Microsoft Security Essentials 2 Download Available
Microsoft has just released Microsoft Security Essentials 2, the highly acclaimed free security program to protect the computer against malicious software such as viruses, spyware or computer worms. Users who are already working with a previous version of Security Essentials can upgrade that version directly to version 2.
But what's new in Security Essentials 2? It is probably heuristic scanning which tries to identify unknown threats by scanning for typical malware patterns on the system. It is also possible again to scan from Windows Explorer by right-clicking a file and selecting the Scan with Microsoft Security Essentials context menu item.
The official Microsoft Security Essentials website lists the following features as new in this version of the security program:
- Windows Firewall integration. Security Essentials setup enables you to turn on or off Windows Firewall.
- Network Inspection System. This feature enhances real-time protection by inspecting network traffic to help proactively block exploitation of known network-based vulnerabilities.
- New and improved protection engine. The updated engine offers enhanced detection and cleanup capabilities with better performance
Small businesses may like the fact that Microsoft Security Essentials can be installed on up to 10 PCs free of charge. Windows users can download Security Essentials 2.0 from Microsoft Download. The software is offered as a 32-bit and 64-bit edition. Please note that the program requires a genuine copy of Windows. (via)
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Is it just me and my laptop, but this av engine seems to slow down the computer significantly?
Thanks Boris – I know how to disable startups. I’m confident that if MSE installed I could make it behave itself as a second string application.
But as Pijus has found, MSE won’t even install alongside existing security software – it stops with a totally uninformative error message. And I’m not about to uninstall a fully paid-up Kaspersky Security Suite to accommodate a freebie, however good.
To be fair – if I remember rightly, Kaspersky won’t install where MSE is to be found either! Though at least Kaspersky tells you in detail what the problem is.
hm on windows xp i got error on upgrading (failed) 0x80070002. It said that the previous version were restored, but seems it doesnt work too
MSE is a good application, which I’d be happy to install as a second string to my normal (already paid for) security software. As MSE won’t install under those conditions and can’t be switched on and off when it is installed, it’s a non-starter for many of us.
It can be disabled from any Startup Utility to prevent it from opening on startup.
I’ll take your word for it but MS seem to be playing it down, hard to find any other news about it. Following the link in ‘offered’ in article above takes you to this page http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=e1605e70-9649-4a87-8532-33d813687a7f where it states “Version: 1”
>it states “Version: 1″
Yes. But I dl’ed it anyway, and it is, in fact, version 2.
thx for update
very good av yet free