Onecare’s replacement is Essentials…..
Posted by Simon Salvin on 25. Aug 2009 on Internet, PCAt the beginning of the year I reported on Microsoft’s decision to scrap the Onecare Internet Security suite in favour of releasing a new free anti virus product, based upon Onecare’s anti malware and virus engine but removing the added features. Although initial reports suggested that Onecare would be withdrawn from sale mid year, the website still offers the product for download and yearly subscriptions for purchase while current customers are stilling being offered renewals to their subscriptions.
The new program was code named Morro, but has now surfaced as Microsoft Security Essentials, a limited beta test is underway with release believed to be towards the end of the year. Unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough to join the beta but the following is a review written by PC World magazine in the US and published in the Washington Post:
Microsoft Security Essentials (Beta) Free Antivirus Software
An effective but somewhat slow utility, Microsoft Security Essentials will be a solid contender when it comes out of beta around the end of 2009.
Erik Larkin, PC World
PC World
Tuesday, August 25, 2009; 12:19 AM
Microsoft has a new free antivirus utility coming to replace its now-defunct OneCare suite. And while it was still in beta as of this writing, Microsoft Security Essentials shows much promise: In our tests it was decent at detecting malware, particularly in proactive tests that simulate the handling of new, unknown malware. It took fourth place in our rankings of free antivirus software. The main drawback of the tool, which will launch by year’s end, seemed to be its slow scan speed.
Since Microsoft says the beta tool is feature-complete and simply undergoing fine-tuning now (and since it had a limited public beta release in early summer), we decided to evaluate it alongside other free antivirus software for our recent roundup. Keep in mind, though, that its performance may change before its final release.
One thing we hope will change is its relatively poky scan speed. It was the slowest in our on-access scan test, which judges how quickly scans run when you copy, open, or save files. The app’s Dynamic Signature Service may account for some of that: When Security Essentials sees a potentially malicious file that doesn’t match known malware, it contacts Microsoft servers for additional analysis. The feature likely affords greater protection owing to the use of the latest signatures online, but it may also introduce some delay if Security Essentials has to wait for a response.
The app’s ability to detect and block malware was neither especially good nor particularly bad. Its 97.8 percent overall detection rate put it in fourth; but it did well in proactive tests, which use two- and four-week-old signature databases to simulate how well a program detects new, unknown malware. Its results of 52 percent and 43.8 percent, respectively, were second only to those of the top-ranked Avira AntiVir Personal, our overall winner.
Microsoft’s program put up no false positives (flagging of benign software), and it got a near-perfect score overall in detecting and cleaning rootkits and malware infections. It detected and disabled every infection, and although it left behind several changes to the Registry and other areas (as every free app did), they couldn’t cause further harm.
Security Essentials has a pleasing interface, is simple to use, and has appropriate defaults. Its warning pop-ups let you deal with an issue quickly or dig in for details. If Microsoft can improve the detection rate a bit–and rev up the scan speed more than a bit–before the program’s final release, Security Essentials could turn out to be a real contender in the free antivirus arena.
If you’re in the market for a new anti virus program I would still recommend Avast as our favourite, and best of all it’s free! Then when the new Security Essentials becomes available you could possibly switch without losing any money on subscriptions. Although I still rate Onecare as one of the best anti virus programs I have used I would suggest choosing an alternative at this time due to losing out with the subscription purchase when it reaches the end of the year.
If you own a Windows Home Server or plan to purchase one soon I’d recommend Avast’s Pro Family Pack, the best value package costs £109, which sounds expensive but for your money you receive anti virus protection for your server and up to 10 PC’s and updates for 3 years!
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