MSE info please

[David Webb]

My comments were based upon multiple installations of MSE and indicate how its
setup routine works.

If you disconnect from the internet, you'll be faced with the issue that I
expressed following the excerpt you quoted, which was:

"Also, you do not want to install MSE offline since during one of the setup
steps
it needs to access the web in order to download the latest virus & spyware
definitions."

There is no "Skip" option in this phase.

 

[Twayne]

In

Some tips:

You don't want to uninstall your AV app before starting the MSE
installation. The MSE setup will walk you through steps, one of which
is to uninstall your AV app before continuing the setup.

Also, you do not want to install MSE offline since during one of the
setup steps it needs to access the web in order to download the
latest virus & spyware definitions.

Uhh, install offline. Then update when you do go online. Unless you want to
invite drive-bys in. It only takes milliseconds if the right one comes
along. Always minimize any time you're sans AV. Never connect to the 'net
without it already installed.

After successfully installing MSE, all other spyware, malware, and AV
apps/utilities can be uninstalled.

Now that's downright dangerous advice. There simply is no turnkey program
that can guarantee to catch everything. Keep your malware & spyware stuff;
you still may need it.

Note: MSE only checks for virus & spyware definition updates prior to
running a system scan, so be sure that the scheduled scan is
realistic.

Realistic?! WHAT does that mean? If you meant Full or Deep scan, that's
pretty ppoor wording.

HTH,

Twayne

 

[Twayne]

In

I didn't suggest MalwareBytes was an av application, clearly it is a
malware detection program. just indicating one of several programs
continually being recommended here to posters for protection of some
kind. I have rarely seen MSE put forward for use in this newsgroup,
hense my request for comments from the experts.

I think he was responding to whoever said you don't need any other software
and to delete all the spyware/malware etc..


HTH,

Twayne

MSE Support Forums
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/mse

A1. Yes, then run the appropriate removal tool, too, if need be.

A2. MalwareBytes Anti-Malware is NOT an anti-virus application.

See...

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/internet-security/274933/free-anti-virus-applications-compared

http://blogs.pcmag.com/securitywatch/2009/12/av-comparatives_rates_anti-mal.php

http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2009/10/av-comparatives-picks-six-malware-removal-winners.ars

[OT @David: Give MSE another look in a few weeks. <w>]
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002
www.banthecheck.com

I have winxp pro sp3.

I have downloaded but not yet installed Microsoft Security
Essentials. Firstly a question. Do I have to uninstall all other malware
and AV
programs
if I do install?

I have read a few rave reviews on the net but would really
appreciate any comments from you guys here. I still see
recomendations for Malwarebytes and
other stuff. So how many people here are in favourof MSE ?

tia

 

[Twayne]

In

And unless you purchase the paid version of MBAM, it doesn't provide
any real-time protection (unlike Windows Defender).

See the references I posted in my first reply to see how well MSE
fairs in comparative tests.

<QP>
Norton AntiVirus 2010, Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0, avast! Free
5.0 and seven others received three stars (the highest rating
ADVANCED+); AVIRA AntiVir Premium 9.0 eked out the highest score.

You are aware of course, that Avira at least used to put out BETA-entry code
as production and then used its clients for the BETA? When I tried it, it
also spotted an install.exe program I had personally created and placed in a
folder - and identified it as malware, based solely on it being in an
unexpected directory?
I hope they've fixed that stuff. I won't be going back though; they're
done for my purposes. It also insisted on placing an oversized graphic in my
browser; I was running 800 x 600 on that machine. The Exit wasn't even
available; they'd set it so the screen couldn't be moved horizontally. Bad
news. Oh, they also turned off the Status Bar.

HTH,

Twayne

</QP>
http://blogs.pcmag.com/securitywatch/2009/12/av-comparatives_rates_anti-mal.php

<QP>
...AV-Comparatives rated the security companies from best to worst in
four separate categories:

Advanced+: eScan, Symantec, Microsoft, F-Secure, Kaspersky,
Bitdefender Advanced: ESET, Sophos, AVG, McAfee, Avast, AVIRA,
Trustport Standard: Norman, G DATA
Tested: Kingsoft
</QP>
http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2009/10/av-comparatives-picks-six-malware-removal-winners.ars

I didn't suggest MalwareBytes was an av application, clearly it is a
malware
detection program. just indicating one of several programs
continually being
recommended here to posters for protection of some kind. I have
rarely seen
MSE put forward for use in this newsgroup, hense my request for
comments from the experts.

MSE Support Forums
http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/mse

A1. Yes, then run the appropriate removal tool, too, if need be.

A2. MalwareBytes Anti-Malware is NOT an anti-virus application.

See...

http://www.expertreviews.co.uk/internet-security/274933/free-anti-virus-applications-compared

http://blogs.pcmag.com/securitywatch/2009/12/av-comparatives_rates_anti-mal.php

http://arstechnica.com/security/news/2009/10/av-comparatives-picks-six-malware-removal-winners.ars

[OT @David: Give MSE another look in a few weeks. <w>]
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-IE, Mail, Security, Windows Client - since 2002
www.banthecheck.com


joe wrote:
I have winxp pro sp3.

I have downloaded but not yet installed Microsoft Security
Essentials. Firstly a question. Do I have to uninstall all other
malware and AV
programs
if I do install?

I have read a few rave reviews on the net but would really
appreciate any
comments from you guys here. I still see recomendations for
Malwarebytes and
other stuff. So how many people here are in favourof MSE ?

tia

 

[Twayne]

In

Joe,

I'm no expert -- certainly not an MSVP -- but I've been an active PC
user for about 13 years. I've tried many different free and paid AVs,
Spyware/Malware prevent/ removal types, and several different
firewalls. I spend on average, about 5 hours/day on the Internet.
No matter what protection I was using at any given time, I always
kept it up-to-date and active and it always has kept me well
protected. My last configuration prior to going to MSE and the
Windows firewall was a ZoneAlarm firewall, AVAST! free AV,
SpywareBlaster, MSVP Hosts file, SpyBot S&D, free Malwarebytes, and
free SUPERAntiSpyware. Kept me clean as a whistle but was a real
pain to keep track of all of it and keep it all updated. Also, some
of it slowed down my computer. Since dumping ZA, AVAST!, SpyBot S&D,
Hosts file and going to MSE/Windows firewall and running free
SUPERAntiSpyware and Malwarebytes weekly, I remain squeaky clean and
my XP/SP3/IE8/dual 2.2 Intel machine is lightning fast.

MSE auto updates daily, has a small footprint, is easy to use and for
me, works flawlessly.

One user's MSE experience. As always, YMMV .

Aside: I was surprised to hear Jose's anti MS/MSE bias as I have
always valued his opinions/advice.

You still should; he didn't say anything that was new or surprising to
anyone that keeps up with the situation. MS tries, but they just don't have
the expertise they need nor the contacts to keep it working with useful
updates.

HTH,

Twayne

 

[Twayne]

In

Joe I have tested this product on a test PC of mine and find it very
very useful. I had it installed for about three months when I decided
to see how well it was working by running MBAM and SUPERAntiSpyware
and neither one of those products found anything at all on my system.
That alone told me that MSE was working very well!

Uhh, and, what did MSE do that the others didn't? Did you run one, let it
fix things, and then try the others or what? Details would/might be
interesting.

HTH,

Twayne

 

[joe]

Looks like there are still as many for as against Twayne and this was just
what I was hoping for - an all round view. Don't want to go for it till I'm
convinced.

 

[David Webb]

In

Uhh, install offline. Then update when you do go online. Unless you want to
invite drive-bys in. It only takes milliseconds if the right one comes along.
Always minimize any time you're sans AV. Never connect to the 'net without it
already installed.

Have no fear, the sky is really not falling. If you have a router, try setting
the firewall to "Stealth Mode" or equivalent.

Now that's downright dangerous advice. There simply is no turnkey program that
can guarantee to catch everything. Keep your malware & spyware stuff; you
still may need it.

To each, his own. Most of those utilities do not catch anything, they simply try
to neuter or remove it after the fact. In many cases these utilities are
neutered in an infected system by the virus itself, so they can't be run when
you need them.

I only run these utilities from a BartPE or UBCD4WIN disc.

Realistic?! WHAT does that mean? If you meant Full or Deep scan, that's
pretty ppoor wording.

A schedule refers to a time element. There's no use in scheduling a 3:00 am run
time if the computer is not turned on at that time, hence the use of term
realistic should mean something, even to you.

HTH,

Twayne

Not very much.

 

[Leythos]

Beginning to think that way George. May still be a few views to appear.

And if history is any example, trusting MS to protect a MS OS is a poor
choice.

You can run any product, but if you don't constantly test it against
other products you really don't know what you're protected against or
how well you are protected against unknown malware.

As many will say, MSE is not the path that people who fight malware
would take.

 

[Leythos]

Looks like there are still as many for as against Twayne and this was just
what I was hoping for - an all round view. Don't want to go for it till I'm
convinced.

Joe, I maintain thousands of computers, been in the field for 30+ years,
and run an I.T. company. I have installs of all the major players AV
products on machines and have several machines that we use in the wild
in our own lab. My personal choice is Avira, currently, and was Symantec
End Poin Protection for Workstations and Servers until it let something
slip through last month - that was the first and ONLY time I've ever had
one of our machines compromised. Avira has been the only antimalware
product to block that exploit path at the time - currently all the major
players now block it, but Avira blocked it from the start. I have also
seen Avira block things from websites that Symantec and the others never
even alerted on, and still don't, so I'm using Avira on our machines at
this time and switching the medical groups to Avira also.

As for MSE, I see no reason to consider it a viable protection tool.

 

[joe]

Thank you Leythos, I intend to look at Avira.

Joe, I maintain thousands of computers, been in the field for 30+ years,
and run an I.T. company. I have installs of all the major players AV
products on machines and have several machines that we use in the wild
in our own lab. My personal choice is Avira, currently, and was Symantec
End Poin Protection for Workstations and Servers until it let something
slip through last month - that was the first and ONLY time I've ever had
one of our machines compromised. Avira has been the only antimalware
product to block that exploit path at the time - currently all the major
players now block it, but Avira blocked it from the start. I have also
seen Avira block things from websites that Symantec and the others never
even alerted on, and still don't, so I'm using Avira on our machines at
this time and switching the medical groups to Avira also.

As for MSE, I see no reason to consider it a viable protection tool.

--
You can't trust your best friends, your five senses, only the little
voice inside you that most civilians don't even hear -- Listen to that.
Trust yourself.
(e-mail address removed) (remove 999 for proper email address)

 

[jonnas_tan]

Using MSE doesn't sound good for me, our company is using Bitdefender- I
didn't know anything about it and I was using Kaspersky on my home
computer. However I started searching more about it and I have to say
it works very good on W7-it's not a system hog and it's very
effective-our IT guys checked some tests that were made and bitdefender
scored pretty well.

 

[Jose]

Joe I have tested this product on a test PC of  mine and find it very
very useful. I had it installed for about three months when I decided to
see how well it was working by running MBAM and SUPERAntiSpyware and
neither one of those products found anything at all on my system.  That
alone told me that MSE was working very well!

I now have MSE on both my PC's and my test PC.  I think if you take the
plunge you will not regret it.

George

You can't test on an uninfected computer and decide any certain
software is working very well.

You need to test your options on computers that are infected either
accidentally or on purpose with a variety of the most simple and the
most threatening maladies, clean them up and try to get them infected
again.

I imagine MSE is of some use but is misses many things other
applications will find.

 

[George]

In

Uhh, and, what did MSE do that the others didn't? Did you run one, let
it fix things, and then try the others or what? Details would/might
be interesting.

The details are simple Twayne. After having MSE Installed all that time
and then running the others, the others found nothing!!!

George

 

[Unknown]

You have to learn to ignore Twayne. He even runs registry cleaners.

 

[Unknown]

I imagine MSE is of some use but is misses many things other
applications will find.

Examples?????

 

[George]

Joe I have tested this product on a test PC of mine and find it very
very useful. I had it installed for about three months when I decided
to
see how well it was working by running MBAM and SUPERAntiSpyware and
neither one of those products found anything at all on my system. That
alone told me that MSE was working very well!

I now have MSE on both my PC's and my test PC. I think if you take the
plunge you will not regret it.

George

You can't test on an uninfected computer and decide any certain
software is working very well.

You need to test your options on computers that are infected either
accidentally or on purpose with a variety of the most simple and the
most threatening maladies, clean them up and try to get them infected
again.

I imagine MSE is of some use but is misses many things other
applications will find.

Jose,

Why not? If this program did not allow anything to come into the system
then
that is more of a blessing than allowing it to come in and then have to
clean it up,
which is exactly what happened here. I will continue to use it as I am
not afraid
of MS! What I am afraid of is the other programs that allow this stuff
in and
then decides to clean it up for you!


Your argument here, "I imagine MSE is of some use but is misses many
things other
applications will find." makes no sense after what I have shared here.
MBAM and
SuperAntiSpyware didn't find anything?


George

 

[Twayne]

In

....

The details are simple Twayne. After having MSE Installed all that
time and then running the others, the others found nothing!!!

OK: For ONE specific problem, it worked. So I guess you only judge things
empirically by seeing how they work at some arbitrary point in time with
whatever malware happens to be flying around at that time period. Real
scientific.
If MSE removed it, what WOULD you expect the others to find? I find that
a little myopic - had you run one of the others first, then IT would have
your accolades? Not meaningful, IMO. Irrelevant, in fact.

HTH,

Twayne

 

[Twayne]

In

Have no fear, the sky is really not falling. If you have a router,
try setting the firewall to "Stealth Mode" or equivalent.

ASSuming you have the NAT and capability. Now I'm beginning to see; everyone
must adhere to the equipment you have and your opinions of it. Good show!

To each, his own. Most of those utilities do not catch anything, they
simply try to neuter or remove it after the fact. In many cases these
utilities are neutered in an infected system by the virus itself, so
they can't be run when you need them.

They in fact do and whatever you're talking about "after the fact" et al is
pure silliness. You seem to be talking about things you have no real concept
of. Like a journalist or politician and his buzzwords collection in an
effort to gain some kind of credibility. I'll stick with the current set of
tools I have as opposed to using anything that must claim to be a turnkey,
do it all application since you say all the rest of it can be uninstalled.
You're proferring dangerous advice.

I only run these utilities from a BartPE or UBCD4WIN disc.

What do you mean by "these utilities"? You mean you do it from a boot disk
or some such thing? You're great at being vague and about as smart as my
toenails.

A schedule refers to a time element. There's no use in scheduling a
3:00 am run time if the computer is not turned on at that time, hence
the use of term realistic should mean something, even to you.

<g> Perhaps you will schedule a scan for early AM and turn the computer
off, but not many people will unless they've set a policy to bring the
computer up sometime before that time occurs. Or wake on LAN could do it,
too I suppose. But I feel I've gone well over your head with that stuff.

Lol! That's actually funny, and what occasionally makes these sort of
threads more entertaining than usual. I have a feeling you need to check
into the meaning of "realistic" vs things like "obvious" and "logical" and a
few other words.
Since realistic to you doesn't mean a Full or a Deep scan, but means the
computer only has to be turned on, your command of the English language is a
little suspect. Perhaps English is not your native language? That might
explain a few of your problems here. Your wordings though, do indicate you
speak English natively; but I wonder?

Twayne

 

[George]

In

OK: For ONE specific problem, it worked. So I guess you only judge
things empirically by seeing how they work at some arbitrary point in
time with whatever malware happens to be flying around at that time
period. Real scientific.
If MSE removed it, what WOULD you expect the others to find? I find
that a little myopic - had you run one of the others first, then IT
would have your accolades? Not meaningful, IMO. Irrelevant, in fact.

HTH,

Twayne

Thanks for sharing your wonderful wisdom with the rest of us Twayne!