[madsam]

It's the only free major one, how does it compare to say paid kaspersky or Trend Micro?

[MasterMind98]

Microsoft Security Essentials is designed to disable Windows Defender in order to manage the PC’s real-time protection, including anti-virus, rootkits, Trojans and spyware.

[madsam]

So is it an ample substitute to paid AV software like Trend Micro and Kaspersky?

[cyberpope]

Yes, its a simple free antivirus, it is pretty good for what it does but if you can get a better antivirus use that instead. But you can use Microsoft Security Essentials if you want to.

[MasterMind98]

Microsoft Security Essentials works alot better than Windows Defender.

[InuyashaITB]

It is horrible. but of course its better than NOTHING at all...

my recommendation for a free AV is Avast! free edition.

[MasterMind98]

It is horrible. but of course its better than NOTHING at all...

my recommendation for a free AV is Avast! free edition.

I agree with you on that, Avast is better than both of them.

[Chebyshev]

Avast is just...Ugh...I use MSE and I really like it. Does a pretty quick scan and picks up a lot of shit most of the time. Low false positives, there's also the compatibility thing with a Windows OS. Some updates go along with automatic updates too, I really like MSE. :)

[ProfessionalCriminal]

Hi madsam,

Actually, MSE is now considered to be one of the most popular and highly recommended protection agents out. It's definitely up there with Kaspersky, Avira, Avast, and NOD32. Hack Forums has never been best friends with MSE, but you'll find it's absolutely worshiped in other communities (such as SevenForums).

Thanks,
Malware Boss

[MasterMind98]

The only reason Mcafee is alive today is because of its business products that many companys use even today. Symantec and McAfee are world preferences for corporate firms. Symantec, on the other hand, has improved incredibly and I can 100% rely on Norton. But I will never let Mcafee in my pc.

[Kyuubi]

MSE is quite good for something free. Though I think avira or comodo would be a better choice.

[djchriz]

overall i would pick a free Av instead. but if you not doing anything overly dangerous you should be fine with it.

[Sia]

avira is by far the best even though if you say, got a free edition or cracked

[MasterMind98]

So far, I haven't heard any negative stuff about it, which I guess is good. Most of what I've seen seems to indicate that Microsoft may have gotten it right this time. I have it turned off at the moment as I am using some thing else. As far as the firewall goes, I only use the Windows firewall along with the built in router firewall.

[versx]

I always used the free AVG versions since I could remember, but since the day MSE came out, I've been stuck on it. I love it! It's great, very very low false positives, pretty much gets everything I need it to get. I've been wondering about using Avira or Avast, tho MSE is probably one of the best out there imho, for a free AV.