Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 Released

Microsoft might be the developer behind some of the world’s most popular software, but that doesn’t mean that all of it’s software is void of problems, and that’s evidenced by anyone who’s ever used Windows. So it’s odd, then, when Microsoft does release a piece of software that makes it difficult to complain about, or one that’s often recommended over commercial competitors. I’m of course talking about Microsoft Security Essentials.

Released first last fall, MSE took the masses by surprise, because while it wasn’t expected that Microsoft would deliver a “must have” application, it did. The pluses to MSE are that it’s lightweight, effective, and isn’t at all intrusive. The same can’t be said about some commercial apps, or even their trials. It doesn’t look like Microsoft had plans to soak up the credit it’s been given and leave it at that, but with MSE 2.0, it looks like the “best” might have just gotten even better.

Introduced with 2.0 is a revamped heuristics engine, one that can work on its own to detect some issues, rather than rely on definitions. Also, since it’s a complement to Windows Firewall, that tool has been integrated into MSE, for the sake of ease-of-use. A network inspection feature has also been implemented, one that allows you to inspect network traffic as it happens, which will allow you to pinpoint potential threats.

As usual, MSE is free for all home users, and is free up to 10 copies for small businesses. For those who want to grab the latest version, you can do so here. Let us know your thoughts on the latest version in our thread!

The Windows Filtering Platform allows programs to plug themselves into the networking subsystem and monitor any network traffic, even whatever is allowed through the firewall. MSE also now integrates with Internet Explorer to better protect against Web-based threats by preventing malicious scripts from running. Version 1.0 only detected such scripts when they were written to IE’s cache, by which point it could be too late.