Windows Defender Beta 2- VIRTUAL TOUR

Just gave a try to Window,s Defender today( alongwith avast and Kerio running already). I installed it on my notebook Toshiba satellite M 70, 1.7,512,40, with XP Home SP2.I had already MSAS beta 2 and did not try to use WD due to bad experience posted by users from wilders.

I installed WD over MSAS beta 2 which was removed by WD during its instal. Just after instal I tried to update but no clear indication whether it was doing update or not( except one baloon notice, and then nothing).

 

Pending update, I started quick scan that completed in just over a min( it,s really fast, and nice) but did not show any results window( I think no issues detected). Complete system scan later took almost 18 mins with practically no issues detected( the only issue detected was one in the programme files as I had installed PC Security Test 2005- BTW I know it,s just a fake unreliable test- and WD labelled it wisely as a high level risk and asked to remove it although I ignored it).

A good thing is that if you close it during scan, it automatically minimizes in contrast to MSAS that used to be closed while aborting the scan.

This is ongoing scan!

 

This is the window seen after scan. I took it as no threats detected

 

Yes, after a while was able to update nicely( though it was silent without showing update process bar or any other animation, even no indication message that it is updating). I think the initial problem of update may be due in part to kerio as on multiple tries Kerio gave many alerts( don,t remember all now) and after accepting all, WD was able to update itself( however WD did not tell anything whether there is any problem in update or not!).

 

It,s pleasant to see just after update, my last scan result was displayed. I think when I ran scan , WD might be updating so the results not appeared. Infact MS stated that there may be errors if you scan during update( however WD is not telling that update is still ongoing).

 

This is another view.

 

Interface is although better to eyes than MSAS but a bit confusing. Also I miss advanced tool options of MSAS, instead now I find the option software explorer. I do especially miss IE settings of MSAS.

However I will keep it now, as MSAS beta 2 was behaving a bit buggy for me since a few months and I was not sure whether it is really giving any protection or is just sitting in system tray. On the whole I am happy with it.

 

The resource usage by WD. 13 MB!!! And just now I saw 18 MB!!!

 

And lastly about icon, it will not appear all the time in tray as staed by MS, and it did disappeared after a while.

Please share your experiences as well. On the whole I am happy with WD. I just edited my signatures!!

 

Hello,
I did post about my experiences, but since you did such a nice tour:
False positives
No reaction to new startup / registry / lsp entries
Ignoring scan results causes the software to freeze indefinitely
The only way to stop is ctrl + alt + del after which WD starts with an error
Upon uninstallation, I had a MBR error, which I had to fix before proceeding.
Tested on two machines, and once in Shadow Mode, and gave up.
This is not a product for me.
Mrk

 

1- it,s just my first day and i surf safely, until now no spyware except one i mentioned already, but ofcourse it means until now no false positive on my system.
2- Reaction to new start up enteries/ reg stil to check
3- ignoring scan results- no experience, I did delay the boot requirement by it to clean the spyware, no bad effect.
4- uninstal- not yet of course

I think should not test in shadowmode, I am testing it with trial of RollbackRx.

Tell me something about MBR error as I may not be able to correct it, will RollbackRx correct it.

I changed my homepage manually, and no alert, while MSAS used to alert immediately!! Bad

 

Hello,
Check out MBR fix on Microsoft's site.
You do have a Microsoft CD handy, I presume.
I don't want to alarm you, just be careful.
Are you working on a dedicated test machine?
Mrk

 

LOL, its my only Notebook but I can,t stop myself from installing new software. No other option.

 

Hi Mrk!
You are right I think, no reaction to startup programmes addition but I am covering it with WinPatrol. Not responding to homeoage change( Winpatrol is doing it though). I wonder can it block any spyware to attack the IE, I think no?

 

Anybody else also got MBR error on uninstallation?

 

Can u give a link, if possible.

I have only recovery CD. Relying on RollbackRx.

 

Hello,
Here's the link:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314058
I notice I spelled presume with double m - that's a typo.
Why don't you install Virtual Machine, install XP into it and then test your software inside Virtual Machine?
Mrk

 

It looks more elegant, clean and better than MS AntiSpyware Beta...

But I have uninstalled my MS AntiSpyware Beta in the past coz it really hogs my system and eats up lots of RAM. After the removal, my pc got faster like it has find some relief from unloaded baggages from its back..

I will never used any anti-spyware anymore that can possibly cause my system into a crawl.

 

I agree, so are u using it right now, any issues so far.

 

Thanks. To be frank, I have no idea of Virtual machine. Is it more easy, cheeper and secure than Rollbaxk Rx. BTW I am still using just the trial version of Rollback.

 

Hello,
Virtual Machine is free.
ShadowSurfer is free.
You can use both for testing softwares.
Mrk

 

You are right.