I'd like to hear from Freepers who use Microsoft's Security Essentials anti-virus ( Vanity )

12/28/09

[sushiman]

Recently purchased a new HP Touchsmart computer with Windows 7 which came with 2 months free Norton Anti-Virus protection . I understand that MS offers free protection via Security Essentials and was wondering how well it worked compared to other AV services which cost $ . I use my PC for basic stuff at home and pretty much visit the same forums/news sites / etc everyday , and never open an email from someone I do not know so am relatively low risk for a virus , etc...Will SE suffice ? Pros and cons ? Any info appreciated .

[joedel]

This page from Symantec should help you get rid of any Norton issue.

http://service1.symantec.com/Support/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039?OpenDocument&seg=en&lg=en&ct=us

[kempo]

I've used AVG for years with good results. Added Malwarebytes 2 months ago and it saved my ass a couple of days ago. That's Malewarebytes and its free. Don't surf the internet without it.

[My hearts in London - Everett]

I fixed it. It appears that the other “installer” was Norton itself. I went under Task Manager and shut it down. Was able to uninstall it after that. Unfortunately, by that time I had already uninstalled ZA and Avast. Had to reinstall them. :~/ Everything’s kosher now. Thanks tho!

[txroadhawg]

ping for later info

[pango]

Have used AVIRA and ESET and Norton. Now I use only Microsoft Security Essentials. It works great. Good Luck!!

[maddog55]

Getting rid of Norton can be a pain. I’d start with the Control Panel side but make sure Norton is shut down when you start.

Good instructions are located on: http://www.pchell.com/virus/uninstallnorton.shtml

[ShadowAce]

[DollyCali]

Thanks for ping SA & the good info on thread. I do have an iMac but also PC notebooks & towers & of course security is always a pain in the butt - as far was actually working AND also the issues of making the computer sluggish

I have a mac question. is anyone around that I can FReep mail? I dont want to divert info from the thrust of this tread.

thanks.. dolly

[dubie]

I use it @ home and work. http://lifehacker.com/5433229/microsoft-security-essentials-ranks-as-best+performing-free-antivirus


"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."

[ShadowAce]

Swordmaker keeps an Apple ping list. He’s probably as knowledgeable about Apples as anyone here.

[Tarpon]

Both Intel and AMD have a test tool for processor ID with which you can test for the NX bit functionality ... For Intel CPU chips go Here.

The tool is not 100% and the bios of the particular machine may not be able to enable the technology. But it is a good test to run on your particular box ... and see if it is setup right.

As I said this is the most effective virus prevention thing you can do, that is have an NX bit enabled machine, so it's worth the effort to find out. The next most effective thing to do is enforce account control, no admin browsing. I even go so far as to set up game and video accounts -- That way a crash won't take out your machine, only the processes being run by the account.

[papasmurf]

It works as advertised. Uses less memory than AVG, and other A/V’s, and it doesn’t pizz me off with annoying warnings about nothing. I am in the process of switching all of my support clients who use free A/V’s on MS OS’s over to it. Of course, Linux is safer than the average Yogi Bear without needing an A/V product.

I would like to see a better, more informative, interface that offers the user more control.

Updates are smooth, transparent, and (so far) flawless.

[Knitebane]

As I said this is the most effective virus prevention thing you can do, that is have an NX bit enabled machine, so it's worth the effort to find out.

Well, it's worth it if you use an OS that fully implements the NX bit.

From the Wikipedia article you linked to:

"Microsoft Windows uses NX protection on critical Windows services exclusively by default."

So a few system services are protected. Other software (some of which has system level access) is not protected.

Switching to Ubuntu to browse the web is a very good idea. From the same article:

"Ubuntu´s NX memory protection, also known as eXecute-Disable (XD), has always been available in Ubuntu for any systems that had the hardware to support it and ran the 64-bit kernel or the 32-bit server kernel."

[Tarpon]

NX technology is just keeping the pages of execute code and data separate, it’s part of the mmu. Up until Windows 7 64 I it has not been fully implemented in Windows. The Wiki article seems to try and hide that fact.

Which is why I say to be safe, make sure your chip supports NX bit in hardware, and use Windows 64, Or Ubuntu.

[sushiman]

I painlessly uninstalled Norton yesterday , and without having to download any tools from Symantec . Apparently Vista was a nightmare re: uninstalling Norton , but no problems with Windows 7 , this according to HP rep . I installed Microsoft Security Essentials which was also a breeze .