Like many others here I use Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) to protect my PC.
A new version has just been released after beta testing. Mine upgraded from version 2.1.1116.0 to version 4.0.1526; I wonder what happened to version 3?
MSE can be downloaded from here:-
windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows/products/security-essentials
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Thanks for the heads-up - upgraded mine (also 2.1.1116.0)
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Interesting. MSE stopped working properly on my netbook a couple of weeks ago - I lost the icon and couldn't get the dashboard bit to open to do a scan. I tried all sorts, gave up in the end, and installed the free TalkTalk badged version of F-Secure, which doesn't seem to create much overhead.
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You may well find that your PC is very slow to open folders, particularly if they have lots of big files inside them. (My downloads file, for instance, with lots of downloaded installation programs in it, took for ever to open)
This is because, by default, MSE is set to scan even already scanned archive files, every time that they are accessed.
You can cure this by going to the "advanced" settings tab and un-checking the box which tells MSE to scan archived files.
It will help.
If you want a good, free, light, AV program try Panda Cloud (Free) AV.
You hardly know it's there and it performs well in tests.
www.cloudantivirus.com/en/#!free-antivirus-download
Last edited by: Roger on Sun 29 Apr 12 at 22:40
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It might also help if you disable Windows Defend; also set to scan archives!
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Windows defender (if previously installed) should be disabled by an instal of MSE.
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It was not on SWMBO's new laptop. I've just done it.
In addition, I have returned to Panda Cloud (free) AV. Very light & tests well.
Last edited by: Roger on Wed 2 May 12 at 17:55
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>> tests well
So Roger is an AV expert tester now then. Must pay well in retirement.
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I`ve never trusted MSE, just had a funny feeling about it, so stuck with tried and trusted Avast. This "feeling" was confirmed when (in another thread) Zero mentioned that he had suffered a virus attack (despite having MSE installed) and had used Avast to remove it.
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MSE is brilliant for less able users as it is so easy to use. I still install it, although to I try and push Kaspersky.
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Perfectly possible to have a "nasty" slip through, whatever you use.
Depends what it is, when it first showed up and how long it takes to be detected, analysed and the appropriate updates to your signature definitions to occur.
MSE would probably have removed it in the next scan cycle after the update to spot it had occurred.
The commonest sort of thing that gets through is a "trojan dropper", usually a java module. These aren't actually nasty in themselves, they merely serve to push something that is through. New versions of these crop up on an almost hourly basis. What usually happens is that its intended action (the installation of a Trojan) fails due to the action of your security software, as the Trojan itself is less likely to be a new thing and it just sits in your browser cache until the next scan cycle picks it up and nukes it.
MSE is commonly regarded these days as one of the best of the free products, mainly because it lacks the continuous upgrade nagging or greyed-out "advanced features" (i.e. bits you have to pay for) common to these. In tests it generally does at least as well as the others do in terms of effectiveness.
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Microsoft Security Essentials - New Version - smokie
