Leaked: Microsoft Security Essentials (codename Morro)

SIW2 said:

LOL.

When a punter has no alternative but to go and search for an app. - there is an element of choice.

When the o/s and app. come on the machine by default - the vast majority do not choose - they just accept.

The very few who do get something else are either enthusiasts, or were told to install them by their enthusiast friend/ brother, etc.

Lots of people now have Malwarebytes in addition to their resident a/v, because I suggested it.

They had never heard of it and would never have gone looking for it. Some have decided to get the paid version.

One major reason OneCare did not do so well is because of the tie ups the big boys have with the oem's and ISP's.

Most people will pay for the one on the machine when the trial runs out, or take the one their ISP offers ( for a fee).

That is because they are told they need an a/v , but don't really know what they do - or what is more suitable for them , or how to look for one.

In any case, they don't want to know - they are not interested - they just take what is easiest.

Exactly. This is what M$ is working towards. Most people don't know about others, because they are NOT enthusiasts like us. Which is why IE is so popular: not because it is the best, it is just there automatically. And it works.

~Lordbob

Dorfdad said:

How and the hell do you manage not to need an Antivirus?

I don't use one either. The best antivirus is the human brain

Slimy said:

I don't use one either. The best antivirus is the human brain

That works most of the time, but what about something that happens beyond the human brain to control or predict? Having a backup (free one) is nice, and helps with piece of mind.

Or we could just ask the hackers to stop making them.....

~Lordbob

Overall a good product.

Apologies if this has been already posted but it is a preliminary analysis from an authoritative source - Computerworld reports on AV-Test GmbH - the grab is:

AV-Test GmbH tested Microsoft Security Essentials, the free software Microsoft launched yesterday in beta, on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, putting it up against nearly 3,200 common viruses, bot Trojans and worms, said Andreas Marx, one of the firm's two managers. The malware was culled from the most recent WildList, a list of threats actually actively attacking computers.
"All files were properly detected and treated by the product," said Marx in an e-mail. "That's good, as several other [antivirus] scanners are still not able to detect and kill all of these critters yet."
AV-Test also measured Security Essentials against a set of in-house false positives to see whether the software mistakenly fingers legitimate files, a nightmare for users, who can be left with a crippled computer, and a disaster to the reputation of a security company.
"None of the clean files were flagged as being malicious," noted Marx. "Very good."
AV-Test also examined the program's anti-rootkit skills and its ability to scrub a system of malware it finds with a limited number of samples and "found no reasons to complain," Marx said. "[Security Essentials] is able to remove found malware very well, but further tests against larger sets of samples are required before we can come to a final conclusion."

Reassuring, if not definitive to those using the beta (as I am).

I think the current review of 30+ AVs from AV-Test is also pretty revealing and should provide hours of fun and horror for everyone touting their favorite AV solution. Find it here.

What it tells me is:

• Most AV solutions are pretty good
• No AV solutions are perfect
• Some AV Solutions are below par and there are better choices
• Free or Paid is no indicator of how well an AV solution will find a virus/Malware/Trojan etc
• Some AV solutions work flawlessly in Windows 7 (MSE, Eset, Avast and, I think, Avira are amongst those)
• Some AV solutions don't work in 7
• We should worry about this issue less!