Everyone knows that for Windows-systems of any generation it is necessary to additionally install anti-virus software. But far from every user knows that for some time now the operating system itself has its own security tool, which previously could be found as a separately installed Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus. Let's see what kind of package it is, whether it can provide the most complete protection for computers running Windows, what third-party antivirus software developers and users who have come across this tool think about it in practice, and also try to figure out whether to use it as a standard remedy.
Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus: what is this program?
So, this software product, as already understood, is an anti-virus package designed for home use, the predecessors of which were the Windows Live OneCare and Microsoft Forefront services (the second service is more focused on protecting business projects).
Today, the MSE package is widely believed to be known as the Windows Defender (“Defender") service integrated into the system. This is a somewhat incorrect statement. Its inaccuracy becomes apparent when installing the antivirus package.
Nuances of installation and use
Indeed, if the presence of Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows XP in the system itself is not satisfactory, from the seventh modification and above it was excluded and replaced by what is called Windows Defender. But the MSE antivirus and Defender are in fact two completely different packages, although they have similar operating principles or even the same graphical interface.
When you try to install Microsoft Security Essentials on Windows 7 at some point, the Windows Defender service is disabled. In addition, the installer asks if it is necessary to disable or leave the system’s firewall turned on (it is a firewall), and at the final stage of installation, the package integrates its own security modules into Internet Explorer, although the native browser itself is not very popular with users .
Technical Support Issues
As for updates and keeping all anti-virus modules up to date, today support for Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows XP and Vista has been completely discontinued.
But in the versions intended for Windows 7, and modifications of a higher rank, the updating of all components, including the main modules of the software package itself and the anti-virus databases, is carried out completely automatically. The main condition is an uninterrupted internet connection.
Licensing and Functionality
With the installation of Microsoft Security Essentials, it seems that no user will have any particular difficulties. Now, it is worth mentioning separately the issues related to licensing, as well as consider some important elements of the functional set. Despite the fact that this software product is completely free, it can only be installed in licensed versions of Windows that have been validated (verified and authenticated) by Microsoft.
This means that in systems activated with various kinds of hacker stuff like KMSpico or KMSAuto Net, this antivirus is not believed to work. The package itself verifies the authenticity of the system constantly (both during the first installation and after it). If suddenly at a certain point Windows is recognized as an unlicensed copy, after a certain period of time it will be completely blocked. Is it necessary to say that in this case the antivirus will not work either?
In addition, developers strongly recommend that you use the Update Center to manually search for available updates and install the HF packages with numbers 2267621 and 975959 without fail.
As for the Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus, user reviews suggest that the most interesting features are the processing of suspicious applications that are marked as unwanted or potentially dangerous software for which the user is prompted, and if there is no response for ten minutes, the application is blocked by tools, and the update follows, which is set by default every Sunday at 14:00 and is made only if the computer is in idle mode (wait Ania).
A minor load on system resources is also noted separately (for example, RAM consumption does not exceed 4 MB per day).
Product reviews from the most famous antivirus developers
Leading antivirus developers reacted very peculiarly to the release of this software product. For example, McAfee, Symantec, and Kaspersky Lab immediately announced that they did not see this antivirus as a direct competitor to their developments, noting that it was much worse in functionality. However, one cannot agree with this, since after the official release of Microsoft Security Essentials, Symantec and McAfee shares fell significantly.
But reviews of Microsoft Security Essentials from the side of AVZ Technologies specialists were very flattering. In particular, it was stated that the development prospects of this software product are very bright. But absolutely all developers noted that integrating this component into Windows systems is a violation of international antitrust laws. Isn't that why Windows Defender utility is present separately in these OSes, which supposedly differs from the antivirus sought for?
Microsoft Security Essentials: User Reviews
As for the users who have applied and are applying this package in practice, their opinions are clearly divided. Some antiviruses are very happy, considering it the easiest of all known. Others argue that the antivirus itself became popular solely due to widespread advertising, and not its functional set, which is considered extremely scarce, for example, due to the lack of heuristic analysis, a minimum of settings, and the inability to establish normal interaction between the antivirus and the user at the level of notifications about some actions taken, etc. But the most serious flaw, which is confirmed by official reports, is a false positive. In particular, this concerns an unpredictable reaction to the Google Chrome browser, which the antivirus can not only block, but also completely delete from user computers. True, absolutely all users - both adherents and opponents - note a completely simple and non-overloaded interface, which even a novice can deal with.
Antivirus deactivation issues
Finally, let's see how to disable Microsoft Security Essentials. You can do this through the registry (regedit) by changing the value of the DisableAntiSpyware parameter from zero to one in the Windows Defender section.
If such a key is missing, you need to create it yourself using the regular RMB menu.
You can also use the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) and completely disable the Endpoint Protection component, as shown in the image above.
Note: disabling protection in the antivirus itself or in the services section will give only a temporary effect, and not a complete shutdown. In addition, the deactivation of this component of the system will be performed automatically upon installation of any other third-party antivirus package.
Should I install this antivirus?
In the end, it remains to find out how appropriate it is to install and use the Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus. Reviews, unfortunately, for the most part indicate that this package, with the exception of low resource consumption, loses to more serious software products in almost all respects. It is noted that some ignorant users consider it to be almost the best, but this, alas, is a clear misconception.