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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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 TECH REVIEW 
23

Microsoft's Free Antivirus Software Actually Works!

Program performs well in stress test

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(Newser) – Want a great, free antivirus program from a big software brand? OK, it’s from Microsoft, and … wait! Come back! Believe it or not, Microsoft’s new Security Essentials software is pretty darn good. AV-Test.org ran it through a bevy of tests and found the freebie performed admirably. In its first outing, it nabbed all 3,700 viruses, Trojans, and worms that testers threw at it.

Then they loosed it on a computer already infected with 545,344 malware samples, and it scrubbed 98.4% of them. It’s relatively efficient, too. A full scan took a whopping 8 hours in a Boston Globe test, but used so little CPU that the system ran smoothly in the meantime. It’s not perfect: It can’t detect unknown menaces, and sometimes leaves benign bits of malware behind. But it’s pretty great for the price.

Microsoft Security Essentials is actually pretty good, tests show.
Microsoft Security Essentials is actually pretty good, tests show.   (Shutterstock)
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23 comments
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myvoice
Oct 1, 09 1:06 PM CDT
What MS makes something that actually works! there is hope for mankind! :) Just kidding... but they should have done this a long time ago, since they are the one who have the flaws and security holes in their OS. Reply
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+3
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Unaffiliated
Oct 1, 09 1:17 PM CDT
If Linux or Mac OS were as popular as Windows, they would have many more viruses than they do now. Hackers don't focus on them because there aren't enough users to make it worth their time to exploit those systems. MS has a bad rep, but they really have made an impact in the world with their products. But I agree that they should have done this a long time ago.
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+4
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2-bits
Oct 1, 09 1:25 PM CDT
Actually, Microsoft did make several mistakes dating back to the DOS era when they designed their operating systems as single user environments. They are now multiuser but we are still paying for their early lack of emphasis on security. You are right that there would be just as much malware, but it would be geared towards tricking the user to run a program with admin priviliges.
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+2
IN RESPONSE:
myvoice
Oct 1, 09 1:32 PM CDT
I agree 100% Unaffiliated. My point is that they were aware of their flaws long before now and should have done this sooner a lot sooner! And I wish OS X would hit 50% of the market share so the cultist mac people would STFU about how great the OS is! :)
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+2
IN RESPONSE:
2-bits
Oct 1, 09 1:40 PM CDT
Guys, there is plenty of incentive to hack Linux machines. They protect some of the most valuable financial data in the world (i.e. all of your bank accounts. Unless it's not, god help you), not to mention they run most of the worlds web content. The reason you don't see them going down is because hacking these machines is HARD and the people running them are smart. Mac OS is built on FreeBSD (or some other BSD variant, I don't remember), which is possibly even more secure than Linux, although god knows if that's still the case. Apple is pretty good at software, though, so... Whoo, I need to take a breather...
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+1

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