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Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Microsoft Security Essentials available today

By | September 29, 2009, 7:15am PDT

Summary: Microsoft has confirmed that it is releasing Microsoft Security Essentials, its free anti-malware product, today (September 29). The cut-down, basic anti-malware solution replaces Microsoft’s Windows Live OneCare.

Microsoft has confirmed that it is releasing Microsoft Security Essentials, its free anti-malware product, today (September 29). The cut-down, basic anti-malware solution replaces Microsoft’s Windows Live OneCare.

The Microsoft Security Essentials is a freeware application which provides the user with protection against malware. It’s important to bear in mind that while Microsoft Security Essentials is a replacement for OneCare, Microsoft Security Essentials does not come with a software firewall, data backup facility or troubleshooting tools. Instead, Microsoft Security Essentials focuses only on offering anti-malware and anti-rootkit functionality.

“In November 2008, Microsoft announced plans to deliver a new no-cost anti-malware solution—code-named Morro—to consumers in the second half of calendar year 2009. By providing this core anti-malware solution to consumers at no cost … Microsoft [is able] to better address the security needs created by smaller PC form factors, explosive growth of PCs in emerging markets and rapid increases in the incidence of global malware, and … remove some of the barriers that stand in the way of consumers having quality anti-malware protection.”

According to Microsoft, Security Essentials is “the first Microsoft security product to make use of the company’s new Dynamic Signature Service, a technology that helps ensure [that] users stay protected by the most current virus definitions available without having to wait for the next scheduled download.”

Note: For the record, the final build of Microsoft Security Essentials is 1.0.1611.0.

Microsoft Security Essentials will be available in eight languages and 19 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.

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Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

Disclosure

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

All opinions expressed on Hardware 2.0 are those of Adrian Kingsley-Hughes. Every effort is made to ensure that the information posted is accurate. If you have any comments, queries or corrections, please contact Adrian via the email link here. Any possible conflicts of interest will be posted below. [Updated: February 23, 2010] - Adrian Kingsley-Hughes has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other actual/potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted so far on this blog.

Biography

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology -- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get the most from their new MP3 player or digital camera.

Adrian has authored/co-authored technical books on a variety of topics, ranging from programming to building and maintaining PCs. His most recent books include "Build the Ultimate Custom PC", "Beginning Programming" and "The PC Doctor's Fix It Yourself Guide". He has also written training manuals that have been used by a number of Fortune 500 companies.

Adrian also runs a popular blog under the name The PC Doctor, where he covers a range of computer-related topics -- from security to repairing and upgrading.

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If you're paranoid about having protection on 24/7
Joe_Raby 30th Sep 2009
download MSE from the main site here:

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials

and the latest engine/defs package from the Microsoft Security Portal here:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Definitions/ADL.aspx

Then, disconnect from the internet, remove Avast, reboot if necessary, install MSE and update it with the extra package, reboot if necessary, and then reconnect to your network/internet.

MSE rarely requires rebooting. Avast sometimes does though.

MSE will not install if it detects conflicting software.
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International availability
Joe_Raby 29th Sep 2009
"Microsoft Security Essentials will be available in eight languages and 19 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States."

Today? Or are they delaying the additional countries until later?

Originally, they had limited the beta to the US, and I think Brazil and Israel, but only in English.
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Available to all, NOW!
Joe_Raby 29th Sep 2009
Good stuff.

Now if only the Zune stuff rolled out to international markets this easily.
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http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials is now down.

Waiting for it to go live with the RTW.
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Website back up
duck_ 29th Sep 2009
Up again (at least for me)
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10-4
Joe_Raby 29th Sep 2009
nt
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I like the support videos
Joe_Raby 29th Sep 2009
They'd be very handy for n00bs. wink
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It appears to be as good as eSet AV. From the description which Adrian gave it sounds as if its a cutrate program; it is not. It has trapped and destroyed many viruses on computers i have had to re-install OS's on. Yea for Microsoft; perhaps other AV companies will change their programs to be more compatible with MSE and offer features which key off of MSE and not compete with it. And in the end drop their prices.
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Need to hear more about MSE before I uninstall avast!, which can be temporarily disabled, but would restart, along with MSE, on the subsequent reboot. Not good.

Gary

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download MSE from the main site here:

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials

and the latest engine/defs package from the Microsoft Security Portal here:

http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/Definitions/ADL.aspx

Then, disconnect from the internet, remove Avast, reboot if necessary, install MSE and update it with the extra package, reboot if necessary, and then reconnect to your network/internet.

MSE rarely requires rebooting. Avast sometimes does though.

MSE will not install if it detects conflicting software.

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