Microsoft releases free Antivirus Software

[Old Man of UO]

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

The beta has been running since June, and the final version is now available. Does anyone have any experience with this? How does it compare to AVG (which I currently use)?

 

[Old Man of UO]

Just a bit more information... I installed it on a new laptop that came with a 45-day trial Norton 360 pre-installed.

The MS Antivirus refused to install until Norton was completely uninstalled, and the computer rebooted. I couldn't just disable Norton.

The MS Antivirus also checks for a verified version of the operating system. So be sure you have a valid and registered operating system before installing.

 

[Beer_Cayse]

This package does not apparently work and play well with anything but MS products. I was in the beta and it impacted system performance so badly I uninstalled it and told MS I was going to use other products.

I went back immediately to CA ezArmor, AVG and Trend for AV, AdAware, Spybot3D and CA Pest Control for spyware. These are minimums ... but MS will not EVER be in the picture.

 

[Old Man of UO]

This package does not apparently work and play well with anything but MS products. I was in the beta and it impacted system performance so badly I uninstalled it and told MS I was going to use other products.

I went back immediately to CA ezArmor, AVG and Trend for AV, AdAware, Spybot3D and CA Pest Control for spyware. These are minimums ... but MS will not EVER be in the picture.

So far, I am not having any issues with the free MS AV program. It's not hurting performance at all that I can tell... and it wasn't hard to see the performance drop with Norton 360. I also use AVG and like it, but it would be nice if they beefed the free version up a bit. I'll keep using the free MS program and let you know if I have any issues.

 

[Wulf2k]

Personally, I just don't execute viruses on my home PC. Saves me the hassle of having a PC bogged down by antivirus. Scan every so often when I get paranoid, or somebody else touches my machine.

I've still never had anything that wasn't a result of me letting somebody else use my machine....

 

[Basara]

Old Man - That's NORTON doing that, not the MS product.

Norton is infamous for booby-trapping your system so badly with its registry changes and hidden files that it makes it near-impossible to switch to another company's security software.

Back in 2004, it took me 3 weeks and multiple conversations with Norton/Symantec & McAfee tech support to get McAfee to install after uninstalling Norton - and went through the same problem on an older machine a few years later, going to one of the popular free AV/firewall suites from Norton - Finally, I threw up my hands, did a total reinstall of the computer minus the factory-installed Norton.

 

[Old Man of UO]

Old Man - That's NORTON doing that, not the MS product.
...

Unfortunately, I don't have the option to reinstall a clean version without the Norton 360 - it came pre-installed and is part of the rescue disk. I've never been much of a fan of Norton, just another reason not to like it. Anyway, this uninstall seems to have taken care of it (but I am sure a sweep of the registry would find some fragments).

Thanks for the info, Basara.

 

[Shamus Turlough]

Theres a neat little tool I use on a regular basis. The official symantec norton removal tool. It will completely remove any trace of any symantec security product installed on a windows computer.

Download it here.

 

[Old Man of UO]

Theres a neat little tool I use on a regular basis. The official symantec norton removal tool. It will completely remove any trace of any symantec security product installed on a windows computer.

Download it here.

Thanks Shamus... this is exactly what I have been looking for. Going to load it on my laptop to see what it shows.

EDIT: By the way, that link worked perfectly to remove entries from the Registry