Is Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus good? Microsoft says no.

El free antivirus Microsoft Security Essentials known as Windows Defender or Windows Defender in Windows 8 and 8.1 has been described many times, including on this site, as decent protection for your computer, especially if you have no intention of buying an antivirus. Recently, during an interview, a Microsoft employee said that Windows users are better off using a third-party antivirus solution. However, a little later, on the official blog of the corporation, it was reported that they recommend Microsoft Security Essentials - a constantly improving product that provides the most advanced level of protection. So is Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus any good? See also The best free antivirus.

In 2009, according to tests carried out by several independent laboratories, Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus was one of the best free products in its class, ranking first in AV-Comparatives.org tests. Thanks to its free nature, its high malware detection rate, its fast performance and the absence of annoying offers to upgrade to a version Payment, quickly gained the popularity it deserved.

In Windows 8, Microsoft Security Essentials became part of the operating system under the name Windows Defender, which undoubtedly represents a great improvement in Windows security: even if the user does not install any antivirus software, they are still protected to some extent .

Since 2011, the results of Microsoft Security Essentials antivirus in laboratory tests have been falling. In one of the most recent tests, dated July and August 2013, Microsoft Security Essentials versions 4.2 and 4.3 showed one of the lowest results on most of the parameters tested among all other free antivirus.

Is Microsoft Security Essentials Worth Using?

First of all, if you have Windows 8 or 8.1, Windows Protector is already included in your operating system. However, if you are using an older version of the operating system, you can download Microsoft Security Essentials for free from the official website http://windows.microsoft.com/ru-ru/windows/security-essentials-all-versions.

According to the information on the website, the antivirus provides a high level of protection of the computer against various threats. However, during a recent interview, Holly Stewart, Senior Product Manager, said that Microsoft Security Essentials is only basic protection and for this reason it is in the last rows of antivirus testing, and for full protection it is best to use a third-party antivirus.

At the same time, he points out that "basic protection" does not mean "bad" and that it is definitely better than having no antivirus on your computer.

In short, if you are an average computer user (i.e., not the type who can manually dig up and disarm viruses in the registry, services, and files, and easily distinguish the behavior of dangerous from safe programs by its appearance), you may want to consider another antivirus protection option. For example Avira, Comfortable or Avast are good quality free antivirus (although many users have problems with the latter when uninstalling it). And in any case, having a Windows Defender on the latest versions of Microsoft's operating system will keep you out of trouble to some extent.