Microsoft Security Essentials

As I said in my last blog, I am running Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE).  I have been now for a bit more than a month.  I liked it enough to uninstall Symantec from my Wife’s computer as well, and installed MSE.  I ran a quick scan after the initial update and, low and behold, 6 security vulnerabilities!  Out of the box (so to speak) this thing caught and removed 6 things on her computer that Symantec had missed.  These were Facebook games (for those of you who don’t know that some software on Facebook contains spyware) that could and possibly were sending back usage information.  After a short talk with my wife about safe browsing habits, I started thinking about how many business out there run Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) and assume all is well.  I assumed all was well, and I’m an IT guy.  The computer we do our banking on was compromised.  Literally, the program could have sent that info back to their servers.  And that is scary.

So, I would like to discuss the ups and downs, the pro’s and con’s, and the do’s and do not’s of Microsoft Security Essentials.

1)  MSE is not/cannot be centrally managed.  This means no definition server, no reports server, and no server pushing out scan times, collecting reports or ensuring client security.  This is the single most detrimental drawback of this program.  This will prevent it from being able to run effectively in a corporate environment as a Symantec replacement.

2)  MSE is rated as one of the best free software security solutions by AV-Comparatives.org, with a summary of their review here: lifehacker.com

3)  MSE is not very flexible with scan schedules.  You can schedule one kind of scan to run either daily, or every day.  You cannot schedule a full scan on the weekend, and a quick scan every day of the week, or a quick scan that runs once every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  For a small office, this would create additional administrative overhead, where IT Administrators would have to manually run full scans if they wanted that to happen at all.

4)  MSE is FREE!!  For some of the best protection a home (or even a small business owner) could want all for free.  Can’t get much better than that!  MSE has high performance, speed and usability for the best price out there.

Overall, I am very glad I change my house over to MSE.  I don’t need central management at my house, or even to schedule different scan for different days.  I have a quick scan scheduled daily for each computer, and run a full scan when I feel like it.  What an awesome solution for most home office users.  This is easy to use and easier to install.  If you feel as though you would like some help setting it up, configuring it, or just checking that everything is right, give us a call.  TH2 Technologies is more than capable of setting you up on your free security solution today.

Orange County Computer Services by TH2 Technologies

Free Programs can make life Easier, Cheaper

There are several applications and programs that people use every day to make their life easier.  The hard part of this for normal users is twofold.  Often times, regular folk don’t know what programs are available, where to get them, and which are good vice which will load a virus or crash your computer.  This is the first problem, and it’s a legitimate one!  It is smart not to just load any program you come across, and people learn this one way or another over time.  The second problem is that when you get the program, you have to learn how to use it, and make it work for you in cool and innovative ways.  Say you use QuickBooks, and your whole business rides on that database.  You are paying $50 a year for 5 GB of storage (see here) for their online backup, which is great if your database is that big.  Most small business owners have much smaller databases, and you can’t store any other type of file on the backup.  The FREE service Dropbox can store up to 2 GB (up to 3 GB free, with a small amount of effort) online, encrypted, and available for download with a username and password using a web browser.  There is a slight bit more setup involved, but well worth the savings and advantages in the long run.

There is a very good list of free programs here: lifehacker.com.  There is even a free antivirus and spyware suite from Microsoft that was very well rated and reviewed that I use on my computer.  No kidding, I replaced my Symantec with Microsoft Security Essentials and I like it better.  If you are as tired of paying for programs, don’t pirate them.  Get their free alternatives that work better.  TH2 Technologies can help you find them, install them, and set them up.  Give us a call.