Windows Essentials Security???

[Rockrz]

OK, so for anti-virus... I got off the paid train a few years back and started using AVG Free and it seems to do a good job since I've not had any viruses.

But, I've noticed some folk be using Windows Essentials Security and claim it is doing a good job and i8s easy to use and may be a better option than AVG Free.

Any thoughts on the effectiveness of Windows Essentials Security?

Also, what are your thoughts on the program Malwarebytes?
Is it worth messing with? I've heard some good stuff about this prog...

 

[bassfisher6522]

I think most of us on here use MSE. I've used it since it was a beta and it has not let me down....no virus's since it's implementation.

 

[Rockrz]

Just so I'm clear, MSE stands for Microsoft Security Essentials?

With all these abbreviations floating around, I thought I'd ask just in case this stands for something else...

 

[bassfisher6522]

Yep...you are correct.

 

[Rockrz]

OK, thanks...

Any thoughts on the program Malwarebytes running in conjunction with Microsoft Security Essentials?

 

[MilesAhead]

I think most of us on here use MSE. I've used it since it was a beta and it has not let me down....no virus's since it's implementation.

I'm considering trying it out. Is it simple to set in "scan only" mode? I don't like system wide prophylactics. But it's always nice to have another manual scanner that works well.

I just don't want to bother installing if it's going to insist on "shield" mode.

 

[DBone]

OK, so for anti-virus... I got off the paid train a few years back and started using AVG Free and it seems to do a good job since I've not had any viruses.

But, I've noticed some folk be using Windows Essentials Security and claim it is doing a good job and i8s easy to use and may be a better option than AVG Free.

Any thoughts on the effectiveness of Windows Essentials Security?

Also, what are your thoughts on the program Malwarebytes?
Is it worth messing with? I've heard some good stuff about this prog...

You are going to get a wide variety of opinions, and here's mine. MSE is a good basic program, that is one of the best in terms of set it & forget it. It doesn't have any nag screen pop-ups or advertisements and of course it's made by Microsoft. However, it lacks in protection when compared to the other popular free AVs like avast!, AVG, Avira, Comodo, Panda Cloud ect. In the most respected 3rd party test organizations' testing, MSE struggles when tested. If I were you, I would stay with AVG, especially since it has served you well and you are now familiar with it.

If you are looking for more protection, especially when on the web, then you need to start looking into virtualization and/or anti-executable programs such as Sandboxie or NoVirusThanks EXE Radar Pro & Blue Ridge AppGuard. No AV on the planet, paid or free, will stop 100% of malware, but by adding one of those programs, you will now come close. Sandboxie and Radar Pro offer both free and paid (life time license) versions, while AppGuard offers only a paid version (life time license). YouTube is a great place to find tutorials on those programs, and they are not that hard to learn if you are willing to put in a few hours of your time. I don't use an AV at all on my personal machine, and haven't for quite some time.

NoVirusThanks EXE Radar Pro - NoVirusThanks
Sandboxie - Sandbox software for application isolation and secure Web browsing
Products | Blue Ridge Networks

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[Rockrz]

Good overview, thanx!

Is Malwarebytes not worth messing with?

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Good overview, thanx!

Is Malwarebytes not worth messing with?

Actually, Malwarebytes (aka MBAM) free is definitely worth messing with. It will play well with most AVs, including MSE, and other anti-malware programs. Super AntiSpyware (SAS) free is another good one to have. Just don't run scans simultaneously. I run MSE with MBAM and SAS without any problems at all.

 

[DBone]

Malwarebytes (MBAM) is a very, very good program. Every user should have the free version installed, and use it often. The free version is simply an on-demand scanner, that is considered one of the best by industry experts. The paid (life time license) pro version, adds real time protection, and is also considered very good. It runs along side of most AVs with no issues. The pro version is a RAM hungry program, so if you only have 2gb of RAM, then that might be of consideration. I personally bought the pro version to support the developers, but I only use it as an on-demand scanner.

HitMan Pro is also a great free on-demand scanner too. This is just the tip of the iceberg regarding security, and more isn't always better............Better is better.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I think most of us on here use MSE. I've used it since it was a beta and it has not let me down....no virus's since it's implementation.

I'm considering trying it out. Is it simple to set in "scan only" mode? I don't like system wide prophylactics. But it's always nice to have another manual scanner that works well.

I just don't want to bother installing if it's going to insist on "shield" mode.

The idea of an AV is to block viruses, not just remove them after the fact. MSE has such a small footprint, you won't notice it running, even on a RAM starved machine like a netbook.

 

[Rockrz]

The pro version is a RAM hungry program....

Is there a way to schedule it to run scans at night (when I'm not using the computer) so it can use all the ram it needs and this not be a problem?

 

[Jacee]

This article will explain how to set up and schedual MSE (btw, I'm not calling YOU a dummie) Installing and Running Microsoft Security Essentials - For Dummies

If you feel like you'd want to change Anti-virus programs, then you'll need AVG's "uninstall" tool.
AVG:
http://www.avg.com/us-en/utilities
AVG Remover (32bit) 2012
AVG Remover (64bit) 2012

 

[DBone]

Yes you can schedule scans anytime you want. On my test W7 x64 machine, MBAM Pro averages 75mb of RAM while surfing the web. It has a URL scanner and it monitors programs too. That may or may not be "RAM hungry" to some, but on my 2gb test machine, it matters.

If you do add MBAM Pro to your arsenal, make sure to set up both MBAM and your AV to work together. You need to exclude the process of each program in the others exclusions list. Some say you don't need to, but if it were me, I would do it. That way you lessen the chance of any conflicts of having both programs run in real time.

 

[MilesAhead]

I think most of us on here use MSE. I've used it since it was a beta and it has not let me down....no virus's since it's implementation.

I'm considering trying it out. Is it simple to set in "scan only" mode? I don't like system wide prophylactics. But it's always nice to have another manual scanner that works well.

I just don't want to bother installing if it's going to insist on "shield" mode.

The idea of an AV is to block viruses, not just remove them after the fact. MSE has such a small footprint, you won't notice it running, even on a RAM starved machine like a netbook.

I know what the idea is. But I don't like the idea. It's like taking a shower with a raincoat on. So I take it the answer to my question is no.

 

[logicearth]

I know what the idea is. But I don't like the idea. It's like taking a shower with a raincoat on. So I take it the answer to my question is no.

If you don't want real-time scanning then just turn it off in the options...:sarc:

 

[ignatzatsonic]

The pro version is a RAM hungry program....

Is there a way to schedule it to run scans at night (when I'm not using the computer) so it can use all the ram it needs and this not be a problem?

The Pro version of MBAM is the only version that provides real-time protection and can be set to run on a schedule.

The Pro version also offers automatic updates.

It's $25 for a lifetime license, but you can usually find discount coupons online. Newegg sells it for about $13 2 or 3 times a year.

 

[MilesAhead]

I know what the idea is. But I don't like the idea. It's like taking a shower with a raincoat on. So I take it the answer to my question is no.

If you don't want real-time scanning then just turn it off in the options...:sarc:

Thank you. That's all I was asking. Some programs don't always like you to set them how you want. They want to run how they want. If it was the latter I didn't want to bother.

 

[Jacee]

You can set MBAM to manual in "Services".

 

[MilesAhead]

I've been using the free MBAM for years. A very nice scanner. Also I recall going on their forum and the developers being very responsive to the users. Very helpful and open to feature requests.