Windows 7: Ms Forefront Security - Installs in W7. FREE trials

Hi all

If you have a technet subscription you can download free - other wise you can get it for 120 days trial - Microsoft's corporate security offering -- very good indeed -- Microsoft Forefront Security. MSE is based on this but IMO this is HUGELY better - should be as its designed for businesses.

It works fine on client computers as well as servers - you need to do it a bit fiddly since this is normally deployed to clients via a server. So assuming you've downloaded the ISO and mounted either the ISO to a virtual drive or burned a physical disk proceed as follows.

Preliminary taks -- uninstall MSE (AND SYMANTEC if you are using that).

Assume Q is your CD image / CD/DVD drive.

now -- install from the iso as follows

1) get into a DOS elevated command mode (right mouse click on Command prompt - run as administrator)

2) CD Q:\CLIENT\X64\

3) Q:

4) CLIENTSETUP /NOMOM (You need that parameter since we are installing on a "stand alone client machine" where the security will not be run from the central server but by a user logged on to the machine).

Now it will install.

5) You'll get a message that it needs to update -- don't chose the automatic update as it will go to the "windows catalog" -- again this is because this type of software is usually managed and updated from a central server. Just use normal Windows update -- then it will update normally just like any other windows component.

If you are running an x-86 version of Windows 7 then step 2 just needs to be CD Q:\CLIENT

It's appearance and operation is very similar to MSE - but it has a great feature not present in a lot of other security suites -- Software explorer which shows at a glance what's running, what start up programs / services are started etc. You can delete / disable these at will very simply indeed from within the little panel - screenshot shown.

Screenshot enc.

From the main FSC panel choose TOOLS

I don't normally have a high regard for typical AV software - most should stay still shrinkwrapped in their boxes - but this one does seem good -- and as its business based I would expect definition updates and fixes to be released very often.

Cheers
jimbo

you should mention that unless the you install forefront hotfix 971026 it will not really protect you...
also the database is updated 3 times daily based on the metrics that i have on my server machine which i installed MSFS since aug...

So is it better than MSE?

Hi there
The hotfix / update gets installed as soon as you run a new windows update -- you need to run Windows update on a stand alone machine since it isn't being updated from a central server / location.

The DB updates are fine --the fact it DOES update often shows its doing its work.

I suspect it IS better than MSE since its business based and new definitions will be rolled out to business first before the wider community.

MSE doesn't also contain the Software Explorer tool (look at pic in the initial post in this thread) - a nice feature -- maybe MS will add this later.

Cheers
jimbo.