Freeware Review: Microsoft Security Essentials Antivirus

Jason Ward — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:09:30 +0000

Microsoft has finally released its Security Essentials Antivirus software onto the world, and man, let there be rejoicing. I’m always a fan of free software, especially if it can handle an essential task well (and make no mistake, antivirus is absolutely essential) without being too intrusive. Microsoft Security Essentials is exactly this kind of software, surpassing most other freeware options while using only a fraction of the system resources others like Comodo and AVG do. As a bonus, MSSE is legal to use on any legitimate copy of Windows (therefore you should expect to have Window Genuine Advantage validate your PC’s OS).

So what exactly is Security Essentials? Well, to put it succinctly, MSSE is Microsoft’s former “Windows Live OneCare” software, minus the feature bloat. Gone are such things as online photo backup, central management of multiple copies on different computers (some people may miss this feature), preventing other programs from adding system tray icons and so on. What it does do, though, is provide a robust anti-malware package that’s very small (about an 8MB download, less than a third of alternatives such as AVG and Comodo), very light and very fast, with a small memory footprint. MSSE makes use of a derivative of the antimalware engine in MS’s Forefront security product (marketed at Enterprises…no, not the ones from Star Trek) and like you would imagine (yet dare not actually hope for) it never nags you for, well, anything. I suppose if you get a virus it’ll pop up an alert to tell you, but luckily enough I have yet to actually encounter anything malicious.

So if you’re using one of the bloated freeware packages out there or just wish you had something less intrusive on your system, I highly recommend you get your free copy of Microsoft Security Essentials. Just be sure to uninstall your other package right away!

I like to do it, do you?

The Web N3rd — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 05:10:56 +0000

Of course you do-don’t be shy, we all like to do it.

No, not that, you perve! I meant download free software. It’s something we all like to do, am I right? (Of course I am). Particularly right now, in this horrendous economy where Democrats and Republicans alike are trying to fix the problem (nevermind that they caused the problem, that’s another post for another site and time), the reality is that when government does–let’s face it-anything–it takes forever to start working. Well if you’re like me, you’re impatient as hell and you want to have stuff to play with but you also want to eat at least a few times a week. Or maybe you just have needs that aren’t being met, who knows.

Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin introducing a series of articles (complete with links) covering free software that you can use to do jobs that are typically done by commercial software but for free. We’ll give it a final judgment and recommend it along with a few words about its utility compared to the commercial software it replaces, and hopefully that will help you out. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure the links are easy to follow. We’re also going to try and cover both PC and Macintosh as much as possible.

Want to help out? If there’s a need you have, tell us about it in the comments and we’ll put our brainy staff on task to find something to meet your needs, assuming a free equivelant exists (almost everything has a free equivelant, but we can’t guarantee anything). If you have recommendations, let us know and we’ll be happy to write it up and give you credit, just be sure to include your name, a link to the software you’re recommending and a way to contact you if we have any questions.

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Freeware Review: Microsoft Security Essentials Antivirus

I like to do it, do you?