Expect to get a prompt to update your Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) tomorrow:
As part of regular update of our antimalware technology to address the latest in the threat landscape, MMPC is planning to release a new antimalware engine on 16 November 2010
Affected products: Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), Forefront Client Security (FCS)
Engine Version will be in the range of 1.1.640X.0
Don’t use MSE yet? Download it here – http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
Microsoft has released a new version of its free security suite "Microsoft Security Essentials". The version number is 1.0.2498.0.
MSE is absolutely free and can be used in Windows XP, Vista and 7. Both 32 and 64-bit versions are supported.
You can download it using following link:
NOTE: You must be using genuine Windows to install MSE.
My favorite anti-virus and anti-malware program is getting an update next Monday so don’t be surprised when you get prompted for a restart when it comes out.
According to the Antimalware Engine Notifications blog the update on 18 October 2010 will not only update MSE but also Forefront Client Security (FCS).
The new version of the engine will be 1.1.630X.0.
Set your MSE and FCS to auto update so you get the new engine as soon as it is released.
Today is the first birthday of Microsoft Security Essentials, the company's free anti-malware software for consumers and small businesses. The company said it is now installed on 30 million PCs worldwide, and that 27 million of those computers (2.07 million in the U.S.) have reported attacks to Microsoft -- a rate of 87 percent. More information and figures are available here.
Small-business owners have a lot to think about. With inventory, payroll, customer service, facilities and all the other details of running a company, the last thing they need is to lose productivity or sales because of a virus or malware infection.
Beginning in October, owners of small businesses like the bike shop above can download and use Microsoft’s award-winning antimalware service Microsoft Security Essentials for free.
“Small-business owners just want to concentrate on running the business, without worrying about PCs going down,” says Jeff Smith, director of Marketing for Microsoft Security Essentials. “We talk to lots of small-business customers every day, and we understand that security is a top priority.”
The problem is, most security products for the business world were designed with larger companies in mind. From a small company’s perspective, high-end security suites are an unwieldy technology to manage — complicated, expensive and time-intensive.
“For small-business owners, just getting the business up and running is a full-time job,” Smith says.
For this reason, Microsoft is announcing that beginning in early October, Microsoft Security Essentials will become free to use for organizations with up to 10 PCs.
Originally released last year for single-PC use at home, Microsoft Security Essentials was designed as a comprehensive security solution in a lightweight package. Smith says a growing chorus of requests prompted Microsoft to extend the service to small businesses.
“When we launched Microsoft Security Essentials last year, small businesses kept telling us that it was exactly the type of thing they need at work too,” says Smith. “What they really wanted from their antivirus software — inexpensive, quiet protection from a provider they can trust — were all things Microsoft Security Essentials could clearly deliver.”
Smith says Microsoft Security Essentials can be downloaded, installed and put to work with just a few clicks. Upon installation, it scans the PC to make sure it’s clean from the start. Once Microsoft Security Essentials is working, it downloads updates and schedules scans on its own.
Over the past year, the product has won awards and certifications from a number of independent agencies, such as ICSA Labs, West Coast Labs and PC Advisor, and last January, PC Advisor named Microsoft Security Essentials to its list of the “Best Free Software.”
Says Smith: “This is a full-featured, top-tier security solution that we’re offering to small businesses for free. You don’t need a credit card. It requires no registration, no trials, no renewals. It doesn’t collect any information. It runs well on older hardware. It’s easy to use, easy to get, and it’s from a trusted source. Basically, Microsoft Security Essentials just works.”
But if the product is so successful, why offer it for free? According to Microsoft’s internal research, although 80 percent of PC owners in the U.S. say they have the most up-to-date antivirus protection, in reality only half that many actually do. Often they have signed up for free trials or subscription-based services that have lapsed. Others are just using outdated versions of security software on older hardware.
Smith says these issues become more dramatic in developing economies, where not everyone has a credit card or broadband network access to download large files.
“We want the entire Windows ecosystem to be secure,” says Smith. “By making Microsoft Security Essentials so broadly available, everyone wins. And we think small-business owners are going to be really happy with what they get. This is just what the market needed.”
Microsoft Security Essentials is now available in 74 markets worldwide and 25 languages. To learn more about Microsoft Security Essentials and download the product for free, visit http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/.
Microsoft has released Beta version of its FREE Antivirus and antispyware program "Microsoft Security Essentials" (MSE) 2.0.
The build number is 2.0.0375.0 and is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
New features in this beta version:
Windows Firewall integration – During setup, Microsoft Security Essentials will now ask if you would like to turn the Windows Firewall on or off.
Enhanced protection for web-based threats – Microsoft Security Essentials now integrates with Internet Explorer to provide protection against web-based threats.
New protection engine – The updated anti-malware engine offers enhanced detection and cleanup capabilities with better performance.
Network inspection system – Protection against network-based exploits is now built in to Microsoft Security Essentials.
NOTE: This is a limited beta available in English (U.S.), Israel, and Brazilian Portuguese (the beta will also be available in China in Simplified Chinese later this year) and is available to genuine Windows users on a first come, first serve basis until the allotted spots for the beta have been reached.
Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is becoming a good alternative for those who prefer to have a free security solution.
If your system cannot connect to the internet, due to a virus infection, this is your only way to be updated. If you are experiencing problems updating your antivirus you can use this method.
The following links download the utilities, different for 32 and 64 bit operating systems, that install the latest definitions:
When installing on Windows 7 and Vista you need to run as administrator. Right click mpam-fe.exe, click Run as administrator, and then click Run.
Do you think you have a file with virus, and your antivirus, in this case Microsoft Security Essentials is not detecting it? Why not submit it to Microsoft? Use the following link do it:
Malware Protection Center – Submit A Sample
If you’d like to be informed about updates to the virus database, Microsoft offers RSS feeds for this:
Antimalware definition updates RSS
Antispyware definition updates RSS
If you think that you are infected by a virus, it’s a good practice to do a scan in Safe Mode. If you get infected, the first task many viruses do is hide while running at bootup. Using Safe Mode, Windows will not load all programs, and the detection will work in a more efficient way.
As every program, Microsoft Security Essentials has a minimum system requirements:
So, if you are planning to use it in earlier version of Windows you have to select other one.
There you have it, some facts about MSE you may not have previously known. Have any other tips to share about this great freeware antivirus? Let us know in the comments.
In the past 2 weeks I noticed that on Microsoft download center Microsoft Security Essentials was re-published. But when I tried to install it, it stated that it was already installed, telling me it was the same version.
Now it is published again and now it is a new version (build) 1.0.1959.0.
Download and run it directly and it will upgrade.
Download details Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free* download from Microsoft that is simple to install, easy to use, and always kept up to date so you can be assured your PC is protected by the latest technology. It’s easy to tell if your PC is secure — when you’re green, you’re good. It’s that simple.
Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly and efficiently in the background so you’re free to use your Windows-based PC the way you want—without interruptions or long computer wait times.
*Your PC must run genuine Windows to install Microsoft Security Essentials. Learn more about genuine.
Watch videos to help you get the most from Microsoft Security Essentials.
Starting today, beta users who have the Microsoft Security Essentials Ongoing Beta installed will begin to receive the upgrade to the latest version 1.0.1959.0 of the Ongoing Beta.
If you want to get on the latest version sooner, select the help drop-down link on the Microsoft Security Essentials user interface and click on ‘Upgrade Microsoft Security Essentials’.
This version of the Microsoft Security Essentials Ongoing Beta contains changes in the messaging on some of the toast/pop-up messages with regards to the enforcement of runtime Windows Activation Technology in Microsoft Security Essentials.
This version of Microsoft Security Essentials Ongoing Beta will also be released to customers in an upcoming release.
… so states a posting at Microsoft Connect.
Anti-malware testing group AV-Comparatives.org not only gave Microsoft Security Essentials a top rating for malware removal, but now they've given it their best ranking in their performance test as well.
AV-Comparatives.org ran a series of real-world tests running through common scenarios like downloading, extracting, copying, and encoding files, installing and launching applications, and they also ran through an automated testing suite as well. Once the dust had settled, it became clear that not only is MSE one of only three products that both blocks and removes malware well, but it's also very light on system resources.
Out of all the products tested, Microsoft Security Essentials was the best-performing free antivirus solution, and one of only two that received "very fast" on each of the real-world tests, earning it their top award: an "advanced+" ranking. We've been telling you for a while that you don't need to pay for Windows security, and now with MSE ranked alongside the top paid apps in both malware removal and performance, you might want to consider making the switch.
Hit the AV-Comparatives link for the full report in PDF form, or check out the PC Mag story for the overview—if you can deal with some irritating in-text ads.
Performance Tests [AV-Comparatives]
AV-Comparatives Rates Anti-Malware Performance
Today Microsoft is making Microsoft Security Essentials available in 17 additional markets: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.
This brings the total number of available markets to 56*.
Microsoft Security Essentials also gains two additional languages, Russian and Romanian, bringing that total to 11. It was already available in Chinese (Simplified), Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazil) and Spanish.
Microsoft Security Essentials is free and provides real-time protection for your home PC against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.
*Microsoft Security Essentials was already available in the following 39 markets: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.