Microsoft Security Essentials Tanks Another Antivirus Test

NomNom

NomNom

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Microsoft Security Essentials is free, which is great, but its protection has been getting slammed in antivirus tests in the last few months. The vast majority of antivirus products manage to pass certification with AV-Test; not Microsoft. In November and again in January Microsoft failed certification. The Microsoft product team issued a rebuttal basically stating that the test in question didn't measure their actual real-world protection. However, a new test just released by London-based Dennis Technology Labs puts Microsoft in last place, way behind all of its competition.

Where AV-Test and AV-Comparatives generally include twenty or more products in a test, Dennis Labs has focused on eight vendors in the consumer area: AVG, BitDefender, ESET, Kaspersky, McAfee, Microsoft, Norton, and Trend Micro. The commercial products all did well enough, some of them very well indeed.
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There's a very simple solution to all of this.

"Don't be a retard".

The best antivirus/antimalware in the world doesn't mean jack **** if the user says "yes please allow me to view the free porn".
 
It's not only that, you want to also have good protection from flash drives, other people on the network, protection from people stealing your passwords and personal information and not get a virus via email.
 
So, what's the solution? I've been recommending MSE left, right and center as a decent safe & free solution, especially to non-technical folks that just want a no-fuss anti-virus.

Time to go back to AVG free?

At the other end, Norton Internet Security is both a PCMag Editors' Choice and the only product to receive the top AAA rating in the Dennis Labs test. Kaspersky and ESET, both of which took AA ratings, also do well in my tests.
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I refuse to install Norton on anything ever again, and I subscribe to ESET at home due to their excellent firewall. Just looking at what to recommend to folks from now on.
 
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Sorry, but I have to question the sanity or objectivity of anyone who would recommend Norton at the top of their list!
And I would throw McAfee into that grouping as well.
Norton and McAfee are SERIOUS memory hogs and almost always degrade system performance to unusable levels.

Like somebody said up above, if you practice safe habits, you will be just fine with MSE.
I'll continue using it thanks.
 
 
Never had issues with MSE, lightweight and does the job.

Might not have all the bells and whistles, but would take it over mcafee or norton any day at home
 
I think I'll just keep MSE, thanks.

I'd only recommend "heavy duty" anti-virus to people who are desperately in need of them.
 
Isn't MSE built into Windows 8?

I'm just running Windows 8 without installing anything because they have that security centre.
 
I just remembered something I read somewhere:

Norton is so slow it bores virii to death!

I agree the overload Norton and Mcafee is just too much, but all programs do have an overhead, so I have been considering a fileserver just for storage so that I can remove the antivirus from my personal computer.
 
ernstn said:
I just remembered something I read somewhere:

Norton is so slow it bores virii to death!

I agree the overload Norton and Mcafee is just too much, but all programs do have an overhead, so I have been considering a fileserver just for storage so that I can remove the antivirus from my personal computer.
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Hahahahaha

Agree with Gary's sentiments here - and I believe the same was said the last time. IF mse lets me down, I'll consider something else but for my PC needs (just testing, occasionally other stuff) MSE is just fine.
 
TheGrove said:
Never had issues with MSE, lightweight and does the job.

Might not have all the bells and whistles, but would take it over mcafee or norton any day at home
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Reminds me of this:

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:D
 
I also recommend MSE. I'm using Forefront though... Looks the same :p
 
Fulcrum29 said:
On which OS and in which IT environment (home/business)?
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Windows 7 on personal laptop. Install the Forefront Endpoint Protection client and it updates via the interwebs. Seems exactly like MSE.

I know, I know... it's an enterprise solution but seems to work fine for me. ...well I think it is.
 
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