Microsoft Security Essentials sufficient?

[jack2964]

My current anti-virus program (Trend Micro) which was bundled when I bought my Acer desktop (Win7 32bit) is expiring soon and I am undecided if I should purchase a renewal or better still if I simply install MSE and do away with a paid application. Being somewhat IT illiterate, I've done some reading on the web and there seem to be conflicting views. Some say MSE alone isn't good enough and I would be better off with free stuff like AVG. Yes, I am cheap, if I can get away without paying I would. I know from reading this sub-forum there are many IT savvy folks and hope someone could shed some light. My main concern is I do a fair bit of internet banking and access a number of different accounts both within and outside Thailand and don't want to fall prey to phishing scams or similar nasties.

Thanking you in advance.

[harrry]

MSE is as good as any. One of the advantages of using genuine software.

[jack2964]

Thanks Harry just what I wanted to hear.

MSE:1/Others:0

[Spoonman]

I rate MSE and it is my only protection, even with non genuine win 7.

Edited July 22, 2013 by Spoonman

[metisdead]

I've been using avast! Free Antivirus for the past 7 months, not a problem with them at all. Updates at least twice a day.

[Chicog]

From a recent review:

In the category of home anti-virus protection, Dennis Technology Labs looked at a wide field of software products, including some free products, including AVG Anti-Virus Free 2013, Avast! Free Antivirus 7 and Microsoft Security Essentials.

The paid subscription products in this test included BitDefender Internet Security 2013, ESET Smart Security 6, Kaspersky Internet Security 2013, McAfee Internet Security 2013, Norton Internet Security 2013, and Trend Micro Internet Security 2013.

“The effectiveness of free and paid-for anti-malware security suites varies widely,” the Dennis Technology Labs report states. “McAfee’s paid-for and Microsoft’s free product were the least effective.” The report said McAfee Internet Security was “compromised by

18% of the threats.”

The Avast! Free Antivirus 7 was deemed the most effective of the free anti-malware software in the group tests. But in this test round, the top three products were all paid-for: Kaspersky, BitDefender and Symantec’s Norton software.

Edited July 22, 2013 by Chicog

[harrry]

http://download.cnet.com/Microsoft-Security-Essentials/3000-2239_4-10969260.html

C-net considers it gives good protection but is a little slower than some.

I have been using only the Microsoft Security (and a router firewall) for about 4 years and have had no problems although a few viruses were detected and handled.

Edited July 22, 2013 by harrry

[jack2964]

Thanks to all for your input. The issue remains unresolved and as expected, MSE together with McAfee are deemed under-performers by some. We have no way of knowing if any vested interests are at play here and hope more users of MSE alone could share their experience. One would expect Microsoft to release a decent product given their prominence and a reputation to maintain.

[hml367]

Thanks to all for your input. The issue remains unresolved and as expected, MSE together with McAfee are deemed under-performers by some. We have no way of knowing if any vested interests are at play here and hope more users of MSE alone could share their experience. One would expect Microsoft to release a decent product given their prominence and a reputation to maintain.

I have used MSE on 4 of my computers for a few years now (I don't remember exactly how many). When Win 8 pre-release came out MSE was different. After the retail version MSE worked fine for me. I have it on 2 of the 3 computers I am using now. My newest one came with a pre-installed McAfee. When that subscription runs out I will probably change to MSE unless something drastic happens.

I have had no problems at all with MSE or problems with MSE missing any attacks or threats.

MSPain

[mopar71]

I've been using MSE on two laptops since Dec 2010 and haven't had any problems with viruses. I've also installed it on half a dozen more with no reported problems.

I wonder when these anti-virus products are tested if that includes hammering it as if a tag team of Chinese & Russian hackers are trying to bypass it? What I mean is, for normal use a program might be perfectly fine but if you want to click on every unknown link you come across and spend most the day on strange porn sites, maybe one needs the best. I am pretty careful when I surf and maybe I've just been lucky so far?

Edited July 22, 2013 by mopar71

[jack2964]

Thanks hml367, great to know you have done well with MSE alone. This would help in my final decision which way to go.

[jack2964]

I've been using MSE on two laptops since Dec 2010 and haven't had any problems with viruses. I've also installed it on half a dozen more with no reported problems.

I wonder when these anti-virus products are tested if that includes hammering it as if a tag team of Chinese & Russian hackers are trying to bypass it? What I mean is, for normal use a program might be perfectly fine but if you want to click on every unknown link you come across and spend most the day on strange porn sites, maybe one needs the best. I am pretty careful when I surf and maybe I've just been lucky so far?

Another win for MSE, thanks.

My days of smut surfing have long passed and I don't simply d/load stuff anymore so I reckon I should be OK.

[Chicog]

Thanks to all for your input. The issue remains unresolved and as expected, MSE together with McAfee are deemed under-performers by some. We have no way of knowing if any vested interests are at play here and hope more users of MSE alone could share their experience. One would expect Microsoft to release a decent product given their prominence and a reputation to maintain.

Given the number of antivirus companies they've bought over the years, you'd would expect that, but evidence suggests otherwise.

To understand why not, it's important to realize what it is that Microsoft is offering. "System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection uses the same industry-leading anti-malware engine as Microsoft Security Essentials" is how Microsoft puts it.

But "industry-leading" is a debatable claim. Microsoft Security Essentials' anti-malware engine is fairly basic, despite having been updated in May 2012. It scores poorly in terms of detecting new malware.

A test conducted by AV-Comparatives found Microsoft performed worst out of the 15 anti-virus products under scrutiny in terms of detecting new and prevalent viruses. It caught just 93.1 percent of the samples tested, compared to 99.3 percent for Kaspersky and 98.6 percent for McAfee. "A good file detection rate is still one of the most important, deterministic and reliable features of an anti-virus product," said AV Comparatives' Peter Stelzhammer.

Don't confuse people getting lucky with a good antivirus product. A lot of the newer and 0-day malware targeted at enterprises are never aimed at home PCs, which if they are running MSE might be vulnerable to them.

Edited July 22, 2013 by Chicog

[Artamus]

I previously used Norton etc, until Windows 7 came along when I stopped installing it and relied on MSE. Having been virus/malware free for the best part of 15 years, one malware program managed to get around MSE last year and took over my laptop. Since then I've gone back to relying on an additional protection product. All in all I think MSE does a great job as I had a couple of years with no problems. Something nasty came along and I got clobbered. I'd recommend installing something additional, especially if you're doing a lot of sensitive stuff like banking, stock-broking etc, though 99% you'd not get a problem.

[BuriramRes]

Thanks to all for your input. The issue remains unresolved and as expected, MSE together with McAfee are deemed under-performers by some. We have no way of knowing if any vested interests are at play here and hope more users of MSE alone could share their experience. One would expect Microsoft to release a decent product given their prominence and a reputation to maintain.

I actually bought McAfee and soon after I got a virus. I contacted McAfee expecting them to fix it for me & they wouldn't do anything unless I paid for their services.

I paid for their service by deleting their crappy product from my computer.

I now use ESET which the local guys installed for free. It's worked for me even although they tried to upgrade it after it had been installed a while, which I never did do. Still get regular updates & have had no problems.

My other machine has MSE & has been fine also.

[chasboyuk]

I have been using MSE for a few years alo on 2laptops & a PC ith no problem. I hav also added spybot which is another freebie which is very good. Unfortunately my wife (Thai) can be quite gualable when she is surfing the net & has clicked on a few sites which have had malware stuck to them. The MSE has picked most of them up but the spybot clears the lot & is excellent.

[harrry]

Most things that people call viruses are programs they have installed themselves by clicking on nice little adds with an offer to install something good. They are warned by microsoft to check that they know wat they are doing, they say yes and later MSE may find that and clean it but then it is too late.

Like telling a kid not to cross to cross the road and then blaming the police if it is dangerous.

[MAJIC]

I have been using MSE for 3 years,and it's always served me well,I've tried Norton,and McAffee both of which are too intrusive for me and seem to take over my system,and slow it up, eventually I deleted them and went back to back to MSE.

[oxo1947]

You really should not have your banking sitting on your computer Jack---there are many very good encrypted programs for external drives & you should if we are talking about a larger sum of money use them--- my friend who is in the stock market a lot uses a completely separate C:/ drive which slides in when he is doing his market work ---after that he slides it out & uses another drive complete with all start up programs etc, for his gaming & other dubious sites.

[Stekmer]

I'm also using MSE on 1 PC and a Netbook - no problems after approx 2 years

[retell]

I've been using avast! Free Antivirus for the past 7 months, not a problem with them at all. Updates at least twice a day.

been using avast free for 5 years

never any troubles

blocks alot of stuff ( i do go dodgy sites)

and a fine boot-up scanner

the windows essential got a fine firewall so do not need another

win defender is turned off tend to overreact with me

[seancbk]

The first thing I do when I setup a windows computer is remove all antivirus software (especially Norton!) and then install MSI.

MSI is made by Microsoft (obviously) and who do you think knows more about the internal code of Windows? Microsoft themselves or some outside company?

It's in Microsoft's best interests to defeat viruses on their platform so that people don't migrate to Macs or Linux (although you'd be better off on Linux IMHO)

On the flip side it is NOT in the interests of the makers of 3rd party anti virus software for them to completely eradicate all viruses as that would put them out of business.

Beware of reviews as they are quite likely to be paid for in one way or another.

and with that I leave it to you to decide what makes the most sense.

Actually a bit more.... Phishing has nothing to do with anti virus.

You need to educate yourself to NEVER click a link in an email from ANY financial organisation even if you KNOW its real. ALWAYS manually enter the URL yourself into your browser. You cannot fall victim to a Phishing scam if you always type in the URL to your online banking yourself.

Hope that helps.

Sean

[Chicog]

The first thing I do when I setup a windows computer is remove all antivirus software (especially Norton!) and then install MSI.

MSI is made by Microsoft (obviously) and who do you think knows more about the internal code of Windows? Microsoft themselves or some outside company?

It's in Microsoft's best interests to defeat viruses on their platform so that people don't migrate to Macs or Linux (although you'd be better off on Linux IMHO)

Why are they so shit at it then?

[hawker9000]

I would add my voice to the MSE chorus. However, it's very important not to put all your eggs in any one basket. It's about "layers" (of security). A hardware firewall (like in most contemporary home routers) is another important layer, as is the built-in Windows software firewall (which should be active, or replaced with some other software firewall, but I think the Windows firewall is adequate). I also recommend Spybot Search & Destroy which as the name implies deals with spyware and can complement MSE nicely (it's NOT just about viruses - there ARE other forms of malware you need to be concerned about). I used to use Adaware and was a believer, but I think now the free version has transformed into an anti-virus product and so probably not a good idea to run it alongside MSE. The final "layer" of security is the human factor: DON'T do dangerous/risky things online (e.g., clicking links or opening attachments in emails from sources you don't trust; browsing to untrusted websites and clicking on links there; indiscriminate downloading of files & software; etc.,etc., etc.) and DO keep Windows, IE, other browsers if you use them, your email client & your application software updated; DO run regular AV & malware scans; DO keep your important files backed up.

One last thing, be aware that there are "online" virus scanners which you should make use of anytime something about the way your PC is behaving makes you suspicious and you want a "2nd opinion" to the clean bill of health MSE might be giving you. No matter how good MSE or any other resident virus scanner is, it IS installed on your system, and so if your system really IS compromised, then you can't rely totally on MSE or any other security software you might have installed anymore. The online virus scanners will install a sort of client, but the scan is essentially conducted remotely and not vulnerable to any bugs you might've picked up on your PC that are able to hide from the AV product you have installed. Sorry to be so long-winded, but hope it helps.

Edited July 22, 2013 by hawker9000

[lopburi3]

The newer reports on MSE have not been that good and I changed to the free Bitdefender program several months ago and it has been operating very well and giving me notice of web sites not to open (which MSE never did) and these are Google search sites. Although I had used for about a month when first offered free did have comparability issues but that seems to be in the past and operating very well now. AVG is also recommend by many here.

[tinom]

Microsoft has always been security leaks provider / manufaturer...

How could they offer an antivirus which does another (better) way?

No way for me to rely on MS product!

Yes I use Win7... but for everything else on my laptop, I avoid MS products.

Avast Home (free) has protected my computers and the ones I had to clean with not one infection since years.

I still check sometimes with Malwarebyte's Antimalware (free) and do some online scans.

All confirms that even I am a Wild Wild Web user, Avast does a perfet job without being as heavy as Kasperski.

Norton is a "virus" by itself as it takes control of your PC and does not even protect it.

I did some tries of AVG free which did let some malwares install, Avira is not too bad...

But my recommendation for a free AV is clearly Avast !

[NiwPix]

I used AVG for many many years but switched at one point to MSE and didn't have any problems with it for a few years. My reasoning behind the switch was that AVG didn't detect a Virus that MSE found and just some common sense. Most of the viruses are written for microsoft / Internet Explorer. Who better to find and fix them, than microsoft?

I always used the FireFox browser in combination with MSE and activated the firewall in windows and didnt have any problems. Though you can NEVER be safe from hackers/viruses unless you unplug your power from your computer, it was a combination I felt comfortable with.

For a few months now I completely switched operating systems....to apple / OSx.

[Tywais]

Also been using Avast free edition for several years on all computers. It has File system shield, Mail shield, Web shield, P2P shield, IM shield, Network Shield, Script shield and Behavior shield. In other words, it covers the gamut. Malware sites are blocked and warnings given automatically.

[mikebell]

I have been using MSE for 3 years,and it's always served me well,I've tried Norton,and McAffee both of which are too intrusive for me and seem to take over my system,and slow it up, eventually I deleted them and went back to back to MSE.

I can't get it to download! I get error message 0x8004FF00 telling me installer is running already. I get the same when I try to download Java. 'Another program is running' but if it is, I can't see it?

[LALes]

A computer whiz friend installed MSE on my netbook a few years ago (I had AVG) and everything is fine.

Everything was fine before that with AVG, I should add. I have Avast on my laptop and everything is fine.

I can't remember ever getting a warning from MSE about a bad website, but Avast has warned me on a few

occasions. I think you will be fine with any of the above 3. I also have Malwarebytes installed on all computers

and run it about once a month to see if it finds anything.