Windows Essentials:

[MikeK]

I had been using AVG anti-virus with Windows XP. When that computer went south and I upgraded to Windows 7 I installed AVG which interfered with a program I use and I couldn't get it to work. So I hired an IT who strongly advised me to try Windows Essentials, which he said is not only free but is every bit as good as any anti-virus on the market and better than some.

Windows Essentials installed so easily and was so unobtrusive I couldn't believe it could be as efficient as I'd been told. But for the past two years I've had absolutely no problems with viruses or any kind of malware while Windows Essentials resides quietly in the background demanding nothing from me except to run an occasional scan -- which performs in the background and is barely noticeable.

Windows Essentials also places a little green flag on the lower right of the screen. As long as that flag is green the computer is considered safe. That flag has never turned red until this afternoon. When I queried it I was advised to run a full scan, which I did -- and was informed that I was infected with a Trojan and given the option of removing it, which of course I selected.

The program told me the removal would take awhile, which it did. Over an hour. But it showed the very long list of items it had to clear when finished and advised me it was thoroughly cleared and my computer is now safe and monitored.

As far as I'm concerned Windows Essentials is as good as it gets -- and although it was free I would gladly pay a premium price for it. It's kept me free of problems for over two years and it performs far more efficiently as any anti-virus I've ever used and does so with absolutely no problems, demands or aggravation.

Sadly, I've heard that Microsoft intends to discontinue Windows Essentials. Is this true?

I will appreciate any relevant information.

 

[DarkFury]

I run Windows Live...One care on my Vista but it also works on XP.
50 bucks and you get the disc plus you get email/phone and on line support for three computers for a year.

Where are you going that giving you the viri?

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

I have used the free Avast program since 2004, and not had a single virus get through, knock on wood.

 

[Mr. H.]

Avast and Malwarebytes do me fine.

 

[MikeK]

I run Windows Live...One care on my Vista but it also works on XP.
50 bucks and you get the disc plus you get email/phone and on line support for three computers for a year.

Where are you going that giving you the viri?

I have no idea where it came from.

 

[Alystyr]

I had been using AVG anti-virus with Windows XP. When that computer went south and I upgraded to Windows 7 I installed AVG which interfered with a program I use and I couldn't get it to work. So I hired an IT who strongly advised me to try Windows Essentials, which he said is not only free but is every bit as good as any anti-virus on the market and better than some.

Windows Essentials installed so easily and was so unobtrusive I couldn't believe it could be as efficient as I'd been told. But for the past two years I've had absolutely no problems with viruses or any kind of malware while Windows Essentials resides quietly in the background demanding nothing from me except to run an occasional scan -- which performs in the background and is barely noticeable.

Windows Essentials also places a little green flag on the lower right of the screen. As long as that flag is green the computer is considered safe. That flag has never turned red until this afternoon. When I queried it I was advised to run a full scan, which I did -- and was informed that I was infected with a Trojan and given the option of removing it, which of course I selected.

The program told me the removal would take awhile, which it did. Over an hour. But it showed the very long list of items it had to clear when finished and advised me it was thoroughly cleared and my computer is now safe and monitored.

As far as I'm concerned Windows Essentials is as good as it gets -- and although it was free I would gladly pay a premium price for it. It's kept me free of problems for over two years and it performs far more efficiently as any anti-virus I've ever used and does so with absolutely no problems, demands or aggravation.

Sadly, I've heard that Microsoft intends to discontinue Windows Essentials. Is this true?

I will appreciate any relevant information.

Doing a quick search, I couldn't find anything about MS discontinuing Windows Security Essentials. Possibly a name change, or not including it in forthcoming OSs, but not discontinuing.
I've been running MSE with Malware Bytes and Tracking Protection (MSIE) for years, and haven't had anything make it through undetected.

Where are you going that giving you the viri?

Without an ad/pop-up blocker running, virii can come from just about anywhere, questionable site or not. All it takes is a compromised ad on one of the ad servers. It used to be really bad, and it's gotten better, but I still very rarely run with Tracking Protection/AdBlock disabled.

 

[Ringel05]

I had been using AVG anti-virus with Windows XP. When that computer went south and I upgraded to Windows 7 I installed AVG which interfered with a program I use and I couldn't get it to work. So I hired an IT who strongly advised me to try Windows Essentials, which he said is not only free but is every bit as good as any anti-virus on the market and better than some.

Windows Essentials installed so easily and was so unobtrusive I couldn't believe it could be as efficient as I'd been told. But for the past two years I've had absolutely no problems with viruses or any kind of malware while Windows Essentials resides quietly in the background demanding nothing from me except to run an occasional scan -- which performs in the background and is barely noticeable.

Windows Essentials also places a little green flag on the lower right of the screen. As long as that flag is green the computer is considered safe. That flag has never turned red until this afternoon. When I queried it I was advised to run a full scan, which I did -- and was informed that I was infected with a Trojan and given the option of removing it, which of course I selected.

The program told me the removal would take awhile, which it did. Over an hour. But it showed the very long list of items it had to clear when finished and advised me it was thoroughly cleared and my computer is now safe and monitored.

As far as I'm concerned Windows Essentials is as good as it gets -- and although it was free I would gladly pay a premium price for it. It's kept me free of problems for over two years and it performs far more efficiently as any anti-virus I've ever used and does so with absolutely no problems, demands or aggravation.

Sadly, I've heard that Microsoft intends to discontinue Windows Essentials. Is this true?

I will appreciate any relevant information.

You were probably talking to an Microsoft trained IT tech, you wouldn't believe the BS Microsoft feeds them.
Never thought I'd hear myself say it but Windows Essentials did very well in independent tests where as Windows Defender did terrible. While it's able to "scrub" an infected system it can leave traces of the malware behind that could cause problems. What Essentials mainly lacks is a relatively new detection feature, heuristics-based scanners but then again many only include that feature in the for sale versions. Two problems with heuristics-based scanners is length of time to do a scan and number of false positives so that technology is a trade off.
Add Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit Free, it runs when you open your browser and is a zero day malware protection program (App to you Windows acolytes)

 

[Uncensored2008]

I had been using AVG anti-virus with Windows XP. When that computer went south and I upgraded to Windows 7 I installed AVG which interfered with a program I use and I couldn't get it to work. So I hired an IT who strongly advised me to try Windows Essentials, which he said is not only free but is every bit as good as any anti-virus on the market and better than some.

Windows Essentials installed so easily and was so unobtrusive I couldn't believe it could be as efficient as I'd been told. But for the past two years I've had absolutely no problems with viruses or any kind of malware while Windows Essentials resides quietly in the background demanding nothing from me except to run an occasional scan -- which performs in the background and is barely noticeable.

Windows Essentials also places a little green flag on the lower right of the screen. As long as that flag is green the computer is considered safe. That flag has never turned red until this afternoon. When I queried it I was advised to run a full scan, which I did -- and was informed that I was infected with a Trojan and given the option of removing it, which of course I selected.

The program told me the removal would take awhile, which it did. Over an hour. But it showed the very long list of items it had to clear when finished and advised me it was thoroughly cleared and my computer is now safe and monitored.

As far as I'm concerned Windows Essentials is as good as it gets -- and although it was free I would gladly pay a premium price for it. It's kept me free of problems for over two years and it performs far more efficiently as any anti-virus I've ever used and does so with absolutely no problems, demands or aggravation.

Sadly, I've heard that Microsoft intends to discontinue Windows Essentials. Is this true?

I will appreciate any relevant information.

As far as FREE options go, I agree.

Kaspersky and ESET offer far superior protection, but you have to pay for them.

 

[Uncensored2008]

You were probably talking to an Microsoft trained IT tech, you wouldn't believe the BS Microsoft feeds them.
Never thought I'd hear myself say it but Windows Essentials did very well in independent tests where as Windows Defender did terrible. While it's able to "scrub" an infected system it can leave traces of the malware behind that could cause problems. What Essentials mainly lacks is a relatively new detection feature, heuristics-based scanners but then again many only include that feature in the for sale versions. Two problems with heuristics-based scanners is length of time to do a scan and number of false positives so that technology is a trade off.
Add Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit Free, it runs when you open your browser and is a zero day malware protection program (App to you Windows acolytes)

Ringlel

Under Windows 7, Windows Defender is NOT an anti-virus, it will protect against browser exploits but WILL NOT do anything to stop trojans, root kits, key loggers, etc. You must use an anti-virus with Defender.

This changed with Windows 8 and 10.

 

[Ringel05]

You were probably talking to an Microsoft trained IT tech, you wouldn't believe the BS Microsoft feeds them.
Never thought I'd hear myself say it but Windows Essentials did very well in independent tests where as Windows Defender did terrible. While it's able to "scrub" an infected system it can leave traces of the malware behind that could cause problems. What Essentials mainly lacks is a relatively new detection feature, heuristics-based scanners but then again many only include that feature in the for sale versions. Two problems with heuristics-based scanners is length of time to do a scan and number of false positives so that technology is a trade off.
Add Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit Free, it runs when you open your browser and is a zero day malware protection program (App to you Windows acolytes)

Ringlel

Under Windows 7, Windows Defender is NOT an anti-virus, it will protect against browser exploits but WILL NOT do anything to stop trojans, root kits, key loggers, etc. You must use an anti-virus with Defender.

This changed with Windows 8 and 10.

Okay but I still don't trust Essentials, Microsoft has such a poor track record in that area. I've only upgrade two laptops to Win 10 (both newer laptops) and both will probably end up as Linux machines. That leaves my wifes's laptop and my gaming desktop...... remaining Win 7 machines for now, in a few years when 7 is no longer supported I'll probably buy an XBox 360 (not XBox One) for games and all of my computers will become Linux machines, we'll see.

 

[Uncensored2008]

Okay but I still don't trust Essentials, Microsoft has such a poor track record in that area. I've only upgrade two laptops to Win 10 (both newer laptops) and both will probably end up as Linux machines. That leaves my wifes's laptop and my gaming desktop...... remaining Win 7 machines for now, in a few years when 7 is no longer supported I'll probably buy an XBox 360 (not XBox One) for games and all of my computers will become Linux machines, we'll see.

I have to do work on my machines, which means Windows.

And honestly, once the Longhorn OS came out, Linux lost it's appeal for me. Anything in Linux runs in Windows. Things I care about, such as Gimp actually run better on Windows with the same hardware (due to driver support for graphics hardware.) I hated XP, the OS/2 kernel was an open invitation for bad guys. but once that was gone, Windows is fine. Everyone runs a protected zero ring. Linux and Longhorn are both multi-tiered, meaning that only the PC-BSD based Mac is vulnerable to kernel highjacking.

I inherited an Xbox 360 when my brother died in May. But I don't play it much. The graphics suck, I don't like the controllers. I've been trying to get through Red Dead Redemption, which is an XBox exclusive, and a really good game, but I get really frustrated with the controllers and crappy visuals.

 

[Ringel05]

Okay but I still don't trust Essentials, Microsoft has such a poor track record in that area. I've only upgrade two laptops to Win 10 (both newer laptops) and both will probably end up as Linux machines. That leaves my wifes's laptop and my gaming desktop...... remaining Win 7 machines for now, in a few years when 7 is no longer supported I'll probably buy an XBox 360 (not XBox One) for games and all of my computers will become Linux machines, we'll see.

I have to do work on my machines, which means Windows.

And honestly, once the Longhorn OS came out, Linux lost it's appeal for me. Anything in Linux runs in Windows. Things I care about, such as Gimp actually run better on Windows with the same hardware (due to driver support for graphics hardware.) I hated XP, the OS/2 kernel was an open invitation for bad guys. but once that was gone, Windows is fine. Everyone runs a protected zero ring. Linux and Longhorn are both multi-tiered, meaning that only the PC-BSD based Mac is vulnerable to kernel highjacking.

I inherited an Xbox 360 when my brother died in May. But I don't play it much. The graphics suck, I don't like the controllers. I've been trying to get through Red Dead Redemption, which is an XBox exclusive, and a really good game, but I get really frustrated with the controllers and crappy visuals.

I had 3 major gripes (for me) with Win 10, the old Windows game were gone, their "spying" and taking away my complete control over updates. There's a forth one now that I'm sure will be eventually fixed, the computer is slow too wake up from sleep and it freezes from time to time and I have to hard reboot. Two have been fixed already, I have the old Windows games and have already blocked their "spying", the only one left is FULL control over updates, that for me is the deal breaker, I want complete control of my computer.

 

[Uncensored2008]

I had 3 major gripes (for me) with Win 10, the old Windows game were gone, their "spying" and taking away my complete control over updates. There's a forth one now that I'm sure will be eventually fixed, the computer is slow too wake up from sleep and it freezes from time to time and I have to hard reboot. Two have been fixed already, I have the old Windows games and have already blocked their "spying", the only one left is FULL control over updates, that for me is the deal breaker, I want complete control of my computer.

I hear you, BUT.

Microsoft has been the target of a mostly false campaign by Apple to portray them as unsecure. MS in fact fixes security holes faster than any other company out there - the problem is when people don't install the patch. Apple has never given the user the option to reject a patch (or any other option, for that matter.) So the hypocrisy of someone (not you) saying "Windows forces updates, I'm getting a Mac" is is absurd.

And everyone spies. If you use Chrome, everything about you is in the Google archives. If you use Safari, come on, it's Apple, they are probably monitoring you when the machine appears off. But Evilcorp made spying a feature. If you have an iPhone and a Mac, the searches done on the iPhone show up on the Mac, and vice versa! How KEWL is that? So how does it work? Evilcorp is watching and tracking everything you do on that iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Google is about the same now, with Android tracking everything as well as Chrome.

 

[longknife]

I just noticed that Windows 10 doesn't have this "essentials" program. But it does have Defender and Firewall. As I've also added McAfee, I don't see any reason to add anything else.

 

[Uncensored2008]

I just noticed that Windows 10 doesn't have this "essentials" program. But it does have Defender and Firewall. As I've also added McAfee, I don't see any reason to add anything else.

Under Windows 10 (and 8,) Defender has been expanded to include full anti-virus protection. If you are using McAfee, be sure to turn of virus protection in Defender.

1. Go to Run.
2. Type in ‘gpedit.msc’ (without quotes) and hit Enter. This will open up a new menu, where group policy editor options are listed.
3. Head to the ‘Administrative Templates’ tab, located under ‘Computer Configuration’.
4. Click ‘Windows Components’, followed by ‘Windows Defender’.
5. Find the ‘Turn off Windows Defender’ option, and double-click it.
6. Apply your changes before exiting the GPE menu.

 

[longknife]

To make it easy, simply type Windows Defender in Cortana and click on "my stuff"

You can also type in Security and Maintenance to see what you need.

It's what I like most about Cortana - I can easily find the stuff I'm looking forward in my own PC.

Thought I'd lost some important stuff and Cortana found it for me.

 

[MikeK]

As far as FREE options go, I agree.

Kaspersky and ESET offer far superior protection, but you have to pay for them.

As I recall, I had paid over $100 for an anti-virus program (I believe it was McAfee) when I got my XP computer some years back. But although I've been using computers for a long time I remain an affirmed computer dummy and the program I bought was not only difficult to install it caused horiffic problems. So I hired a local tech who removed it and advised me to use AVG, which was free at that time, installed very easily, and did a very good job (I never had any virus issues).

So when I got this Windows 7 computer I ordered AVG, which I believe costs around $40 now. I installed it and it caused problems with several programs I regularly use. So I had the IT over again and, like last time, he removed AVG and strongly advised me to use Essentials.

That was over two years ago. Since then I've had no problems. Essentials on three occasions has notified me of problems they had quarantined and allowed me to remove them with one simple click.

Then, yesterday, it found the Trojan I posted about and removed it. So assessing the situation from my relatively ignorant point of view I am happily impressed with Essentials.

As far as Essentials being free is concerned, I would happily pay for it -- or any anti-virus program I am able to install and which works for me. I have no problem with that. The problem I have is the more popular anti-virus programs I've paid for and tried require computer skills and knowledge I simply do not have. I've tried to install them and they cause problems I can't deal with. But Essentials installed very easily, it causes no problems, and it has worked for me.

That is worth a couple hundred dollars to me -- but it's free.

 

[MikeK]

As far as FREE options go, I agree.

Kaspersky and ESET offer far superior protection, but you have to pay for them.

As I recall, I had paid over $100 for an anti-virus program (I believe it was McAfee) when I got my XP computer some years back. But although I've been using computers for a long time I remain an affirmed computer dummy and the program I bought was not only difficult to install it caused horiffic problems. So I hired a local tech who removed it and advised me to use AVG, which was free at that time, installed very easily, and did a very good job (I never had any virus issues).

So when I got this Windows 7 computer I ordered AVG, which I believe costs around $40 now. I installed it and it caused problems with several programs I regularly use. So I had the IT over again and, like last time, he removed AVG and strongly advised me to use Essentials.

That was over two years ago. Since then I've had no problems. Essentials on three occasions has notified me of problems they had quarantined and allowed me to remove them with one simple click.

Then, yesterday, it found the Trojan I posted about and removed it. So assessing the situation from my relatively ignorant point of view I am happily impressed with Essentials.

As far as Essentials being free is concerned, I would happily pay for it -- or any anti-virus program I am able to install and which works for me. I have no problem with that. The problem I have is the more popular anti-virus programs I've paid for and tried require computer skills and knowledge I simply do not have. I've tried to install them and they cause problems I can't deal with. But Essentials installed very easily, it causes no problems, and it has worked for me.

That is worth a couple hundred dollars to me -- but it's free.

Pardon the redundant bolding in my last paragraph above. I tried to bold the word "any" and that's what happened. I tried to switch it off -- but now you know why I don't get along with some anti-virus programs.

 

[MikeK]

You were probably talking to an Microsoft trained IT tech, you wouldn't believe the BS Microsoft feeds them.

Never thought I'd hear myself say it but Windows Essentials did very well in independent tests where as Windows Defender did terrible. While it's able to "scrub" an infected system it can leave traces of the malware behind that could cause problems. What Essentials mainly lacks is a relatively new detection feature, heuristics-based scanners but then again many only include that feature in the for sale versions. Two problems with heuristics-based scanners is length of time to do a scan and number of false positives so that technology is a trade off.
Add Malwarebytes Anti-Exploit Free, it runs when you open your browser and is a zero day malware protection program (App to you Windows acolytes)

I know absolutely nothing about "heuristics-based scanners" but I should tell you it took more than an hour for Essentials to remove the Trojan it detected. It posted a two page listing of items it found and removed. The bottom-line for me is the Trojan is reportedly gone and my computer is working fine.

 

[Ringel05]

I had 3 major gripes (for me) with Win 10, the old Windows game were gone, their "spying" and taking away my complete control over updates. There's a forth one now that I'm sure will be eventually fixed, the computer is slow too wake up from sleep and it freezes from time to time and I have to hard reboot. Two have been fixed already, I have the old Windows games and have already blocked their "spying", the only one left is FULL control over updates, that for me is the deal breaker, I want complete control of my computer.

I hear you, BUT.

Microsoft has been the target of a mostly false campaign by Apple to portray them as unsecure. MS in fact fixes security holes faster than any other company out there - the problem is when people don't install the patch. Apple has never given the user the option to reject a patch (or any other option, for that matter.) So the hypocrisy of someone (not you) saying "Windows forces updates, I'm getting a Mac" is is absurd.

And everyone spies. If you use Chrome, everything about you is in the Google archives. If you use Safari, come on, it's Apple, they are probably monitoring you when the machine appears off. But Evilcorp made spying a feature. If you have an iPhone and a Mac, the searches done on the iPhone show up on the Mac, and vice versa! How KEWL is that? So how does it work? Evilcorp is watching and tracking everything you do on that iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

Google is about the same now, with Android tracking everything as well as Chrome.

Yeah but with Google (search) I can opt out of much of it and since I only sign in to check my e-mail then sign back out....... I don't use chrome. I get no targeted adds and I don't use Mac (though I was thinking about it once not long ago). I don't use Facefuck or Twit...terrrrr, I rarely use my Android smartphone for anything but calls, plus I opt out of ALL notifications/e-mail/etc from online vendors. If one doesn't respect it their communications go to trash automatically.
By today's standards I'm still stuck in the dark ages.......
I've Google searched my name, barely anything come up, Google doesn't really know who I am....... neither does anyone else.

Yes I'm aware of the "tech wars" and the disinformation floating around, heck Symantec just did a "test" (rigged of course) showing how bad Windows Essentials is, looks like Symantec is loosing money..........