Microsoft Signature Edition - Anti Virus Software?

I was wondering what everyone thought about the Microsoft signature edition anti virus software? I am currently a student and get the Symantec anti virus software for free and it works extremely well. Trying to decide which one to keep.

 

Where is the link? You can get MSE for free if you already own and use Windows....what you should ask is which one is taking more system resources and which one isn't. Also remember Symantec is free if your still a student once you leave or go another location that might not be the same and with MSE being free you don't have to worry about being a student or not.

 

I know I am just trying to decide which one to uninstall, and I just wanted to know which one worked better? I'm not too worried about which one takes more resources because I think they are both fairly light.

 

This should tell you:

AV-TEST

Click on home user on the top right then look at MSE's nice rating at the bottom

 

But then again that site is a EU site that has a bias toward MS to start with when they couldn't get MS to remove IE from Windows. EU is known to not like how MS and IE is integrated so I would take that site with a grain of salt. MSE has worked fine for me and families computer without isses. I would put it this way the A/V is 50% protection the other 50% is the user and if they permit a cookie or malware site to install then nothing a A/V can do to stop it.

 

Just because they are located in Germany doesn't mean they are biased for or against Microsoft.....

Although I like how they are located in Europe but use the US flag for English, haha.

 

I agree with you on the part is that AV is only 50% of the protection but it's not just that site that speaks bad about MSE, even AV Comparatives, Even Microsoft themselves admitted that one shouldn't rely on MSE as an AV replacement and it's only a baseline entry level AV. MSE does bad in any test and with the many good free AVs, I don't see why should one use it? If it was the only free AV I would understand people who don't want to pay but this is not the case

 

MSE used to be good years ago, but not anymore. I'm speaking from personal experience.
The last laptop I fixed were basically unusable. MSE found nothing, while Avira on the other hand found 451 different kind of issues. Stay with Symantec if you're happy with it.

I have yet to see a test from the past year that claims MSE being at least average.

 

So am I speaking on personnel experience MSE was night and day compared to Symantec. Symantec used to be good now it is so bloatware that is worthless. Avira has to many ads to make it worth even using as free version. So personnel experience Avira to many ads and Symantec too bloatware...stay away from those two. See how your own words are turned right around.

 

I tested MSE (even in Windows Defender form on Windows 8) vs most recent Norton and other software.
In every case, the laptop/desktop in question was infected with a problem and MSE was able to detect and remove the offending infections (as opposed to the paid programs).
After also installing Malwarebytes (free), and running the scan, it was able to locate other nasties as well (I would only use MBAM when it comes to malware itself... leave the viruses to the AV).

Have been using MSE for years as do all of my family members, and none have experienced issues (except my sister whose OS needed to be reinstalled twice in 4 years, but she allowed her 2 very young kids to use the laptop and click on practically anything online - which is something that most people with viral problems experience with PAID AV software - actually, my sisters laptop did 'survive' for long periods of time in between installations with MSE... which is definitely something, considering how many 'tests' are quick to dismiss it).

Other than that, MSE is running fine for me and others I installed it for (after I explained the importance of responsible online surfing).

So, I wouldn't put too much credence on the AV tests.
And while, yes, it would be accurate to say that even Avast and Avira come with many features that MSE lacks, those features don't seem to be contributing as much to protection so far as to make matters that much more complicated - but that could be seen as a matter of personal opinion).

Bottom line is, do your research, test and see what works best for you - but I can tell you that MSE runs fine (and you can also do better if you have MBAM [Malwarebytes free] installed and regularly updated and run it once every month or two).

 

I use MSE on my own personal Windows installations because it is more integrated into the OS, unintrusive, and uses low CPU cycles. I know it is not one of the stronger AV programs out there, but the best AV by far is the user him, her, or it self (when it is done sweeping the floors, I let my Roomba use my desktop). If anything gets through the cracks, there is always malwarebytes, a repair installation, or a full reinstallation if it comes to it. My biggest issue with MSE is all the false alerts I get and Microsoft using MSE for politics (anything that Microsoft doesn't like is a threat....). For other people's computers, people who cannot be trusted to not infect their own systems with viruses, more powerful anti-viruses are advisable. I have seen too many infected computers that were running MSE to think otherwise. I used to be a big fan of Avast, but now there is a whole plethora of options available. Also make sure to install malwarebytes on their computers so that when they call you up asking for help you can just tell them to run it. That squashes most problems without any direct intervention on your own part.

 

By the way, MSE = Microsoft Security Essentials.

Microsoft Signature Edition is actually Microsoft's no spam Windows software configuration of the laptops they sell.

I personally use Bitdefender Anti-Virus Free Edition. Very lightweight, non-intrusive, and little to no resources consumed.

 

That is one of the best FREE AVs if not the best as it has no ads and offers great protection. it's even not buggy like their fully paid offerings are. good choice

 

Only thing is you have to register it and login in the free one, so it doesn't hound you all the time. But it's been seamless ever since.

 

I've found MSE and Malware Bytes Premium to work great together.
Sent from my Lumia 1520