Try out the new Microsoft Security Essentials

Comment #8

Todd — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:45:43 GMT

It's very cool the first time you see that you can even change the BIOS on the virtual computer. It's wicked stuff -- there's a reason it's gaining traction so quickly.

Comment #7

jarasan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:22:38 GMT

Thank You Todd, that is an excellent suggestion. I have had a little bit of exposure to the virtualization software at one of my accounts where they plan on virtualising all servers and clients! At first it is hard to wrap ones head around the fact that software can emulate a fully functinal computer. But they insist it will be much safer for the applications since they can't be messed up physically! Can't argue with that logic.

Comment #6

Todd — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:56:24 GMT

@j- There's a much better way to try stuff out, and not wasting another machine to do it. Just get yourself a copy of VMWare and you can install and run virtual machines right on your PC. Once you get your test environment set up in a virtual machine, make a backup clone of the VM, so every time you want to test something you can start with a fresh machine, perfectly configured.

Comment #5

jarasan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:44:54 GMT

P.S. I have spent time considering whether or not I want to proceed to an unknown domain from the UNPROTECTED machine. If I had my doubts I would use another machine WITH anti virus software.... McAfee. Then of course, if the PROTECTED machine had been off for more than a day, it would have to update McAfee and start a scan UGH!!!! This was a huge time killer! Stopping the scan and waiting for the updater to complete, I believe in energy conservation......yawn.,.. but keeping a machine on-l... [ More ]

Comment #4

jarasan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:26:23 GMT

It looks like the service that runs in the background is msseces.exe and it is quiet with zero commit.

Comment #3

Todd — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:16:07 GMT

@J- I think your last sentence says it all. There are so many viruses around because so many people so those risky things feeling that there won't be consequences. You absolutely can surf the Internet and not get viruses. (A firewall is different though. You can't go without one, because people can find you without you doing anything except being connected.) Still, I would have anti-virus software installed just because mistakes happen. There are some very clever schemes out there, a... [ More ]

Comment #2

jarasan — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:50:20 GMT

Thanks Todd! I've been running 2 partitions for over a year now with no anti virus software installed! Some IT people may comment that "it is very risky what you are doing". I say "I respect your opinion, but anti-virus software kills my computer's performance." So, long story short, I am a proactive safe web surfer that maybe got lucky and hasn't had a virus etc. in over a year and have spent zero time in dealing with anti virus software. Well, this evening I downloaded thi... [ More ]

Comment #1

budward — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:44:00 GMT

Thanks Todd. I've got it going now. I am one of those that got scammed by BitDefender. What a horrible product it turned out to be. Nothing but problems.

Original Blog Entry: Try out the new Microsoft Security Essentials

Todd — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:46:32 GMT

This post is for anyone who has looked for good anti-virus/anti-malware software.

Microsoft just today came out with a beta of their latest security software, which previously had the code name "Morro". The official product name is Microsoft Security Essentials.

Like the other Windows Live software Microsoft offers, the new security software is free, and will always remains free.

It is a direct replacement for the company's OneCare software, which I personally use, and which I have recommended to many people. The new software removes the backup and firewall components from OneCare, but those components were really unnecessary anyway, because they are built into Windows.

I have installed the new Security Essentials myself, and it is perfect for what I look for in security software: it is simple, it doesn't annoy you with a bunch of notifications about every nit and nat, and it has excellent malware detection, with fantastic ability to differentiate between real malware and "false positives".

There are only 75,000 slots open for the beta program, so if you want to give it a try, swing over to the following link right now, and at least get the installer downloaded, even if you install it later.

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

I have been running for over a year now without any of those big security suites installed (like Norton, McAfee, Kaspersky, ZoneAlarm, etc.), and I couldn't be happier. They were a big waste of time and frequently slowed down my computer.

Microsoft's firewall that's built into Vista is as good as any firewall in those security suites (it is actually superior to most), so why would I want to replace it with some other company's software?

Microsoft's OneCare is currently one of only three products to get certified by the industry standard tests (can't remember the name of it), and the new software uses the same security engine — so it's really good.

I love that the installer immediately downloads the latest virus updates and runs a quick scan, without having to kick it off yourself or hunt for the right button.