Free Microsoft Security Essentials

Not to seem like a Linux geek or anything, but how can a piece of software released by a company to plug security holes and combat malicious software that exploits security holes in software that it sells be considered free?
 
I have been using it since they release the Beta version and I must say it is not bad at all. Haven't had any problems and I have tested it. It seems to detect more that Avast, AVG etc that I have been used before. It It does not slow my Machine down as the other and I am very happy with it. It updates every day with new definitions.
 
Well i've been beta'ing it for a few months, definitely worth it. It's small and out of the way [precisely what you want from an anti-virus] . So i'd say, worth a look, and it's free.
 
Nick333 said:
Not to seem like a Linux geek or anything, but how can a piece of software released by a company to plug security holes and combat malicious software that exploits security holes in software that it sells be considered free?
Click to expand...

That's free as in beer and not free as in freedom...

They really have gotten a lot better on the security front. Not all the malware that gets into people's systems is as a result of security holes in Windows being exploited. A lot of them are now targeting third party software like Flash, Adobe Reader etc because Microsoft have made gains in their security procedures. Then there will always be the people who will install the latest "codec" to view a video on the web and get infected. If a user chooses to run a program as admin/root there is nothing much you can do...

I think that this is a really positive move on their part. I will still use Norton Internet Security 2010 for its speed and high detection rate but for the average user who doesn't want to shell out a few hundreds bucks a year for security software it is great!
 
Awesome. Hope they add proxy support to the final version. I'd place it equal with Nod32 performance wise; and it has a better detection rate with default settings compared to Trend Micro Officescan.
On a few tests I've done with infected flash drives, Security Essentials would often pick up something that Trend missed, while Trend never picked up anything that Security Essentials missed.
 
Lol, let us hope that they don't bundle this free antivirus software with Windows otherwise the anal competition authorities in the EU are going to issue more fines...
 
I haven't seen the beta version yet. However, my concern is that it seem that most malware is written for IE and M$. M$ haven't got a good track record with the security of IE. So is this likely to be any better? Maybe somebody is better placed to comment on this?

Still I suppose it is worth a look.
 
Cool. Will download when I get home. I'm happy with using M$ for my firewall and AV - but then again I do all my downloads and dodgy sites in Linux
 
McT said:
I haven't seen the beta version yet. However, my concern is that it seem that most malware is written for IE and M$. M$ haven't got a good track record with the security of IE. So is this likely to be any better? Maybe somebody is better placed to comment on this?

Still I suppose it is worth a look.
Click to expand...

Well this is just an anti-virus. Nothing fancy, it scans files realtime and on a scheduled basis. Basically to be compared to something like AVG / Avira.

It's not a "suite" with firewall and all the zillions of tools Norton/Mcafee put in their "Security Suites". I guess it's as the name says just the "essentials".
 
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been using 2 months now, works just fine for me.
 
pkid said:
That's free as in beer and not free as in freedom...

They really have gotten a lot better on the security front. Not all the malware that gets into people's systems is as a result of security holes in Windows being exploited. A lot of them are now targeting third party software like Flash, Adobe Reader etc because Microsoft have made gains in their security procedures. Then there will always be the people who will install the latest "codec" to view a video on the web and get infected. If a user chooses to run a program as admin/root there is nothing much you can do...

I think that this is a really positive move on their part. I will still use Norton Internet Security 2010 for its speed and high detection rate but for the average user who doesn't want to shell out a few hundreds bucks a year for security software it is great!
Click to expand...

Ja, I know. My point is its like a company selling you a car without doors, expecting a third party to provide the doors at your expense, then eventually deciding to provide the doors at no cost. Would you thank them for the "free" doors?

Its definitely not a bad thing for Windows users I suppose.
 
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