Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

"Security Essentials 2.0 is available as a free download with several changes over its predecessor. A Microsoft representative today confirmed the release. Microsoft said the updated anti-malware engine makes the software faster and smarter at detecting security hazards. The software also now ties in with Windows Firewall, giving you the option of turning the firewall on or off. When I installed the 2.0 edition, it detected that Windows Firewall was not running and asked if I wanted to enable it."

I have been thoroughly impressed with the performance of Microsoft's Security Essentials. There are a lot of free anti-virus programs out there, and each have their strengths and weaknesses, but so far, I have found Security Essentials to be lightweight, easy to use, it keeps out of my way and it is free. Aside from the performance improvements, it looks like the greatest changes benefit those that live in a Microsoft world. That means Windows Firewall and Internet Explorer integration. Even if you stray from the Redmond path, you still benefit and now that it is out of beta, I cannot imagine anyone who should not upgrade.

"Microsoft Security Essentials was first released in September 2009 and is our award-winning no-cost light weight anti-malware service. It’s designed to help address the ongoing security needs of PCs running genuine Windows – helping keep people protected from viruses, spyware, and other malicious software."

I must admit that I currently use Microsoft Security Essentials as my default choice for my Windows based computers. While there are many choices out there, both at a cost and for free, I have found Microsoft's solution to be fairly lightweight and unobtrusive. However, it did seem a bit lacking, acting much like a traditional anti-virus solution one would get five years ago. Their newest beta appears to have changed that, putting it more in line with current generation "Internet Security" solutions. I am disappointed that it only integrates with Internet Explorer and not other browsers, but it is not surprising. As this is a beta, it has not been widely deployed yet, though I am hoping that it will not be a hog when it gets released for real. What is important for you in your anti-virus/trojan/malware/phishing software? Yes, there are some of you who do not use any, but for those that do, do you put thought in what you pick, or does a brand name do it all for you?