Digital Home Thoughts: Microsoft's Security Essentials Gets 2.0 Badge

"Security Essentials 2.0 is available as a free download with several changes over its predecessor. A Microsoft representative today confirmed the release. Microsoft said the updated anti-malware engine makes the software faster and smarter at detecting security hazards. The software also now ties in with Windows Firewall, giving you the option of turning the firewall on or off. When I installed the 2.0 edition, it detected that Windows Firewall was not running and asked if I wanted to enable it."

I have been thoroughly impressed with the performance of Microsoft's Security Essentials. There are a lot of free anti-virus programs out there, and each have their strengths and weaknesses, but so far, I have found Security Essentials to be lightweight, easy to use, it keeps out of my way and it is free. Aside from the performance improvements, it looks like the greatest changes benefit those that live in a Microsoft world. That means Windows Firewall and Internet Explorer integration. Even if you stray from the Redmond path, you still benefit and now that it is out of beta, I cannot imagine anyone who should not upgrade.