Microsoft Security Essentials Now Protecting Over 31 Million PCs
Microsoft Security Essentials Now Protecting Over 31 Million PCs
Posted 09/30/2010 at 7:47am
| by Paul Lilly
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Antivirus vendors went on the offensive when Microsoft announced it was dropping its Windows Live OneCare in favor of offering a free security suite, Microsoft Security Essentials. One year later and with 31 million installations now under its belt, Microsoft is free to serve up a slice of humble pie to the competition.
"It's been a busy year for Microsoft Security Essentials. As we observed right after the first week of release, Microsoft Security Essentials had already detected threats on over half a million computers," the Redmond outfit said in a TechNet blog post. "As Microsoft Security Essentials enters into its second year with over 31 million installations, 27 million of those computers have reported infections to the Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC)."
In other words, MSE isn't just popular, it's also working (you can read our review of Microsoft Security Essentials right here). It's also a global hit.
"The country with the most installations is the United States, but the next 10 countries with the most installs show that Microsoft Security Essentials has a global install base," Microsoft points out. "It is available in 27 languages – so language shouldn’t be a barrier to good security. Money is no problem, either – Microsoft Security Essentials is available at no cost!"
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growler
December 20, 2010 at 3:31pm
I highly recommend MSE...i've been using it ever since it's release and it does a great job find viruses, malware, spyware. Most of the computers that i fix don't even have an active antivirus so install MSE so they can get protected...
DogPatch1149
September 30, 2010 at 8:09pm
So far, I've had excellent performance with MSE on every machine I've put it on. Light on system resources, great scan speeds (the first one is long, but subsequent scans are quite fast), and the update procedure is quick and painless.
I believe that MSE will get better over time in the area of rootkit detection and removal. With the intimate knowledge of the registry and OS that only the designers of it have, Microsoft would seem to have the advantage in recognizing when deep changes have been made to the computer.
FrancesTheMute
September 30, 2010 at 2:06pm
Yep, been using MSE for over a year now, on all my Windows boxes. I even dropped SEP on my work computer and installed MSE instead.
Velox
September 30, 2010 at 12:55pm
Just downloaded it after reading this article. I will give it a whirl. @$&!@ Symantec.
Keith E. Whisman
September 30, 2010 at 12:43pm
I made the switch, it's a pretty good suite and the price is just fantastic.
DOOMHAMMA
September 30, 2010 at 12:31pm
I use it on every PC I use, except for the ones I have ESET on. It's a great program, its somewhat slower in scan times compared to some products, but it is one of the best, and its free!
deadsenator
September 30, 2010 at 10:07am
I've been at this a long time. Typically, you need two virus scanners to catch all virii. One real time and another to double-check on a spot basis or when new bits are introduced (downloaded/thumbdrive, etc). I have seen things get past MSE, but not nearly as bad as McAfee/Symantec. Not even close. MSE is much better on resources than almost all other A/V engines. Ergo why I load it on nearly all systems I come across. AVG is ok, Avast is ok, too. They are free, but they are pigs. They need a diet.
All of them need to do a better job on rootkits. That's one of the biggest problems I see in the wild now.
Keith E. Whisman
September 30, 2010 at 12:46pm
Please, listen to me and everyone else, don't ever install two virus scanners on the same computer. Running two virus scanners will fuck up your computer. Just do a google search, look up running two virus scanners in Windows and you'll get a lot of websites telling you it's a bad idea.
deadsenator
September 30, 2010 at 5:31pm
Perhaps I did not word it clearly enough. One in realtime and another for on the spot scanning. It's not that difficult to do, but as I said, I've been doing this for a while and can understand that most folks out there may not know which boxes to check. Is it that hard?
Two scanners running at once will make the system verrry slow, yes. I did not need to check any websites after googling, either. I've done it just for the giggles.
You've made it sound like I've endorsed drowning puppies.
I'm against that too, BTW.
blkpanthr
September 30, 2010 at 1:56pm
I think you misunderstood what he was saying. One active realtime (MSE) + One On-demand scanner (Malwarebytes) = better coverage. Not 2 active...I do exactly the same thing, and ive NEVER had conflict issues...ever...
Keith E. Whisman
September 30, 2010 at 3:37pm
He stated he runs two antivirus programs. Malwarebytes is just that, an anti Malware-spyware remover. You can actually do a virus scan while also scanning with Malwarebytes and you wont have any problems, just a slow computer.
You should never install two antivirus programs on the same system period. It doesn't matter what's running and whats idle.
So Malwarebytes, spybot S&D, ECT ETC, are just fine installed and running with any antivirus program. You just can't run two AV programs together on the same system for example, installing MSE and Norton AV or installing McAffee and Norton or MS or any combination. It's an either one deal here.
Antivirus programs by their very nature hook themselves deep into the OS Kernal and do not get along with more than one installed. Anti Malware programs do not install themselves that deep into the OS Kernal so you wont have any trouble with conflicts.
deadsenator
September 30, 2010 at 5:46pm
You can load two A/V installs on one system just fine. I've done it with success. As long as both aren't switched on, it's fine. Those hooks (services/modules) need to be disabled for the other to get along. This is not an impossible task, but the machine needs to be crafted. Mind you, this would not be a normal system, but one I was either concerned about the data passing through it or if it were compromised already (that may lend to other options or scenarios, as well).
Perhaps I should say that "most people" should not do this, but if you are aware of what you are doing, you can do it.
Jesterace
September 30, 2010 at 9:55am
I haven't used MSE in a long time, but whenever I tried it on my relatives old PC's it dragged it's ass. Took forever to load and scan, though it could be due to the lack of modern hardware. Considering I find anyone elses computer slow compared to my own. Though on Vista/7 I found it ran fine on the olderish hardware but with XP it didn't seem to agree.
Silencer
September 30, 2010 at 10:15am
There are some popular background tasks that are incompatible with MSE, they'll make it drag-ass. That's probably what you encountered.
Blues22475
September 30, 2010 at 9:31am
Despite what I thought about Windows Defender, I think MSE is pretty good program. It's free, it's pretty light on system resources, and older computers can run it like champs. I was also impressed with how it can detect things that other anti-virus programs (even the more prevalent ones).
devastator_2000
September 30, 2010 at 8:45am
After reading about in in an issue of Maximum PC, I thought that I would give it a try. I am glad that I did. It works great and is not a burden on system resources.
Caboose
September 30, 2010 at 8:38am
I've got it running on my HTPC and love it. It's never slowed down my system one bit!
jlh304
September 30, 2010 at 8:19am
I think it's a great product and use it on all my systems except my WHS. I wish I could use it on my WHS but last I checked it wouldn't install on it. Wish they would make it work for WHS.
Silencer
September 30, 2010 at 8:13am
I started using MSE on *older* comps that dragged-ass with AVG, about 6 months back.
For the past 3 months, I've been putting it on *all* of my customers' comps. It can stop the "AntiVirus 2010 XP" virus, whereas AVG only slows it down.
It definitely runs lighter and faster than AVG. And it catches newer threats better.
Just gotta make sure their Office is legit, or hide their WGA update, or put on OpenOffice.
Plus the only time it nags you, is when it finds something. It's simple, light and very effective.
I'm not a MS fan, but MSE is currently the best product in its field, and it's free.
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