Updating Security Essentials (virus) definitions

Unlike other virus detection s/w, it looks like Essentials requires the
user to update definitions. My old McAfee seemed to do this regularly.
Did I miss something it the install?

W. eWatson wrote:
> Unlike other virus detection s/w, it looks like Essentials requires
> the user to update definitions. My old McAfee seemed to do this
> regularly. Did I miss something it the install?

The MSE definition updates are treated like any other updates. If you
want them to be updated automatically, you have to set your update
options to update automatically. Open "Windows Update" and click on
"Change settings" in the left hand column of the page. Use the drop down
menus and check boxes to set the update options.
--
Crash

English is not my native tongue; I'm an American.

>"W. eWatson" wrote in message news:j98s2d$d34$...

Unlike other virus detection s/w, it looks like Essentials requires the
user to update definitions. My old McAfee seemed to do this regularly.
Did I miss something it the install?
>

Microsoft Security Essentials uses Microsoft Update component of Windows
Update to check for and download definition updates every 24 hours.

To configure your system to receive updates ensure Microsoft Update is
selected in the Windows Update settings:
- Control Panel/System and Security/Windows Update/<Turn Updating on or
off>
Check -> Give me updates for Microsoft products and check for new optional
Microsoft software when I update Windows

Note: MSE updates follow the same process used by your current Windows
Update deployment settings
- Automatic
- Download but choose to install
- Notify (choose whether to download and install)

MSE is also preconfigured to perform a scan on 'schedule' and to check for
updates prior to running a scheduled scan per its settings (found on the
MSE/Settings tab). This update 'before scan' will run independently of
Windows Update

--
....winston
msft mvp mail

"...winston" <> wrote in message news:j990nr$egf$...
>
>>"W. eWatson" wrote in message news:j98s2d$d34$...
>
> Unlike other virus detection s/w, it looks like Essentials requires the
> user to update definitions. My old McAfee seemed to do this regularly.
> Did I miss something it the install?
>>
>
> Microsoft Security Essentials uses Microsoft Update component of Windows Update to check for and download definition
> updates every 24 hours.
>
> To configure your system to receive updates ensure Microsoft Update is selected in the Windows Update settings:
> - Control Panel/System and Security/Windows Update/<Turn Updating on or off>
> Check -> Give me updates for Microsoft products and check for new optional Microsoft software when I update Windows
>
> Note: MSE updates follow the same process used by your current Windows Update deployment settings
> - Automatic
> - Download but choose to install
> - Notify (choose whether to download and install)
>
> MSE is also preconfigured to perform a scan on 'schedule' and to check for updates prior to running a scheduled scan
> per its settings (found on the MSE/Settings tab). This update 'before scan' will run independently of Windows Update
>

That's not entirely correct. I have WU set to download and notify me of updates, but my MSE automatically downloads and
installs the new definitions with no intervention from me. It will also do that before a scan, as you stated.
--
SC Tom

Dave "Crash" Dummy wrote:

> W. eWatson wrote:
>> Unlike other virus detection s/w, it looks like Essentials requires
>> the user to update definitions. My old McAfee seemed to do this
>> regularly. Did I miss something it the install?
>
> The MSE definition updates are treated like any other updates. If you
> want them to be updated automatically, you have to set your update
> options to update automatically. Open "Windows Update" and click on
> "Change settings" in the left hand column of the page. Use the drop down
> menus and check boxes to set the update options.

From past discussions, some including MVPs who said they had internal MS
contacts, you need to leave the AU service enabled and set to Automatic
startup but you do NOT need to leave WU setup to do automatic updates.
MSE uses the AU service to get its updates. It doesn't rely on the WU
settings. So you can configure WU to only alert you of Windows updates
(but not download or install them) to prevent Microsoft from changing
the state of your host until you decide to permit it but MSE can still
use the AU service to get its automatic updates. That is, you don't get
stuck with having your Windows automatically updated if you don't want
that but you can still have MSE get its updates as long as the AU
service is enabled and running (Automatic startup).

MSE uses the AU service to check for its own updates. MSE does not use
the schedule for the WU updates. MSE uses its own schedule (once every
24 hours but may lag if the computer was powered off) which is not user
configurable but it does it updates through the AU service. The closest
that I've seen to let the user schedule when MSE gets its updates
(through the AU service) is to add an event in Task Scheduler that runs
"MpCmdRun.exe -SignatureUpdate" (I no longer have MSE so I can't verify
this command-line switch will work). Another way was to configure the
scheduled scan to check for updates before scanning and then schedule a
[quick] scan every day. That was back a couple years (2009) when MSE
had problems initiating its update so this was a workaround to make it
to an update whenever you scheduled a scan.

It's possible some anti-virus/malware disabled the Automatic Updates
service or the user thought it was an unneccessary and disabled it which
means MSE won't be able to get its updates. The AU service should be
set to Automatic for startup on Windows startup and should currently be
running. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959894, method 3. In the
past, MS has used the AU service to push covert updates even if WU
settings were to notify only. As a consequence, many users that got
burned with BSOD bricks upon return to their host decided to disable the
AU service. When they wanted to do a WU update (after saving a backup
image of their OS partition), they would enable the AU service and
perform a manual WU update, install the updates, and then disable the AU
service. For such users, that also meant MSE wouldn't get its separate
updates. See article http://preview.tinyurl.com/27k5l9o to see how MS
decided you will have WU set to automatic which you have to set back.
Other users found updates getting applied when WU was set to disable and
managed to avoid the covert updates by disabling the AU service.

W. eWatson wrote:

> Unlike other virus detection s/w, it looks like Essentials requires the
> user to update definitions. My old McAfee seemed to do this regularly.
> Did I miss something it the install?

What other effective virus detection software does not require
definition updates? Or did you mean to ask why your instance of MSE is
not performing *automatic* updates? In the latter case, just how long
have you waited to get an automated update? You never mentioned how
long you waited to see if MSE updated itself.

MSE does a check every 24 hours but the time is randomized to eliminate
the entire community of MSE users from slamming the update server at the
same time. The update interval is not user configurable also to
eliminate a huge load on the update server since users are known to
schedule events at common times, like on the hour or at 10- or
15-minutes of the hour rather than at, say, 12, 18, 38, or 53 minutes of
the scheduled hour.

If you want to ensure that MSE gets an update, if available, by a
certain time of day then look at my reply to Dummy (hey, he chose that
moniker for himself). You could schedule a daily [quick] scan with the
option enabled to check for updates before running the scan. You could
try using a scheduled event in Task Scheduler using the command-line
switch that I mentioned but I never tried that when I used to have MSE.

On 11/7/2011 10:04 AM, W. eWatson wrote:
> Unlike other virus detection s/w, it looks like Essentials requires the
> user to update definitions. My old McAfee seemed to do this regularly.
> Did I miss something it the install?

MSSE can also be run from CMD line in a batch and from Task Scheduler.

See:
http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/up...-command-line/

--
Zaidy036

You have to have automatic updates on to have it done for you. Since I
do not like anything performed on my computer without my permission I go
to this site after computer startup and download and manually install
the MSE updates every morning. I have a icon on my desktop pointing to
this URL.

https://www.microsoft.com/security/p...tions/ADL.aspx
--
<Bill>

Brought to you from Anchorage, Alaska.

W. eWatson wrote:
> Unlike other virus detection s/w, it looks like Essentials requires
> the user to update definitions. My old McAfee seemed to do this
> regularly. Did I miss something it the install?

On 11/7/2011 8:38 AM, SC Tom wrote:
>
> "...winston" <> wrote in message
> news:j990nr$egf$...
>>
>>> "W. eWatson" wrote in message news:j98s2d$d34$...
>>
>> Unlike other virus detection s/w, it looks like Essentials requires the
>> user to update definitions. My old McAfee seemed to do this regularly.
>> Did I miss something it the install?
>>>
>>
>> Microsoft Security Essentials uses Microsoft Update component of
>> Windows Update to check for and download definition updates every 24
>> hours.
>>
>> To configure your system to receive updates ensure Microsoft Update is
>> selected in the Windows Update settings:
>> - Control Panel/System and Security/Windows Update/<Turn Updating on
>> or off>
>> Check -> Give me updates for Microsoft products and check for new
>> optional Microsoft software when I update Windows
>>
>> Note: MSE updates follow the same process used by your current Windows
>> Update deployment settings
>> - Automatic
>> - Download but choose to install
>> - Notify (choose whether to download and install)
>>
>> MSE is also preconfigured to perform a scan on 'schedule' and to check
>> for updates prior to running a scheduled scan per its settings (found
>> on the MSE/Settings tab). This update 'before scan' will run
>> independently of Windows Update
>>
>
> That's not entirely correct. I have WU set to download and notify me of
> updates, but my MSE automatically downloads and installs the new
> definitions with no intervention from me. It will also do that before a
> scan, as you stated.
Don't see a System Security under the CP. Just System. Nothing about
security.

WU? AU (auto updates?)

Hi, W.

MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials) has its own control panel, including
several options on the Settings tab. Among others, I have checked the box
to "Check for the latest virus and spyware definitions before running a
scheduled scan", and I've set it to run a Quick scan once a week.
Definition updates arrive at least once a day, but I can manually check
during the day, too.

WU = Windows Update - checks for updates to the Windows operating system.
MU = Microsoft Update - checks for updates to Windows PLUS Word and other
Microsoft applications you might have installed.
AU = Automatic Update - as you guessed.

All these settings are available from Start | Windows Update. On the main
WU screen, click "Change settings". On the next page, check the box under
"Microsoft Update". And also choose whether and when to check for, download
and install updates.

I've been using MSE since it first became available a couple of years ago.
I like it! ;<)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
Windows Live Mail 2011 (Build 15.4.3538.0513) in Win7 Ultimate x64 SP1


"W. eWatson" wrote in message news:j99isf$i1v$...

On 11/7/2011 8:38 AM, SC Tom wrote:
>
> "...winston" <> wrote in message
> news:j990nr$egf$...
>>
>>> "W. eWatson" wrote in message news:j98s2d$d34$...
>>
>> Unlike other virus detection s/w, it looks like Essentials requires the
>> user to update definitions. My old McAfee seemed to do this regularly.
>> Did I miss something it the install?
>>>
>>
>> Microsoft Security Essentials uses Microsoft Update component of
>> Windows Update to check for and download definition updates every 24
>> hours.
>>
>> To configure your system to receive updates ensure Microsoft Update is
>> selected in the Windows Update settings:
>> - Control Panel/System and Security/Windows Update/<Turn Updating on
>> or off>
>> Check -> Give me updates for Microsoft products and check for new
>> optional Microsoft software when I update Windows
>>
>> Note: MSE updates follow the same process used by your current Windows
>> Update deployment settings
>> - Automatic
>> - Download but choose to install
>> - Notify (choose whether to download and install)
>>
>> MSE is also preconfigured to perform a scan on 'schedule' and to check
>> for updates prior to running a scheduled scan per its settings (found
>> on the MSE/Settings tab). This update 'before scan' will run
>> independently of Windows Update
>>
>
> That's not entirely correct. I have WU set to download and notify me of
> updates, but my MSE automatically downloads and installs the new
> definitions with no intervention from me. It will also do that before a
> scan, as you stated.
Don't see a System Security under the CP. Just System. Nothing about
security.

WU? AU (auto updates?)