Microsoft Security Essentials available at no-cost to small businesses from October

Microsoft ups the pressure on security vendors by offering free Microsoft Security Essentials to businesses with 10 PCs or less.

Eric Ligman, Microsoft global partner experience lead, spills the beans:

We are extremely excited today to let you know that Microsoft is making its Microsoft Security Essentials available to small businesses on up to 10 PCs for FREE, beginning in early October! By providing Microsoft Security Essentials to small businesses free of charge, Microsoft extends its commitment to help these companies save money and grow their business by offering no-cost protection from viruses, spyware and other malicious threats.

 There's more:

If you are a Microsoft partner, did you know you can participate in the free Microsoft Security Essentials distribution as well? The Microsoft Link Logo Program allows financial institutions, academic institutions, or any other company or business that has consumer-facing Web-based services to offer Microsoft Security Essentials to their customers easily and at no cost.

Will this mean less crapware? Unlikely. Security vendors pay OEMs to preload crippled crapware on new PCs. Microsoft is offering this fully-featured tool for free, but won't pay OEMs to install it

Here is a video featuring Theresa Burch, director of product management, who gives a look at the details of Microsoft Security Essentials for a little more about what Microsoft Security Essentials can do for your business: