Free Internet Security

In the field of software no other company can match the confidence level that Microsoft enjoys from its customers. Recently Microsoft entered the antivirus market, with its Microsoft Security Essentials. Below you will find a short review of the Microsoft Security Essential suit.

Security was and remains one of the prime concerns of for Internet users. Being online makes you vulnerable to multiple threats like spywares, viruses, Trojans and other malicious software or bots that can harm your data and privacy or both.

Numerous companies have released products that can provide you security and safety from viruses and malicious software, and Microsoft joined this club by releasing Windows Defender and Windows Live OneCare. But recently Microsoft announced that it is halting production of Windows Live OneCare and Windows Defender and promised a free and light weight antivirus that would provide you the security you need, and so MSE or Microsoft Security Essentials was developed.

MSE or Microsoft Security Essentials is free software that is available to all genuine Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 users. It provides protection against different kind of malware like viruses, Trojans, spyware including key loggers, spying tools and rootkits.  Microsoft Security Essentials indicates a change in the software giant's consumer antivirus marketing strategy, unlike other Microsoft products that come with a host of other tools; MSE is a standalone antivirus software that is free and does not require subscription for home or small scale users.

The beta version of Microsoft Security Essentials was released on 23rd June, 2009 to 75,000 customers in the United States, Israel, China and Brazil. The final and stable version was released on 29th September, 2009. Since its release it has received a general positive response.  On 16th December 2010 Microsoft released a more efficient version of MSE, the Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0.

It is based on a new anti malware engine that uses heuristics in malware detection. Additionally it contains a Network inspection system and a network intrusion detection system for windows Vista and Windows 7. MSE can also integrate with Microsoft Internet Explorer to protect its users from Internet based threats.

The system requirements for Microsoft Security Essentials are 500 Mhz processor and 256 MB of RAM for Windows XP, and 1 GHz processor and 1 GB RAM for windows Vista and Windows 7. Under all compatible systems 140 MB of free disk space and Internet connection are required.

Microsoft Security Essentials share the same virus definitions as all other desktop security software by Microsoft including Windows Defender, Windows Live OneCare and Forefront Client security, however upon installation it disables Windows Defender and previous versions of Windows Live OneCare.  Talking about its features, it is lightweight and remarkably quick. Installation is very simple. You have to choose between three different versions. A 32 bit version for Windows XP and 64 Bit versions both for Windows Vista and Windows 7 respectively.

Before installation MSE validates your Windows and after validation is complete the installation takes only a few minutes. Upon installation it automatically updates itself and after installation the updates are downloaded and installed automatically. It features a clean and simple interface. It has three different levels to show the status of your computer, The green status means that you are protected and safe, the antivirus is running smoothly and is updated. Yellow means that your computer might be infected and you need a scan, Red means that your computer is definitely infected and you must run a complete scan of your disks. For scanning you have three options: Quick, Full and custom.

You can also schedule scans for your computer. Microsoft Security Essentials contains a user mode service and a kernel mode driver, for improved security. It can tackle malware no matter where it lives in the system. MSE is supported by a series of web services, including telemetry data through the SpyNet service, Microsoft Update, and a separate signature update service. Under the default settings environment the archived files are first decompressed and than scanned for possible threats. Attachments and file downloads are also scanned. The new Dynamic Signature Service attempts to better identify malicious files by checking for updates if an application demonstrates suspicious behavior. Upon detecting a possible threat, Microsoft Security Essential prompts the user to take appropriate action, if the user fails to respond in 10 minutes the MSE takes action according to its default settings.

The beta version of Microsoft Security Essentials performed poorly in tests to figure out how effectively it could block real time threats. It managed to block 64 percent of attacks and partially blocked an additional 7 percent, a figure much lower than its competitors in the market. However once an infection is in your PC the MSE performs a much efficient job. It managed to clean 70 percent of threats, thanks to its robust kernel mode and advance signature technology. The scan speed was also slower than Avira and McAfee, it took more time to scan the same amount of data than Avira, Kaspersky and McAfee scanned relatively quickly. However the biggest edge it enjoys is that its free, and among the free antivirus market it may well be the best choice there is. (Learn how to uninstall McAfee antivirus)

Upon its launch, Microsoft Security Essentials received a very positive response from consumers. One of the prime concern of consumers about antivirus software is that it slows down their machine, and the MSE proved to be the solution to this problem. It is extremely fast and lightweight and never overburdens your PC or is resource hogging. After the launch of MSE the shares of Symantic and McAfee fell by 9.44 percent and 6.22 percent respectively. The major stake holder companies on Antivirus market Symantic, McAfee and Kaspersky Labs dismissed Microsoft Security Essentials as a potential competitor and claimed that MSE was substandard and did not provid the level of protection that their products offer to their users. Tom Powledge of Symantec claimed OneCare offered "substandard protection" and an "inferior user experience," implying that Microsoft Security Essentials is the same.

Joris Evers, Director of worldwide public relations for McAfee stated: "With OneCare's market share of less than 2%, we understand Microsoft's decision to shift attention to their core business." Justin Priestley of Kaspersky stated: "[Microsoft] continue to hold a very low market share in the consumer market, and we don't expect the exit of OneCare to change the playing field drastically." AVG Technologies showed a positive response towards MSE. According to an AVG representative: "We view this as a positive step for the AV landscape. AVG has believed in the right to free antivirus software for the past eight years."  (Check out our AVG antivirus review). Nevertheless, AVG raised the issue of distributing the software product and said, "Microsoft will have to do more than simply make the product available. But despite its appreciation of Microsoft Security Essentials as a free product, AVG Technologies stated that the integration of Microsoft Security Essentials with Microsoft Windows would be a violation of competition law.

In a nutshell, the MSE might not be the silver bullet for malware and viruses but it's a lot better than the other free antivirus softwares on the market and effectively competes with much expensive and high-tech software of its era.