How good MSE really is?

[drazenn]

I see everybody is singing songs of praise to MSE but is it really that good?
Yesterday evening I felt my PC is acting weird,it responds slower then usually and everything else was kind a different,so I decided to do a full scan with MSE which I have also installed and used as primary antivirus,with Malwarebytes as a scanner on demand.
I have updated MSE once again,did a full scan and it found nothing.
Since condition of my PC ws nothing better,I decided to uninstall MSE and install my good old Avast PRO,and do the scan then.
And what a surprise.Avast found 1 virus and 1 trojan/keylogger which (I found later) I got from my neighbours USB.
So,is MSE really that good like everybody say,or is it just a "new free antivirus" rush?
Like I said,I did an update before the scan,and did a full scan but MSE found nothing.I think I'll stick with my good old friend Avast PRO for now.

 

[Jacee]

If you're helping to beta test it, then send a feedback report.

Also, have your neighbor disinfect thier flash drive ... instructions:

Flash_Disinfector link
http://download.bleepingcomputer.com...isinfector.exe
Next, turn off the Autorun feature in Windows
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windo...nd-usb-drives/
*** Note: Be sure to insert your flashdrives before you begin!
Double-click Flash_Disinfector.exe to run it and follow any prompts that may appear.
The utility may ask you to insert your flash drive and/or other removable drives including your mobile phone. Please do so and allow the utility to clean up those drives as well.
Wait until it has finished scanning and then exit the program.
Reboot your computer when done.
Note: Flash_Disinfector will create a hidden folder named autorun.inf in each partition and every USB drive plugged in when you ran it. Don't delete this folder...it will help protect your drives from future infection.

*** note, some anti-virus programs will detect this as a virus, it is not and it's perfectly safe to run.

 

[User Name]

Might not be a good idea to have two different virus apps installed at the same time.

But you should check out some of the AV testing sites around the internets, and see what they have to say about who is best and why.

There does seem to be disagreement among users as to which one is the best testing site.

Sorry, I'm not much help.

 

[Dinesh]

Hi Jacee, you link for flash disinfectant is broken.
Hope this one works : http://download.bleepingcomputer.com/sUBs/Flash_Disinfector.exe

 

[pestbest]

It is really good for a beta. By the way, please notice that almost every security product of Microsoft has very few false positives. It may be that the things Avast Found were false positives.

However, if you saw a performance boost after removing those infected files, then maybe it is indeed not a false positive. By the way, don't worry. MSE is really improving and I can sense a new build upgrade with way cooler features and better detection rates coming up.

 

[TheIgster]

MSE is really improving and I can sense a new build upgrade with way cooler features and better detection rates coming up.

You can "sense" this?

Spidey sense?

 

[mikinho]

MSE doesn't have the best detection engine but for "Power Users" I believe it has the right balance of low profile, features and protection.

I've never had a virus on any of my machines but I helped friends and family clean more than my share. The biggest difference is that I'm more cautious on what I install, what e-mails I open and what sites I go to. I'd much rather trade cutting edge detection for lack of bloat.

 

[Dinesh]

I m currently using MSE but like Mikinho, i have never faced viruses as i know what do i do. However, due to some **bad** activities, i sometimes end up getting viruses which even the best AV engine will fail to detect.

 

[Antman]

I completely agree that the most effective/ineffective security application is user behavior. Because I keep my RAID5 archive online (more than I should), I do run certain security applications and settings.

Historically, I maintain a significant HOSTS file, SpywareBlaster/Spybot S&D populated IE settings, and ran AVG (until the 8.x updates) or Avast! Pro. I am currently running MSE instead (and the HOSTS).

With a single exception, MSE has not warned me about anything. Even then, MSE was blocking me from doing something I wanted to do. Can't remember what it was.

I am not concerned with an infection or invasion, but it is kind of wierd not being prompted.

 

[pestbest]

I'm wondering how you people get those "Skilled" "Seven Pro" icons below your name. Anyway, you have to understand that no matter how much common sense you use and how much protection you have, you will be infected with viruses that not all Security Products can detect and disinfect.

Anyway, MSE is still in Beta and has only 3 to 4 updates per day. Until it becomes fully developed, you can't expect it to be that good yet.

 

[mikinho]

I'm wondering how you people get those "Skilled" "Seven Pro" icons below your name. Anyway, you have to understand that no matter how much common sense you use and how much protection you have, you will be infected with viruses that not all Security Products can detect and disinfect.

Anyway, MSE is still in Beta and has only 3 to 4 updates per day. Until it becomes fully developed, you can't expect it to be that good yet.

No one here said they where immune to getting a virus due to common sense. Unless you are using a behavioral (i.e. Threatfire) or heuristic scanner then you are always playing a catch up game. Look at the great viruses\worms\trojans of the last ten year Love Bug, Code Red, Explorer, Sir Cam, Nimda, Klez, I Love You, Melissa, SQL Slammer, MyDoom, Netsky\Sasser, Leap-A (Mac), Storm, CIH, Morris, Concept, Conflicker. With the exception of Concept, all of these could easily be avoided by using security best practices, keeping patched and a little common sense.

Common sense, firewalls, daily or even weekly patching of all applications, locking down your system and using UAC are all more important than an anti-virus application.

 

[slithernet]

Mikinho can i quote that last line and post it on the door to my store
I'm sick of hearing "how did I get a virus" or y do u have to reinstall windows cant u just clean the 100+ infections?
I actually had a customer with malware on their pc (PAV.exe, says comp is infected and to buy their software) They wouldn't buy AV software from me because it was anoying....

 

[Antman]

I'm wondering how you people get those "Skilled" "Seven Pro" icons below your name...

Wondering is a passive activity. Oxymoron.

Anyway, you have to understand that no matter how much common sense you use and how much protection you have, you will be infected with viruses that not all Security Products can detect and disinfect...

Just moronic.

In an effort to understand your supercilious perspective and tone of condescension, I read through many of your postings. You have a tendency to make absolute statements reflective of, and rife with, notational bias.

This makes me wonder why you never provide any examples or even attempt a proof.

 

[pestbest]

I'm sorry. I think you misunderstood. What I meant was, how do I get a Skilled Icon below my name cause it seemed and looked nice to me. I wasn't meaning to insult you. I'm sorry again for making it seem so confused. What I meant by my statement is, how did you manage to get a skilled icon under your name for eg. is it by donating or posting or being helpful. Sorry again.

And what I meant by No matter how much common sense you have, you won't be able to stop viruses is that even if you ignore dangerous sites, viruses get to your computer no matter what. I've seen people on this forum say I have no AV but I ignore bad sites and so I'm protected or something like that so that's why i said that.

 

[Antman]

...I think you misunderstood...

It's all good, it's all wood.

Perhaps I could have replied in Tamil. Keep in mind that a significant number of readers arrive at this site while driving by - the result of a search for an answer or solution to a problem. One size does not fit all.

By expanding on your answers and providing source references to your proposed solutions, you will greatly increase the likelihood that members will "rep you" - giving you those cool little badges.

I know it is an ego thing, but I am trying really hard to get my next one. And yes, I do have a life.

 

[pestbest]

Okay. Glad the misunderstanding is sorted out. I will try to stop phrasing my sentences so oddly in the future.Thanks.

 

[Fantail]

Have MSE on my system, almost went with Avira and I'm sure it would have been fine. But MSE earned a spot for now. Installed it on another desktop that was infected with alot of nonsece including that phoney 'Enterprise Suite' trogan. Nothing else would even install, but MSE did and cleaned the system, and the source - a usb drive. Also installed it on a Vista laptop with only 1 gig ram. So something with a low profile that works well was in order.
I would think the bulk of members here are smarter surfers then the average wing-nut like my ex wife. So keep her off your PC and stay safe.

 

[valtonray]

i agree, i've always said the best defense against virus and malware infection is safe browsing habits. any of the highly recommend av softwares sill work and probably be more than adequate for all but the biggest idiots.