Microsoft Security Essentials

Just received notification from MS Download Notifications about their new anti-virus/spyware software.

Does anyone have any knowledge of this?

Glenn

I don't think I'm on their mailing list, but, you mean other than their current Microsoft Security Essentials, Microsoft will have a new anti-virus/spyware software? Will it be free, too?

I use the free MSE as my default virus/spyware scanner for Windows 7. It seems to have a low-ish impact on system resources and performance. I switch off realtime protection while programming and photoshopping and switch it back on while web browsing and emailing.

I don't trust it.

I put Security Essentials on an XP PC at work two weeks ago. A week ago one of my work colleagues used that same computer to click on a link, and the link apparently told her the computer was infected and to click on some button. She shouldn't have, of course, but she did, and the PC immediately got infected with all kinds of stuff. Security Essentials did nothing to stop it, and the only fix was to wipe the HDD and re-install everything, which is what we did.

Fast forward to yesterday. I had Security Essentials on my home XP PC as well. Yesterday my wife clicked on a town website that turned out to be hacked. The web site warned her about viruses on her PC and to click whatever to fix it. She didn't click the “fix it” button but nevertheless my PC acted differently afterwards. When I logged on a few minutes later the Security Essentials logo in the task bar indicated it wasn't working, then I got a pop-up warning that the fire wall was off (Security Essentials does not disable Window's firewall) followed by another pop-up saying the firewall was working normally. These are two-pop-ups that don't usually happen, and I found it a bit odd that they happened right after my wife ventured to a hacked web site. I wasn't convinced these pop-up windows weren't part of malware designed to make me think the PC wasn't infected and so I used my 2-week old Acronis image and restored the PC back to where it was 2 weeks ago. I'm back to using the pay-version of AVG with firewall.

My family got caught by this same kind of virus 3 times last year. Once myself, the other 2 times by my kids. My paid Zone Alarm Pro didn't caught it at all. That's when I learned to use Acronis backup with the help from this forum.

I since moved to MS Security Essential on my home computers one by one. So far they are all running fine for more than 6 months.

I'm actually not aware of any virus protection software that can prevent this type of virus. So why a paid version?

If no anti-virus can be proven to prevent these kind virus or virus-like-behaviors, and I cannot imagine any anti-virus software can for-see and prevent new types of viruses, then my choice now is the free MS Security Essential with weekly deep scan. And I'd rather spend my $$ on Acronis backup.

Eric


[quote="Larsen"]I don't trust it.

Fast forward to yesterday. I had Security Essentials on my home XP PC as well. Yesterday my wife clicked on a town website that turned out to be hacked. The web site warned her about viruses on her PC and to click whatever to fix it. She didn't click the “fit it” button but nevertheless my PC acted differently afterwards. When I logged on a few minutes later the Security Essentials logo in the task bar indicated it wasn't working, then I got a pop-up warning that the fire wall was off (Security Essentials does not disable Window's firewall) followed by another pop-up saying the firewall was working normally. These are two-pop-ups that don't usually happen, and I found it a bit odd that they happened right after my wife ventured to a hacked web site. I wasn't convinced these pop-up windows weren't part of malware designed to make me think the PC wasn't infected and so I used my 2-week old Acronis image and restored the PC back to where it was 2 weeks ago. I'm back to using the pay-version of AVG with firewall.[/quote]

Larsen,

After using it for some time, that was my experience also - the real time protection didn't pick up a virus from the web, the weekly scan did though. So now I don't trust the real-time scanning. It is low impact on resources though

It also has some usability problems. The scheduled scan does not have enough options (like I don't want it to wait until my computer is idle and I do want it to wake my computer from sleep to do the scan). That you can work around, but you shouldn't have to.

Gene

Larsen, in those examples, the fault is with the operator, not the antivirus. It can't prevent user ignorance, no insult intended. There are different types of malware, and no software protects against all kinds.

MSE is pretty basic, but works reasonably well, comes in roughly the middle of the pack for effectiveness. We use it in certain cases for commercial customers.

Yeah, *nothing* can protect machines from users who think they're protected.

You also need to leave UAC switched on, and preferably turn it up to maximum.
Then you have to either not click obvously dodgy links, or when you do, say "no" to the UAC prompt.

Personally, I've disabled UAC completely. I have found it absurdly annoying.