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Microsoft Security Essentials enjoys warm reception in first week
I'm a huge fan of Security Essentials (and Windows 7, and a number of other MS products, but I digress). It's quickly become my recommended free antivirus app of choice and protects all three of the laptops in my house. And I've got plenty of company.
The Microsoft Malware Protection Center blog has posted some interesting numbers. After its first week, Security Essentials has already been installed more than 1.5 million times. From the approximately 535,000 machines reporting statistics, MSE has logged over 4 million detections.
44% of MSE users are already running Windows 7 with XP following at 33% and the remaining 23% on Vista. The number of detections per OS is also interesting. 52% of the 4 million reported were found on Windows XP systems compared to only 32% on Vista.
Windows 7 users fared even better. Though they represent the largest group of MSE users, only 16% of detections came from systems running Microsoft's latest OS. The post also reports 1/3 of these machines are using the 64-bit version, which "is even more resistant to malware than 32-bit due to PatchGuard," states Microsoft's Joe Faulhaber.
Security Essentials is a free download, and is available directly from Microsoft.
The Microsoft Malware Protection Center blog has posted some interesting numbers. After its first week, Security Essentials has already been installed more than 1.5 million times. From the approximately 535,000 machines reporting statistics, MSE has logged over 4 million detections.
44% of MSE users are already running Windows 7 with XP following at 33% and the remaining 23% on Vista. The number of detections per OS is also interesting. 52% of the 4 million reported were found on Windows XP systems compared to only 32% on Vista.
Windows 7 users fared even better. Though they represent the largest group of MSE users, only 16% of detections came from systems running Microsoft's latest OS. The post also reports 1/3 of these machines are using the 64-bit version, which "is even more resistant to malware than 32-bit due to PatchGuard," states Microsoft's Joe Faulhaber.
Security Essentials is a free download, and is available directly from Microsoft.
Comments
28
Subscribe to commentsTSSaloicOct 18th 2009 8:18PM
MSE replaces Windows Defender at install.
MaxOct 18th 2009 8:47PM
I recently installed it on two friend's virus riddled laptops (running XP). They were running very slowly before. Cleaned them simply and quickly and now both running well again. Recommended.
lintottsteveOct 19th 2009 6:42AM
When i use this i have to subscribe to their membership programme and they say they can get personal info.
I don't want Microsoft spying on me every time i switch on this is evil and should be stopped!!!!!!
JackOct 19th 2009 8:28AM
I installed MSE, but uninstalled it straight away. It slowed down my computer a lot. Have a read of it. http://jackcola.org/blog/38-is-it-just-me-or-does-microsoft-security-essentials-slow-down-your-computer
JustinOct 19th 2009 10:19AM
Not only did I notice a hike in average CPU usage, I noticed that the definition updates weren't always automatic. Everytime I checked it after it had been powered on for an hour or two the definitions were a day or two old. Manually running update showed that there were indeed updates to install, but the program was not getting them automatically. What's up with that? That leaves a huge window for zero day viruses. I went back to Avira for now. Maybe MS will improve it if people speak up enough.
TheOneAndOnlyJHOct 20th 2009 12:11PM
You know, it makes sense that XP machines might have had more detections. It's not that XP is totally insecure, but think for a moment...
My XP box has been running XP for over 5 years. Some people have had XP on their computers for the better part of a decade. Vista, however, has been out for less than half a decade, and Windows 7 for less than a year.
Now doesn't it make sense for a younger, 'fresher' install of an operating system to have less problems than one that has been running for years? Think of all the extra time my XP system has been under attack from malware compared to a newer system only a year old. Sure, I keep it pretty clean, but some people I know have had their computers for years as well, and still look confused when you mention anti-virus. When I recommend they install Security Essentials, it has to deal with years of buildup on the first run.
That set of statistics unfortunately puts XP in a bad light. The XP I know and love is very stable and still my OS of choice.
PS. I prefer Comodo Internet Security (CIS) myself, but some of the people I know only trust software that has a big "M$" on it, so it's nice that this finally came out. It will also make free AV more of a no brainer for computer novices who wouldn't research free antivirus options (like my grandparents).
TheHubOct 21st 2009 5:43AM
I have uninstalled this. It slowed my PC down, especially using Explorer. Installing MSE did not overide Windows Defender. It said my sys was clean, but AVG
showed a a real trojan. A bit disappointing. TH
rebeenDec 10th 2009 2:06PM
I dont have now