Windows Security Essentials Free Antivirus Software By Alexsandralyn on - Updated Oct 15, 2011
When my sluggish 60 day trial of Norton Antivirus expired, I decided to hunt for a free antivirus program that was compatible with Windows 7 and wouldn't slow me down. Microsoft Windows Security Essentials is a free realtime, antivirus, antispyware program for computers that run Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. This 4mb program installed quickly on my computer, and the user interface is very easy to navigate. Once installed, Microsoft Windows Security Essentials will update the virus and spyware definitions automatically, and will continue to download new definitions weekly before the next scheduled computer scan.
The first quick scan took about 10 minutes to complete while the program recorded all of the files on my computer. But the subsequent quick scan took less than a minute to complete, which is very quick compared to Norton Antivirus. In the settings, I have the option to exclude certain files to be scanned such as my .jpeg photos if I want the scanning process to complete even faster. When a suspicious file is detected, Microsoft Windows Security Essentials will alert me and tell me the level of threat to my computer, and from there, I can have the file removed, quarantined, or allowed. Microsoft Windows Security Essentials runs in the background and checks all of my downloads and e-mails for security threats. And that's really all I ever wanted or needed out of an antivirus software program: efficient, free, fast and easy to use.
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Microsoft Windows Security Essentials Purchased at: www.microsoft.com Price: free
This gets pretty favorable comments from Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson on the Security Now podcast (http://www.grc.com/securitynow.htm). I think I will dump AVG and install this. I really like the price!
I'm actually really impressed with Windows Security Essentials. I've used AVG and Avast before, and they were second on my list to install if I didn't like Security Essentials. AVG is also on the list of Windows 7 compatible antivirus programs.
some these free anti-virus programs have some good solid backing when it comes to how they perform.
i recently downloaded windows security essentials for my desktop and laptop after using McAfee. i loved McAfee til i found Windows Security Essentials. great program, easy to use, efficient. LOVE IT!