Microsoft Security Essentials Served via Windows Update as an Optional

Microsoft Security Essentials Served via Windows Update as an Optional Update

Microsoft has started serving its free security solution for genuine Windows automatically to customers via Windows Update.

Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 is being offered through WU to all supported versions of the Windows client, namely Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.

However, the Redmond company is not automatically delivering MSE 1.0 to all its users.

The software giant revealed that customers must first subscribe Microsoft Windows Update in order to be offered Microsoft Security Essentials through WU.

And even then, the antivirus is only provided as an optional update, which means that it will not download and install automatically, but that users need to manually deploy it.

“Microsoft is offering Microsoft Security Essentials as an optional update to Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 users who subscribe to Microsoft Windows Update,” the Redmond company stated.

In its first year on the market, Microsoft Security Essentials has been downloaded in excess of 30 million times by users around the world.

The security solution is available free of charge to users of genuine versions of Windows in no less than 74 markets worldwide, having been localized in a total of 25 languages.

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Microsoft Security Essentials Served via Windows Update as an Optional Update - Softpedia

A very good idea.

Thanks, JMH, interesting. I haven't checked updates today...hang on...nope, not in my "optional" list yet...

I wonder when the paid-for Ant-virus vendors might file a law suit regarding this action.

Shades of an intricate-to-the-operating-system Internet Explorer to come?

If MSE continues to prove quite effective, useful and a small footprint...does that mean that it will soon go independently commercial?

I mean still a MS product...but you have to buy it alone?

Or will it continue to be a good free provision?

mikedl said:

Thanks, JMH, interesting. I haven't checked updates today...hang on...nope, not in my "optional" list yet...

I wonder when the paid-for Ant-virus vendors might file a law suit regarding this action.

Shades of an intricate-to-the-operating-system Internet Explorer to come?

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See I find this legal stuff against Microsoft to be nothing more then a joke.

I still can't understand how Microsoft lost a battle in Europe that they can't bundle IE in with the OS. That to me is so crazy I can't beleve it even made it into court let alone Microsoft losing...

It only makes sense that Microsoft is being the company they always should have been and making a program that helps protect the OS's flaws. 3rd party companies that do the same are just trying to make a business out of it. Do they do it better then MSE depending on what you use yes it does, but for the home user it's usually good enough. I am sure the 3rd parties are mad but is this a legal issue? I think not. Microsoft should beable to do whatever they want with the OS they create.

Companies should be happy Microsoft even allows others to make security software, make computers that run windows, make thousands of devices that work with Windows etc. You can't say that with all companies...Apple...

Really what if Microsoft was as controlling as Apple? Microsoft and Apple were the only ones to make computers and OS's. Computer prices would be way more expensive and all these 3rd party companies would not even be here. They should just be happy with what they have and deal with it.

That's my opinion. To bad the legal system does not work that way and Microsoft will most likely get taken to court over MSE because it is free and the 3rd parties are not making as much money anymore...

It's all about the antitrust laws. The lack of such stifles competition and ultimately drives prices up, not down.

The legal ramifications regarding software companies and possible antitrust lawsuits are dependent on the actions of the dominant software provider and whether or not those actions stifle competition unfairly.

This will be an interesting scenario to observe.

There wouldn't be 3rd party software if there wasn't a Microsoft. MSE for a dollar a year. Refundable at the end of the year to apply to the next year. That would work for me.

I take it y'all are on the monopoly train, destination be damned?

No,, There is no such thing as a monopoly here.

Build a better OS, and then if MS or anyone tries to stifle your competition in the market, you might have something.

Till Then, it's all BS.

There are choices, and it's called Unix/Linux with (150+ flavors), Apple.... Once upon a time, OS2.....

So this whole Monopoly thing is smoke, mirrors and a mountain of BS.

Build your own OS, then we will see.

If Microsoft is guilty..........
Let's talk competition stifling,.,.,,. APPLE?????
Um, oh yeah, you can't install our OS on any hardware that was not purchased by us.

Please what friggin train? The Apple Express?

Hell even Apple tried to stop 3rd party accessories for Ipods. Please, don't talk about competition killing companies.

Oh, but it's ok that Apple does it, MS are the evil *******s here.

Sorry,, this is more directed to anyone that thinks MS are any kind of monopoly. They are not.

Learn how to use Linux and then you won't have to worry about it.
Possibly a larger linux base will get companies to actually work on software for Linux.
Oh wait, never happen, linux community is too totalitarian on such things and believes too much in Free/OpenSource movements. Payware is evil and capitalist, it's down right satanic if you ask them.

Beg pardon? I never intimated MS is a monopoly...yet.

Apparently, with all due respect, you are not aware of the reasons behind the antitrust laws that have been implemented in the US and abroad.

We all love Windows 7 and Microsoft products. I know I do. I use MSOFFICE (all of it) as well as Windows 7.

This isn't about the best product. We already know MS provides the best OS. It's about what they do with the installed base - a captive audience, if you will.

Not all users are as tech savvy as most here. It's not our demographic that will be affected by a large corporation desiring to stifle competition; we have choices.

Tossing out Apple as an example is akin to building a straw man in order to deflect the issue.

This action by MS is worthy of a debate concerning the implications and directions inherent in such a decision.

I'm using Windows Update but don't see MSE listed there. Am I missing something obvious?

Perhaps if you have MSE already installed, MSE then won't show up on Windows Update.

Tossing out Apple as an example is akin to building a straw man in order to deflect the issue.

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I do not see it that way, when you have a company that actually is highly guilty of stifling competition in the manner that MS has been so strongly accused of doing, and that company gets off free of any and all wrong doing while going headstrong after a company that may be doing relatively the same thing. That is a straw man argument. Setting up one side while never addressing the others. (ie; Apple doing what it is doing and never getting called out on it, while going after MS for doing basically the same thing and hammering them on it.)

I apologize for how my previous post came across. I did not have time to re-edit and address that this was to all who thought that MS were a monopoly. Which they are not. and not directed at any one person.

But I will argue all day long that bringing Apple into the argument is in no way a straw man.
They are far more guilty than MS has ever been.

So how would you all rate MSEssentials out of 10

never used i have looked at reviews, but would like to hear from people that have or are using it.

I would give it at least a 7. No AV should ever get a straight 10, cause they all miss things, each have their positives and negatives.

But, when it comes to catching things versus False Positives?
Or system hits on resources and other issues?

MSE is pretty good, for free.

I am using McAfee total protection at the minute find ok, im just sick of paying out loads of money and then i get people saying to me just get MSE or Avast free.

So what do you guys think of this MSE anyway?

I've been a die-hard Symantec Corporate AV users for ages but over the past few months I've been using MSU. It SEEMS to work but but I'm also using it side by side with Malwarebytes.

How does it realistically compare to a real paid AV software?

hello people said:

If MSE continues to prove quite effective, useful and a small footprint...does that mean that it will soon go independently commercial?

I mean still a MS product...but you have to buy it alone?

Or will it continue to be a good free provision?

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No, MSE will not go independently commercial. Microsoft replaced the consumer commercial (licensed) OneCare product with MSE. Microsoft has a commercial product for Corporate use (Forefront).

MSE

I read this and checked the ver I am using. I thought I was using a Beta, but I guess it go updated somewhere along the line and I wasn't aware of it. Mine is ver 2.0.375.0.

HammerHead said:

I read this and checked the ver I am using. I thought I was using a Beta, but I guess it go updated somewhere along the line and I wasn't aware of it. Mine is ver 2.0.375.0.

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Same here, I thought I was using the Beta my ver is same as yours without mention of it being beta.