't beat something being free but I still think trend micro has a much better guard when it comes to security.

MSE is indeed a good program, and can be used with MBAM set to real time monitoring (paid version only.) However it is essential to add exceptions in MSE for MBAM if running XP, and advisable with Vista or W7 OS.

The list of exceptions (5 in all) can be found on the MBAM site and are easy to type into MSE "excluded files" and "excluded processes" section.

As MBAM runs at a different level and is not a traditional antivirus app., it works very well with MSE and windows.

Of course running two AV programs with real time protection is asking for trouble, but MBAM is different as it is designed to "compliment" not replace more traditional anti-virus programs.

I've been running the MSE beta 2 since it became available, and today Microsoft improved it via Windows Update:

Security Essentials Version: 2.0.522.0
Antimalware Client Version: 3.0.8007.0
Engine Version: 1.1.6301.0
Antivirus definition: 1.93.1519.0
Antispyware definition: 1.93.1519.0
Network Inspection System Engine Version: 2.0.5850.0
Network Inspection System Definition Version: 8.49.0.0
Policy Name: FEP clean-up policy
I don't know if MSE version 1 got updated to MSE 2. Perhaps Someone will comment here.

I use mse on all(5) of my computers ..after using avg now I just use mse...great program & not a memory hog like all the others....I figured it is from the manufacturer of the os how bad cane it be....havent had a issue since I started using it...I started using it when I think when it came out ,a year or so....

I downloaded MSE two days ago - the easiest download I've ever touched - and obviously haven't had much experience with it but what I've noted so far is the lack of fuss while its working in the background. I've yet to disable the free Avast email only file. I didn't see mention of the email equivelant during download. I have just expected the MSE covers that aspect, being internet related. Anyone here know for sure?

I downloaded Defender at the same time and expect MSE disabled that one. Can't imagine there's any harm in deleting that file?

As you can see, I'm not a techie by any stretch of a mystery-writer's imagination.

Thanks for the help, Bob; much appreciated.

I have been using MSE for the last year or so. It does very well for me. My computer is slow, and most anti-virus programs bog it down. MSE uses less ram.

I do amatuer repair work for friends and family. I have changed them over to MSE, they enjoy it because of the simple interface. I install it and set scheduled scans, and everything else is pretty simple for them.

I am not a big fan of Microsoft, but I give them a thumbs up on this one!

I am running into one issue with MSE. About once an hour, I get a pop-up telling me that my firewall is down. I have to click the program open and turn the firewall back on. Not only is this extremely disruptive and annoying, it also makes me wonder if something nasty will slip in if I miss the warning.
Because of this, I am shutting down my internet connection when I am not actively using it. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a fix?
I'm not a techie at all. My fixer-guy installed this after my unfortunate run in with a nasty popup that loaded malware when I tried to close it out.

EDITOR'S NOTE: My first guess would be that some malware is turning off the firewall. Try scanning with MBAM. See http://askbobrankin.com/malwarebytes_antimalware.html

First I must say that I am totally computer-illiterate. When I bought my pc in 2008 I subscribed to Windows Live Care and when it was due to expire they gave me an extra 6 months free of charge and then advised me to download MSE. Never had one single problem. 4 months ago I had my little pc upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 Ultimate...the person who did it said that MSE was NOT an anti-virus and made me pay 80 euro to put another one in (Kaspersky). I've had a virus problem with my email account which was not detected, so it's obviously not that good. MSE also reminded me to do a clear-out of old files now-and-again... Kaspersky doesn't. I'm definately going back to MSE as soon as this subscription runs out.
Thank you very much for your clear explanations, they're worth gold to people like me!

I installed MSE about 2 years ago, and have had problems at all!!(I hope I didn't just jinx myself or my laptop ;) Never had one virus or malware that that I know of.

I began using MSE shortly after Windows 7 was released. Prior to that, I was running Avast Free, however at that time, the boot time scan wasn't available for 64 bit OS's.

So I tried MSE & for a few months, all was OK. Then one night, I decided to try the Safari browser with Google Safe Search. I was to soon find out just how safe it was. 15 to 20 minutes later, with several pages open, I caught what was the nastiest infection of my life. MSE warned me, but it was too late. Couldn't run a scan with it, nor MBAM (free version), nor get to the MRT tool in the Start Menu that's released each month via Windows/Microsoft Update.

Fortunately, this happened on a TechNet version of Windows 7, not my main install. I simply formatted the partition & reinstalled. But since then, went with NOD32 AV, along with MBAM Pro. Though I do feel that had MBAM Pro been installed (rather than the free on demand scanner), the infection wouldn't have happened.

Cat