(Microsoft) New Antimalware Engine is planned for release on 18 April 2011

Sounds good. Their current scan engine, heuristics, and HIPS are already good. They could just update their HIPS a little.

The HIPS has caught things a few paid alternatives haven't.

 

HIPS? How does their HIPS work and how granular control do you have?

 

It has behavior monitoring and monitor file and program activity settings but i have never had anything popup to remind me its there.

 

Well, you get plenty of popups on apps install etc. when you change your SpyNet membership to Advanced (for autorun entries, drivers etc.)

 

The worst thing I faced with MSE is that it will turn off security center service after uninstall and that cannot be turned on anyway. I have replicated that problem with few machines with different configuration. I doubt if that problem has solved or will solve by this engine upgrade. Other than that I really like MSE.

 

I will try that just to see how the popups look like

 

It will be the same as ballon pop-ups by Windows Defender.

 

I think I may give the "advanced" membership level of Spynet a try as well to see what situations trigger an alert.

 

No, changing to advanced does NOT make it some kind of HIPS like defender was.

I've had it on advanced since MSE was out and rarely got popups. These "popups" that are being talked about are when MSE analyzes a file and finds it suspicious, then asks you to submit it.

 

Oh! Thank you...

 

Does it pop-up (say like WinPatrol would) if a program tries to "auto-start" if it wasn't already listed with startup programs?
(I ask this due to an earlier reply indicating that it alerted to such.)

 

Does anyone know what are the advantage of setting the spynet to 'advanced membership' apart from sending more info to microsoft or any disadvantage if you opt to ' i do not want to join spynet' ?
If there are no popups or logs..... how to verify/analyze that if anything has been blocked by the behavior and file/program monitor .

 

As far as I understand it, it just helps you to help them with their signature updating; it does not actually add any more protection at that moment. Someone please correct me if I am wrong here but that is how I read the web pages at Microsoft.

Acadia

 

True..

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Join-the-Microsoft-SpyNet-community

 

I loved the balloon-tips from Windows Defender's HIPS. <3

 

The balloon-tips from MSE are even better looking.

 

Hehe, well I meant the HIPS pop-ups where it says it found changes and when you click it brings up a big window with all the details.

 

does this mean any significant change for MSE?

 

Got it! Engine Version 1.1.6802.0
I simply hit the manual update.

Acadia

 

From what I read there's one of these once a month or so. Others than improving detection methods I doubt it will offer any core program changes.

 

There were no manual updates, it must've did it automatically.

 

I just used the manual option built into the program because I wanted it immediately. But I have heard, like elapsed, that MS does this every month so I don't know if this was a special one or just one of the ordinary.

Acadia

 

MSE has no HIPS feature, unless you are talking about Windows Defender in XP & Vista. WD in 7 doesn't do any of these things. MSE has an NIS feature, NIS = Network Inspection System which is designed to block exploits and stuff.