Thus, computers that are still stuck with this late OS version can become vulnerable to malicious attacks.

Upgrading to a more powerful tool is a step necessary to take, though, sooner or later.Microsoft has ended the official support for Windows XP for a while now, which means that there are no more official security updates for users of the XP operating system and technical support is not provided anymore. Although Microsoft Security Essentials is not among the most powerful av products out there, it serves as a pretty good startup tool for casual users. However, it is quite slow regarding scanning speed, while software notifications cannot be disabled or controlled.

MSE has a very good virus detection ratio and generally uses low CPU and RAM. Furthermore, it is possible to inspect and keep or delete quarantined files. Other scan options focus on archives, removable drives, system restore points and quarantined files. The real-time protection module can be disabled, while custom files, folders, file types, and processes can be excluded. When it comes to modifying scan settings, users may establish default actions for threat detections, depending on the alert level (low, medium, high, severe). Quick and full scan jobs can be scheduled to run on a regular basis. There are three scanning modes available: 'Quick' verifies only important system areas like Program Files and the Windows directory, 'Full' runs a complete checkup on the computer, while 'Custom' enables users to select the exact drives and directories to look into for malware (also possible via contextual scanning). The overall look is comfortable and neatly organized, so inexperienced users shouldn't experience any issues in navigating it.

Right before completing setup, the tool offers to run an initial scan to assess the PC's current security status as soon as it fetches the latest virus definitions.Īs far as the interface is concerned, MSE keeps separated the areas for scanning, virus, and spyware definition updates, history, and settings. Its only requirement is that no other antivirus applications exist on the PC since they are most likely to clash and cause Windows stability issues. In order to get updates for XP, don't forget to apply the XP registry patch. It's considered by most third-party developers and testers to be a 'baseline' among av products, and Microsoft never stated the contrary. Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) represents Microsoft's free anti-malware solution for computers running XP, Windows 7 or Vista.

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