I realize that there are a lot of users out there who have no access to the MSE beta. I uninstalled NOD32 from my x64 Win 7 RC workstation to try out the new MS offering, and I thought I would go through the install with anyone who is interested and give you my first impressions.
The install file is about 3.8MB in size for an x64 Vista/Win 7 machine.
The install process:
MSE immediately launches and updates it’s definition files. I’m not sure why, but it seemed to take quite awhile to do this. Rather strange that the program requires updates on it’s first day of release, but it is possible that it does not come with any definition files inside the install program.
The tray icon for MSE is the one on the right. Very “reassuring” looking fortress!
The initial scan starts after the definition update, and seemed to take less time then the update. Of course, it was set to do a “quick” scan, however.
Just a couple of shots of the other program tabs.
That’s it! The install/update/scan went without a hitch. The system has not slowed down in the least. My WHS does not give me any warnings that my workstation is not protected. Life is good, especially when something is free. Of course, the question that I cannot answer is how effective is MSE? We will have to wait for the malware test labs to provide those answers.
And, of course, it would be nice to have a WHS version of MSE. I would not hold my breath on that, however. Why?
Well, WHS is based on Server 2003. WHS v2 will be based of the Server 2008 R2 kernal. Solutions that are designed for workstations may not work very well on servers, whether that server is based on 2003, 2008 R2 or WHS. And, if I remember correctly, Microsoft has a product in place for servers in the form of Forefront. WHS may be a home solution, but it is still a server. Which I guess is the category that Microsoft classifies it to be in.
But, let’s get back to MSE for my last comment. MSE is a lean/mean malware protection “machine”. Anti-virus and anti-spyware. Which is just the way I like it. I ban just about any anti-malware software from my home that does much more than that. Let’s hope that it scores well in the test labs and that those who currently do not have protection might actually make use of this free Microsoft solution.
23. June 2009 at 11:37 pm
I installed it 3 computer 64 and 32-bit Win7 and XP 32-bit, works great, the process shows 5MB of usage, McAfee uses 10x that, normally, but it sometime spikes to 100+MB. Hopefully it protects well.
24. June 2009 at 12:46 am
I installed it too. its as invisible as all the claims so far. Anybody who needs the installer pop into the general chat forums (hope its allowed).
24. June 2009 at 1:58 am
If you give a direct link, the mods (like me) will have to delete the link. Now if you want to do something thru a PM…
24. June 2009 at 11:56 am
Ok
24. June 2009 at 1:22 am
Jim,
Your article only "suggests" that you installed the new MSE on your WHS. Is this in fact the case? Please confirm and give us an update after a week or so of testing. OK?
I did some extensive testing of various AV programs during the WHS beta, RC and OEM. I posted the results on Philip Churchill's WHS blog. AVG Network was the only one that did not cause any conflicts until PP1 came out.
If MSE holds up with no issues, it will prove to be a good solution for WHS users that want to protect their data warehouse.
Thanks,
Paul
24. June 2009 at 1:56 am
Sorry, I should have been more explicit. I installed it on a x64 Win 7 RC machine. I will update my post so that no one is confused.
And I did not even try it on my WHS. I do not have a "test" WHS machine currently and I've killed my "production" machine too many times recently to want to do it again.
FWIW, I am using NOD32 on my WHS and it works quite nice there.
Better?: "I uninstalled NOD32 from my x64 Win 7 RC workstation to try out the new MS offering"
24. June 2009 at 1:58 am
Aaah, great. Thanks Jim for the update.
NOD32 caused great issues with WHS back in the beta and RC days. They must have come out with a compatible WHS release. Thanks again for that update too.
24. June 2009 at 2:09 am
My review of NOD: http://www.wegotserved.com/2009/04/26/software-re...
And, yes, it is a relatively recent "quiet" announcement from ESET.
24. June 2009 at 3:19 am
Good read. I may have to look into NOD for my WHS again. Thanks for the link.
24. June 2009 at 5:21 am
I'm noticing a lot of slowdown with MSE on my Win 7 laptop. Things open noticeably slower- I wonder if it's more visible to me since I have a very fast SSD and am now seeing a lot more disk access and slower load times?
24. June 2009 at 11:44 am
The only ones who could answer that are MS. Be sure to submit a bug report on Connect.
24. June 2009 at 12:40 pm
Through Resource Monitor, you can see which processes are writing to disk, if you suspect it is MSE and disk writes, that would be the first place to look, good luck