Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is an antivirus software product that provides real-time protection against different types of malicious software such as viruses, spyware, rootkits and Trojan horses.
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application type
Country of Origin
United States
Platforms
- Windows
MSE is available for Windows Vista and Windows 7 only and it's no longer actively supported and developed. 
Microsoft Defender is for Windows 8, 8.1 and 10
Features
Microsoft Security Essentials News & Activities
Recent activities
- vitaprimo reviewed Microsoft Security Essentials
Back in the early 2000s when there was some sort of war of Norton vs McAfee, or something like that, when Windows machines were compromised by just being powered on. Back when antivirus software received definitions only, when samples weren't retrieved, I may be would've given this a little bit of time.
But now, these companies collect information live, then sell what they learn from you. You might thing but it's for the greater good and all that, but for instance, Windows Defender has paid...
What is Microsoft Security Essentials?
Microsoft Security Essentials information
Developed by
Microsoft Licensing
Proprietary and Free product.Rating
Average rating of 3.5Alternatives
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Comments and Reviews
I don't want to config an anti-virus application a lot to make it work well so MSE is my choice.
The best antivirus that does not need configuration is Bitdefender. More like it has no options for the user to config. It kills anything dangerous and it's paid version has the best database.
I am not replying by the way to a 3 year old comment. I am saying this for people that might see this nad think MSE is good for such a reason.
Back in the early 2000s when there was some sort of war of Norton vs McAfee, or something like that, when Windows machines were compromised by just being powered on. Back when antivirus software received definitions only, when samples weren't retrieved, I may be would've given this a little bit of time.
But now, these companies collect information live, then sell what they learn from you. You might thing but it's for the greater good and all that, but for instance, Windows Defender has paid version for Windows Server, it's the result of all the data collected by millions, repacked and sold as a service, without compensation for those who would want it. Microsoft profits, directly from your data, from everything you do on your system. So, today, I'm not so keen to go check this thing out that Microsoft made.
You don't need any antivirus if you use common sense. Besides, Windows itself is malware; collects your data (like a keylogger or ransomware), allows remote access with administrative rights so foreign entities install stuff you don't want (i.e a trojan) via Windows Update, and delivers ads within your UI (as adware did, though not that effectively), among other things. What are you trying to get protection from?
It's like getting protection from your molester, I mean... they might protect (they won't) but only so they have you for themselves.
I'm not just speculating it's bad BTW, I couldn't resist and I tried it on a VM; At free, it's not worth it.
Microsoft Security Essentials needs only 17.6 MB on harddisk, Avast Free Antivirus 149 MB.
If you have a virtual machine, which you will keep small in order to copy or backup it on small USB-disks Microsoft Security Essentials is a very good solution because of its very low space demand.
I've tested MSE on several computers for over two months - is seems to be a bit lighter on resources and interface is decent (why does every antivirus MUST have some custom interface with ludicrous colors and interface styling?). On the other hand, to complete removing a virus from USB flash drive - you have to reboot (this is not very convenient). And finally, one of the computers caught some bogus fake antivirus malware, which somehow bypassed MSE and removed it from startup.
Real-time protection seemed to hog a lot of CPU for me (up to 20-25% on a Q6600) while scanning. RAM usage was also high (70-80 MB).
By far the best free anti-malware program available. It's easy to use, a single interface, virus signatures updated daily and very light weight on system resources. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Better than AVG, Avast and Avira. Also, this software wasn't made by Microsoft. It was made by some security software companies that Microsoft acquired.
Lightweight, ad-free, free, and easy to manage oh, and it has rootkit protection. Frankly, Security Essentials beats AVG and Avira in my opinion, despite it being created by Microsoft (possibly the only drawback).