Microsoft Security Essentials Review

Microsoft has finally unveiled its premier antivirus program, earlier codenamed Morro as 'Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE)'. It is designed to be a complete antivirus solution for Windows platform, to act as a bulwark against all the species of malicious programs including viruses, adware, malware, scareware, worms, trojans, rootkits, keyloggers and rogue security software programs. This antivirus program can be freely downloaded and installed on genuine Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 copies only. The intention of this Buzzle article is to present a Microsoft Security Essentials review, for those who are still skeptical about using this program.

What a user with an installed version of Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 would want to know is whether he can rely on this software as the standalone antivirus software program on his laptop or desktop computer. This review is aimed at helping you decide that. Microsoft's free antivirus program endeavor has been welcomed by many as one of the best free computer security solutions today.

Microsoft Security Essentials Review and Performance

Microsoft Security Essentials have been in the market long enough now for a thorough review to be made, considering the feedback that users and experts have provided. It is the default free antivirus for Windows 7. Here are the main features of MSE for your perusal.

System Requirements
One essential condition for Microsoft Security Essentials to work on your PC is that you have a genuine Windows XP (service Pack 3 or 2), Windows XP (Service Pack 1, 2 or Gold) or Windows 7 installed. For Windows XP, you need at least a 500 MHz processor with RAM greater than 256 MB. For Windows 7, you need at least 1 GHz processor with at least 1 GB RAM. Other than that, it needs 140 MB of free hard drive memory space and VGA display of 800 x 600 at least.

Installation
Download and installation of Microsoft Security Essentials was quite fast, considering the size of the setup file is small. During installation, it runs a check for a genuine Windows license. Once that test is passed, installation happens fast. It automatically starts downloading security updates and runs a security scan after that. Booting time stays unaffected after installing MSE and it makes minimal usage of system resources, while not affecting performance speed.

Scanning
MSE offers three virus scanning options for your computer, which includes a quick, full and custom scan. Quick scans only check the most vulnerable parts of your system and takes an average of 5 to 10 minutes to execute. A full scan takes longer, depending on the density and total number of files on your hard drive.

A custom scan lets you select any folder or drive for scanning. Compared to other free antivirus software programs, MSE is a slow scanner of the hard drive but it's thorough. It provides you with an option for excluding certain file locations, file formats and processes from getting scanned. This can shorten your scanning time. It can also create a system restore point before every scan. Information about every potential threat detected is made available in the history section.

You can schedule a custom scan daily and also select the type of scan. The settings section provides you with a facility to choose the default action for low, medium and high level security threats. It offers real-time protection, which alerts you about threats on the go. The malware and antivirus updates happen automatically and almost three times a day at times. The dynamic signature service contacts Microsoft servers for information regarding unidentified threats, that are not part of its updated database.

Security Features
Now moving on to the main point of this Microsoft Security Essentials review, let us discuss its security features and performance. MSE is on par with the best in the business, when it comes to detecting malware. In real-time scanning mode, it detects most malware programs, before they can get activated on your system. The antivirus and anti spyware engines along with the rootkit protection are some of the other useful tools. What is lacking is email scanners, web protection and a firewall. However, considering that this is a free software, the features offered are truly reasonable.

User-Friendly Interface
One of the prime features of this program is its very user-friendly interface, with a minimum number of tabs. It offers easy handling and stays in the background, with minimal resource usage. It has made a mark to be one of the top 5 best free antivirus software programs.

Being a user of this new antivirus program for quite some time now, I am qualified to present a Microsoft Security Essentials review from personal experience. It has all the makings of one of the best free antivirus programs today with backup and support from none other than Microsoft itself. Microsoft Security Essentials is a lightweight and efficient antivirus program that provides you with the 'bare essentials' of computer security. To conclude, MSE is highly recommended as a free antivirus program that will safeguard your computer.