Review: Microsoft Security Essentials
The fact has forever struck me that Microsoft neglects to offer “the complete software experience.” A free internet protection suite is one of the gaps that they have filled via the new freeware product known as Security Essentials. As soon as I caught wind of this I was eager to give it a go and felt I needed to give the software a completely clean slate subsequent to the abandonment of their previous effort (know as oneCare) that never even passed beta. I will cover the featureset, user experience and quality of protection.
User experience.
This was the area in which I was most shocked by Microsoft’s great effort. The UI is refreshing and simple. There are not many options but that constitutes more white space and greater readability. All features are organized in tabs making it easy to find what your looking for. The status message displayed on the ‘Home” is concise but descriptive. It sums up the security of your computer.
Featureset.
The sole aim of this software is to be simple and stripped-down. For this reason, any features that you don’t need aren’t in there. It has good real-time protection, scan scheduling, reporting and updating. I was happy to see that this software served as evidence that Microsoft are tying to break the cycle of creating resource-hungry bloatware.
Protection.
Windows also has the weight of a reputation of being infected to carry with it and again, they have tried to lessen that with this product launch. I will not pretend to be an expert in this field but, what I can tell you is, those who are have given it very highly respectable reviews. A number of experts are claiming that it outdoes common solutions in terms of protective accuracy.
The Verdict
To suommerize, I think MS made a huge effort to see their failures and act on them. The one negative I have in relation to the product is that I think they should put far more effort into marketing. I give this tool 4 out of 5 stars.
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With thanks, Tom