WSE and 3rd party antivirus software

Hey all,

If you are running Windows Security Essentials (WSE), a part of Win 7 SP1, is it necessary to also run a 3rd party antivirus software program such as Norton's Internet Security, Kasperski's Internet Security, or run WSE alone or perhaps WSE with a freebee like AVG's free home version?

Thanks,
Ed

By "Windows Security Essentials" do you in fact mean "Microsoft Security Essentials"?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/w...ity-essentials

But the answer to this question is NO. Actually I would highly advise NOT to use more than one realtime scanner for your system security, as they will fight over who takes action, and that can cause conflicts. MSE is good enough alone. But I would also not recommend using AVG regardless, as it's quite terrible, from my personal opinion and many other security experts that i've met and spoken to.

If you really mean Windows Security Essentials then that didn't come with SP1. It looks like a company trying to get people to run their software and it may well be a fake program that actually infects your machine. Many of these "check your machine for free" tools actually install a virus themselves whose main goal is to get you to buy worthless AV software. The fact that they have numerous keywords including "Microsoft Security Essentials" at the bottom of the page to generate buzzwords for web crawlers makes me even more suspicious. Stick to well-known companies and be wary of the wolf in sheep's clothing that offers to "check your PC".

Actually it is Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), a genuine Windows Product. I am a little bit skeptical that an "new kid on the block" (so to speak) in security software has a large enough database to compete with the "big boys" like McAfee, Nortons, Kaspersky, etc.

If MSE is equally as good as the above mentioned third party programs, then I will not hesitate to trust my security to it. And besides, it's FREE!

Regards,
Ed

Not really the new kid anymore, but still a bit of a youngster!
I think it is a matter of personal confidence, in many cases. I have used it since its testing stages and, fwiw, have had no virus attacks.
Some update faster than others, but up to a point, , the info on new virus'e gets around to most of the antivirus programs at about the same time.
As we understand it, MSE will be reverting back to the better known Windows Defender, with the introduction of Windows 8.

Nearly all the antivirus software makers share info regarding new viruses, trojans, malware, etc. The main difference is how quickly each brand updates their respective databases and how the AV engines scan the computer.

IMHO, the best free AV is Avast and used with a good firewall such as ZoneAlarm Free, the user's system is fairly secure.

I still recommend that end users purchase a good AV or internet security program though as those just seem to work more efficiently and tend to stay in the background doing their function as intended without annoying popups and reminders.

Maybe. I would suggest that the anti virus signature updates are exactly the same, whether you have paid or are using the free offer. With the paid products you get extras, such as a firewall (already in Windows) and parental protection, internet scanning protection etc. If you have this via other sources, then there is little gain from purchasing the full product.?

Hey all,

I tried Prevx, and discoverd that the "free" version requires you to buy and register the program before it will fix most problems it found. I have not tried Avast 6 yet, even though I have downloaded it.

Prevx found malware that one of the best programs, Malwarebytes, could not find. I wonder if Prevx created these 4 files purposely, to get you to register and buy their programs. Some software companies have been known to use such tactics.

I did a research on the best antivirus programs for 2012 and PC Mag rated Norton's 360 and Webroot's Secure Anywhere Antivirus as their Editor's Choice. Right now I am running MSE. I guess I will install Avast 6 and see how things go.


Thanks for your responses. Have a great weekend.
Ed Wood

Ed - be wary of reviews you find in magazines. They're not always as unbiased as you would believe.

One of the best sites for accurate, unbiased reviews and testing is: www.av-comparatives.org

For the latest summary report, in PDF format, go here: http://www.av-comparatives.org/en/co...ummary-reports
then download the Summary Report 2011 - December 2011 http://www.av-comparatives.org/image...ummary2011.pdf
Kaspersky took the best title for 2011, followed by in alphabetical order: AVIRA, Bit-Defender, ESET, and F-Secure

I have personally used AVIRA, Bit-Defender, ESET and currently using F-Secure. You will NOT GO WRONG by choosing any of the above AV or Internet Security programs from these vendors. They're rock-solid, stable, run quietly in the background and do not waste RAM.

Free AV and IS software is 'nice', but many times won't do the job nearly as thoroughly as a 'paid' program. (Now I can hear the MSE sycophants queueing up to blast me... LOL!)

To be honest with you Sir, to obtain really effective thorough quality protection I strongly recommend you purchase one of the above.

Current Pricing:

• AVIRA Antivirus Only - 1 year 1 PC $29.99
• AVIRA Internet Security - 1 year 1 PC $59.99
• Bitdefender Antivirus Plus - 1 year 1 PC $39.95
• Bitdefender Internet Security - 1 year 1 PC $49.95
• ESET Antivirus - 1 year 1 PC $39.99
• ESET Smart Security - 1 year 1 PC $59.99
• F-Secure Antivirus - 1 year 1-3 PCs $39.99
• F-Secure Internet Security - 1 year 1-3 PCs $59.99
• Kaspersky Antivirus - 1 year 1 PC $39.95
• Kaspersky Internet Security - 1 year 3 PCs (Only Option) $79.95

These are the basic price structures, however you can search for promos and discounts using Google. When I bought F-Secure last summer, I used a Promo where the price of their Internet Security version was $33.61 for one year, plus that price reflects a 15% discount they gave me in addition. At the time I had been using F-Secure with a free 6 month license I got during a promo they ran in 2011, then I decided to buy because it's such a damn good program.


As I stated, you WILL NOT GO WRONG with any of these AV / IS programs.