Microsoft Security Essentials Review
Yes, Microsoft FINALLY released a FREE Antivirus Program!
It is about time. We’ve all been waiting years for Microsoft to finally release a Free Antivirus and AntiMalware program. It seemed silly that Microsoft didn’t offer such a solution previously – or even a premium one for that matter. The name of the software is “Microsoft Security Essentials” and it was made available to the public back in late September.
Of course it won’t be the end of all other paid-for antivirus programs (although companies like Norton are probably not too happy) but it is definitely great news for Microsoft customers. Below is a quick review and my thoughts on MSE – enjoy!
Installation
Security Essentials downloads and installed in just seconds. Downloading, installing and updating only took me about 1-2 minutes. And once done it virtually “disappeared” into the background.
The only main thing to keep in mind while installing is that you must first remove any other antivirus or antimalware software you have installed and restart your system. This way you will make sure the Security Essentials won’t conflict with anything and will both install and run smoothly.
Using Security Essentials
Security Essentials has a cool modern design and is super user-friendly. Once you install it there is virtually nothing to do. I think the default settings are fine. However, if you do want to tune it up a bit you can go to “settings” and change the live security, scheduled scanning, default actions and tons of other options. It is pretty much a “for-dummies” antivirus as it will run the scans by itself and update itself. The only time you have to mess with it is if it finds a threat – in which case it will ask you what you want to do.
Security Essentials Performance
Security Essentials performs pretty well right “out-of-the-box”. Especially compared to other large name brands like McAffee and Norton, the Microsoft software is much more benign and has a lower impact on your CPU usage. The overall security may not be as superior, but for normal house usage it is awesome – definitely one of the best if not the best of the antivirus programs that are available for free.
In terms of scanning your hard drive for errors there are 3 choices: quick scan, full scan and custom scan. The quick scan, which is pretty much what most users will run takes me under 2 minutes to scan a 500 gig hard drive (abut 1/2 full). Of course I suggest a full scan during first install just to make sure, but as long as you stay clear from “sketchy” sites and torrents you should be pretty much virus-free – and a quick scan every once in a while won’t hurt.
As long as you don’t have an ancient computer I don’t think you will see much difference in terms of overall computer performance and speed with Security Essentials.
Under the clean and uncluttered interface, this program makes use of the latest antivirus and antispyware engines, rootkit protection and real-time detection provided by Microsoft SpyNet, which is a cloud-based service that compares file behavior across computers running various Microsoft operating systems.
From within the settings you can choose whether or not to take part in the SpyNet membership which will send info to Microsoft to help detect and protect everyone against threats. I would suggest leaving it on for the overall good of the community, but it computer performance is a concern, you can switch that off.
Security Essentials Benchmark
I know a lot of people and myself included probably had some pretty low expectations for MSE. However, as you may have noticed from all the compliments above, it is actually pretty good and doesn’t suck.
Below is a quick benchmark test provided by CNET.com.
*All tests measuered in seconds, except for Cinebench (higher number is better)
Conclusion
Overall I am very pleased with the quality of the free antivirus and malware software from Microsoft. Not only does it seem to run very well and take up a lot less system resources then other programs out there (like Norton Antivirus) but the scans run quick and the real time protection seems to be pretty good.
Sure the security doesn’t come cheap. As you see from the benchmark it takes about 11 seconds more to boot a computer with MSE installed then an unprotected computer. However, if you were to compare this number to other antivirus programs you may find it to be much higher. Personally, I didn’t see such a larger difference – but then again, I have gone though and messed with the settings a bit to help increase my overall CPU performance.
Get a hold of the Free antivirus software from Microsoft by clicking the link below. But be sure to completely remove any other antivurus you currently have installed before installing this one. Enjoy!
Download Microsoft Security Essentials