I was one of many users of Microsoft’s free Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) anti-malware bundle who received notification yesterday that Microsoft wanted to push to me a new version of MSE.
Microsoft prompted users of existing MSE releases (including versions 1.0.1407.0, 1.0.1500.0, 1.0.1610.0, 1.0.1961.0, or an earlier version) to upgrade on June 28. The upgrade — version number 1.0.1963.0 — was marked “Important” or “High Priority.”
(A quick refresher on MSE: MSE is Microsoft’s replacement for Windows Live OneCare and a superset of Windows Defender. Microsoft officials have said it is meant for consumers who are unwilling or unable to pay for security software. There’s a more business-focused, paid version of this bundle, known as Forefront EndPoint Protection (formerly known as Forefront Client Security), the latest version of which is due later this year.)
There was basically no information in the accompanying Microsoft Knowledge Base article about exactly what’s included in the new MSE update (but plenty of information as to how to click on the upgrade/download tab.
So what’s inside? A Microsoft spokesperson sent back this response:
“This (MSE) release is a part of the standard update cycle and includes only minor updates and fixes. This update contains some minor enhancements and compatibility fixes to facilitate a seamless upgrade experience to future versions of Microsoft Security Essentials.”
I’ve been using MSE (codenamed ‘Morro”) on my Windows 7 PC to add a layer of virus/malware/spyware protection with next-to-no issues. (The only problems I did have with MSE were when two blocks of memory on my PC were going bad and I encountered a lot of MSE definition-update problems. Since I replaced the memory, MSE has been working fine.)
If anyone has any more info on what’s in the newest MSE update, let us all know….
