Microsoft has finally decided to help unprotected computers, best part for us is it's free. http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
Good info, thanks!
It froze my computer... it only took above 15 minute to get back on...I'll leave it on for a little bit ....but any more problems in the trash can it goes..
I don't like M$ attempts at anti-virus, spyware, ect.. This is best left to the ones that can do it right. I use the freebies, like Ad-Aware, and SpyBot S&D, for antivirus I've been using AVG free.
I use malware bytes anti malware and super antispware. they don't bog down your system like MS stuff does and they are free.
If you're already using free anti-virus software like AVG and you keep it up to date, then good for you. I wouldn't uninstall to replace with MSE. If you don't have any protection on your computer I would encourage to download this or another free package. MSE is still young and I'm sure has some growing up to do. However, as MSE matures and with MS's resources and their vested interest in protecting their own OS's reputation, it should end up being a nice product. Here's a PCWorld link with several other freebies and how they rate. MSE beta was number 4. http://www.pcworld.com/article/170674/free_antivirus_software.html
+1 /\ Any protection is better then none, of course if you stay away from malware sites or have no internet connection, well the maybe you do not need an anti virus product.
grumpy, what would you recommend for a free anti virus program. Better yet, what in you're view would be the best paid version? My computer came with McAfee but I didn't like it. I switched to AVG free and it works great for me.
My preference is avast (purchased family pro, home server and 10 client lic) and they have a free one too! But I have used and installed your choice in the past. My customers use avast or avg, as the big names do not really protect any better but sure load up the computer with bloat. (CPU/Memory hogs) But remember your anti-virus is only good if you keep it up to date and use the scan feature on any questionable file.
.double post
grumpy_guy What fire wall do you advise? at present I have zone alarm free but I think it fighting with my router.
Check and see if your router already has a firewall, if it does then zonealarm probably will not play nice. (use to be mine too but got tired of answering all its warnings) For home use if firewall is already in the router then you probably do not need one. (Of course you could use windows firewall too which I find plays nicer with most routers) I do not use a firewall at home, just too lazy and not that paranoid, also if I get breached I can fix it. On top of that my WAN connection is DSL which assigns a new public ip every time I reconnect. The more important thing to do is keep an eye on your WAN traffic and make sure someone is not using your computer as a bot distributor. (virus/ad-ware and any new thing they can think of) Virus and Ad-Ware scans are way more important for home users then firewalls. Grumpy correction: my version of tomatoe in my router does have a basic firewall.
Thanks for the info grumpy! Nice to see another computer dude join the forum. Stick around for awhile will you?
Hi all. I just found and joined this forum to see if I could get some info on the telehandler I just purchased. I am in the process of folding up my computer business that's been running since 1979 (had about all the fun I could have with it.) Spent many hours removing crapware from infected computers and still haven't come across anything that's 100% effective and doesn't adversely affect computer speed. Some really, really nasty bugs out there, so this is no place to take chances. What am I currently running on all my computers? The new Microsoft Security Essentials. The folks at Microsoft have access to the core of their operating system, that others don't. It shows in both performance and protection right now. May change in the future and I'll try something else. So far this is best of the bunch, in my opinion.