Experience/Opinions/Knowledge of MS Security Essentials?

[MarineVietVet]

I currently run McAfee for all my anti-virus, anti-malware, etc. and have had no problems but I'm always looking to improve that kind of computer security.

Doe anyone run MS Security Essentials and if so what is your opinion?

[laz98]

I don't run it, but the IT guy that does all the work for my gf's parents' business is a strong believer in it.  He recommends it to people all the time.

[MarineVietVet]

Thanks laz. I'll investigate a little more before I make a decision to switch.

From a BK years ago to:
EX - 3/11 pulled by lender- 835, EQ - 2/11-816, TU - 2/11-782

"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem".

[marty56]

I recently tried Bit Defender, Panda Cloud Pro, and Norton.  All had issues or perfromance problems.  I am using MS Security Essentials.  Only issue is that you have to do a manual update each day but I check for updates on my software anyway so no big deal.

[MarineVietVet]

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@marty56 wrote:

I recently tried Bit Defender, Panda Cloud Pro, and Norton.  All had issues or perfromance problems.  I am using MS Security Essentials.  Only issue is that you have to do a manual update each day but I check for updates on my software anyway so no big deal.

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Thanks Marty. I appreciate the comments.

[Anonymous]

MSE has its quirks, but is a competent and capable AV software.

No scanner is ever 100% protection as they will all have something they will miss at some point.

If you're worried, I would check against av-comparatives.org and virusbtn.com for their reports and tests.

However, for a free solution, it is certainly well received by the tech community as a decent free alternative to paid AV. The only other free ones I've used have been AVG and avast. I tried avira briefly, but the stupid popup to upgrade to a pro version annoyed the heck out of me.

I use MSE on my work PC's because my boss is too cheap for paid AV.

For a free security setup, I'd recommend either MSE or avast as an AV (not both at once, please) plus Malwarebyte's AntiMalware and Super AntiSpyware each run about once a month (or weekly.) I'm not a fan of CCleaner and such, because most people don't know very much and just click on everything to clean, which can cause problems.

Of course this comes with "internet common sense" - browse cautiously, be suspicious of everything, and stick to safe websites. Firefox with ad-block (or similar) helps as well.

Personally, I run NOD32 and a paid version of Malwarebytes on my main PC. My other devices get by with various free editions.