MSE updated fine for me this morning, checked with MSE site to make sure it had updated to latest def... and it had. So this issue is now fixed for me
I am curious if anyone has actually uninstalled MSE after learning about recent test scores. Has anyone actually decided to replace it with something? I have no immediate plans to uninstall it myself, I use it with a combination of browser hardening, common sense & MBAM on-demand (& SpywareBlaster on my x86 notebook). So I am not too bothered as I see it as part of a system, possibly a simple system, but one that's been very effective for me.
lol why uninstall something that has been protecting ME? If others have problems with it, they can go ahead and uninstall it.
I tend to agree. I have never given test scores much credence anyway, essentially as they are produced in, what appears to me, an artificial environment. I particularly don't wish to replace a very light AV that is usually trouble free. It really is the most convenient & unproblematic AV I have ever used.
Not on 2 out of 3 PCs. The third is always changing just for testing. I rely on hardening and other layers for security mostly.
So you have no real concerns about what appears to be happening with MSE? I think that having some form of layers of security has to be the most sensible approach. Mine is quite fundamental, but quite effective I believe.
I'm a little disappointed in recent tests but MSE has always worked well for me in the past. With the very few fresh malware I've run across (not on my PCs) MSE has done better than most when uploading them to Virustotal. Over the last few years I've pared down my security a lot, and no disaster yet. In-built OS security, browser config, and a few select tools have served me well so far.
I think that MSE is going through a bit of a dodgy phase at the moment. I still have a lot of faith in it though. I'm sure that MS will improve it pretty soon.
I agree But unfortunately there will always be those that think "Oh look my product got 97%, and that one scored 99,9% I better hurry to change before I get infected" Wich is unfortunate, and wrong way to look at it. People should use what works best for them include great useful features non bloated, that doesn't turn their computer into a Turtle.
When I re-imaged my son's laptop, I switched from MSE to avast!. I was a little concerned with it's test scores including the flash tests at MRG. In those tests Microsoft still did not detect some items 12 hours after zero hour. Have not had a problem with avast!. Seems to run smooth. I have an old XP computer that runs avast! and Kingsoft Antivirus together and have not had a problem. I should also say that my son was never infected when running MSE.
everything is based on tests.What malware is MSE tested with and is the average user likely to come across this. Ive used MSE myself in the past and its a good product,well it was when i used it. I take these tests with a pinch of salt and the only test for me is what happens on my own computer and what gets stopped and thats good enough for me.
The bad test results were only one of the reasons I went back to Avast! from MSE. When the update glitch occurred, I initially thought that my MSE installation had become corrupted, so I thought that I had to uninstall MSE anyway. Instead of reinstalling MSE, I decided to give Avast! (which is now a newer version than the one that gave me trouble) another try. However, I did not receive any infections in the eight months that I used MSE.
I often try out new AVs - just to see what they are about. When\if I run into issues with other AVs, I always come back to MSE. Why? No registration required; Free; Only a small download; Because it has never caused issues running on my system; Good FP performance. I see the poor ratings given to MSE by the various organisations, yet many reviewers still recommend it - even Gizmos still has MSE as it's second choice free AV. I should clarify by stating that I don't use paid AVs and nor do I have need of the additional functions that some of the 'top' rated free AVs provide. I have other security measures in place. For the vast majority of users out there in the world, MSE is a good 'set and forget' AV, nothing complicated to setup and causes few issues to users. I guess it's easy for people to join the queue and throws rocks at MSE – but it has it's place and it aint going away any time soon! Just my 5 cents worth!
I can understand why people worry about low test scores. It is a bit disconcerting. I am not really sure how these tests apply to a real environment though. I have heard that avast! has improved from its last version. I'm not tempted to switch just yet though. I was always told that you shouldn't run two AVs at the same time, but if you are having no problems it must be working for you. I'd rather run one AV & something else. MBAM is a good option, I only use the on-demand freeware version myself. It isn't realtime but it's a good second opinion though IMO. I've not been infected using MSE on more than one computer either. I first started running MSE about two & a half years ago. It's the longest running AV I have ever used.
Yes, these are the exact same reasons that I use it. Plus it's pretty easy to use. I think it has a long future ahead. Yeah, 5 cents well spent I reckon. That's just my 2 bob's worth!
Currently running MSE + Rapport combo - finding it fast for browsing, quiet (no pop ups), and decent security for banking. Interesting comment here re MSE stability: Microsoft's Security Essentials Fails Antivirus Cert Test…Again http://redmondmag.com/articles/2013/01/23/security-essentials-fails.aspx "What's missing from the antivirus testing mentioned above is a measurement on stability. AV needs to work well as a background process. The reason MSE does so well is not because some testing firm found it detected this vulnerability that something else did not detect. The reason is because it is far more stable than most other anti-virus systems out there. Not surprisingly, if your testing doesn't involve actually having to support production services, things like Avast and Symantec can score well. However, in the real world, it has to run for weeks at a time without crashing your systems, and that is where MSE seems to shine over many of the other options."
That quote in the Redmond Magazine article is from "Dan from Iowa". I don't know who "Dan from Iowa" is, but my experience with various antivirus packages (including Avast at home, and both Symantec's and McAfee's enterprise offerings at several employers) have rarely (if ever) shown any stability issues, over a period of more than ten years. (I also assume Dan from Iowa is basing his statement on a very small sample size, because he refers to "supporting production services" on systems with MSE installed, and Microsoft's licensing terms specifically preclude it from being used by businesses on more than 10 devices.) That said, I have recommended MSE to non-technical family members for the reasons people have mentioned above. Better than nothing and in most cases, good enough.
I recall reading somewhere that MSE did not run well with XP. Is this still the case? I currently have a DELL Latitude D520 that has AVira Free on it and I don't like it because it keeps trying to quarantine what it considers PUPs from Nirsoft, etc. that are FPs and whitelisting them doesn't have any affect. Also, it includes crapware from ask,com. I want to uninstall Avira and replace it with MSE. Please no X is better than Y comments. What do you think? Al
