Microsoft Security Essentials Beta: Going Public this Week

Last fall, I wrote an article about the impending demise of Microsoft’s OneCare and a new *free* replacement, codenamed Morro.

The reports have been coming in from several sources:

• Ars Technica
• Neowin
• Paul Thurrott

and others that Microsoft is putting the final touches on their new product, now called Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), and will be releasing a Beta this Tuesday.

These reports come on the heals of reports the previous day regarding a “leaked” pre-beta of this new security product from Microsoft.  A couple of our users at WGS have even discussed their experiences with the leaked beta.

If you want in on the “official” Beta, these sources indicate that the software will be available from Microsoft at this URL.  Remember, not until Tuesday and it will supposedly be limited to the first 75,000 takers.

There are several options that the consumer has for free anti-virus and/or anti-spyware solutions.  The downside to free solutions is that the companies who exist off the income produced from this type of software seems to put more and more “junk” in their not-free suite offerings.  Quite often to the point of it not being usable.  I guess if a security suite won’t let you connect to the Internet, you will not be able to receive any malware of any kind.  100% effective!

But, I digress.

I used OneCare for several years, as it came free from my ISP.  Never had a problem with OneCare.  I hope MSE does as well or better than OneCare.  I also hope that this gives consumers another choice that they might actually use, as it is my understanding that the number of “unprotected” computers (without an AV solution) is huge.

And finally, it would be really nice to have a free alternative for our Windows Home Server’s.  Let’s hope that MSE will actually work on these machines, also.