BleepingComputer.com: Is MS Security Essentials superior to other free programs?

It would be convenient to have combined anti-vir/anti-spy with MS Security Essentials. Any pro advice on whether to substitute MS SE for AVG and Super Anti Spy? I read the review, but it didn't compare with other free programs.

Hello Dana,

I can't say that I can offer any "pro advice", but hope my humble opinion will suffice . Personally, I think AVG (free version) has become bloated over the years and there are far better free alternatives out there. While MS Security Essentials is relatively new to the market, I have seen nothing but great reviews and positive feedback from its users. I use MS Security Essentials myself on another family computer and think you will make a very good choice if you decide to replace AVG with it.

You can keep SuperAntiSpyware around if you like, as as far as I'm aware SuperAntiSpyware (free or pro) will run alongside MS Security Essentials with no problems.

MS Security Essentials is provided free by Microsoft, and for what reason?

They want Windows users to enjoy a virus/malware-free experience of the WWW. They are motivated providers of this service, in exactly the same way they provide Windows Update services.

Do yourselves a favour and take advantage of it.

This post has been edited by CoolCatBad: 23 November 2009 - 03:34 AM

Microsoft Security Essentials Overview is basically a stripped-down version of OneCare aimed at users who either can’t or don't want to pay for antivirus/anti-malware software.

• Microsoft Security Essentials Review: Installing and Using
  
• Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: MSE Installing and Using
  
• Review: Microsoft Security Essentials

Using more than one anti-virus program is not advisable. The primary concern with doing so is due to conflicts that can arise when they are running in real-time mode simultaneously and issues with Windows resource management.

In contrast, as a general rule, using more than one anti-spyware program like Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware, SuperAntispyware, Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware, etc will not conflict with each other or your anti-virus if using them as stand-alone scanners. In fact, doing so increases your protection coverage without causing the same kind of conflicts or affecting the stability of your system that can occur when using more than one anti-virus. The overlap of protection from using different signature databases will aid in detection and removal of more threats when scanning your system for malware. However, if using any of their real-time resident shields (TeaTimer, Ad-Watch, MBAM Protection Module, Spyware Terminator Shields, etc) together at the same time, there can be conflicts when each application tries to compete for resources and exclusive rights to perform an action. Additionally, competing tools may even provide redundant alerts which can be annoying and/or confusing.

Keep in mind that you can overkill a system with resource heavy security programs that will slow down performance. Sometimes you just have to experiment to get the right combination for your particular system as there is no universal "one size fits all" solution that works for everyone.

This post has been edited by quietman7: 23 November 2009 - 10:42 AM