Microsoft's Security Essentails

For those who downloaded and installed Microsoft’s “free” Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) only to discover their Windows Defender Notification Area icon has gone missing, know there’s a reason.

For the uninitiated, Windows Defender is a software product from Microsoft to prevent, remove and quarantine spyware in Microsoft Windows. It’s included and enabled by default in Windows Vista and Windows 7 and is available as a free download for Windows XP.

However whether you’re just discovering Windows Defender is most likely running in the background or you’ve known it has been running in the background, I want to emphasize that Windows Defender “only” detects and removes known spyware. It’s not designed to protect against all known malicious software and specifically “does not” prevent viruses, worms and Trojans from infecting your machine.

MSE (a free download from Microsoft) on the other hand is a comprehensive real-time anti virus, anti spyware and anti malicious software program that runs unobtrusively in the background.

If you do decide to install MSE be aware that in order to manage your computer’s real-time protection to include anti-virus, rootkits, Trojans and spyware, Windows Defender must be disabled on Vista and Windows 7 systems and uninstalled on XP systems

During installation MSE is programed to disable Windows Defender on Vista and Windows 7 computers and uninstall it on XP computers. But if it does not do so, Vista and Window 7 users must manually disable it and XPers must uninstall it via their Control Panel’s Add or Remove Programs.

In my opinion if you’re looking for a free alternative to costly, bloated anti virus/malware programs and promise to faithfully adhere to David Keller’s (a.k.a.Compu-Doctor) Rules for Safe Computing (www.compu-doctor.com), MSE should be a consideration.

More often than not I try to recommend software that’s free or costs no more than $25to $30. But because of the number of Good Booter Outlook users who have mentioned they receive an extraordinary number of e-mails they want to save or must save, I’m going to recommend a $50 Outlook add in I’ve found to be all anyone needs to expeditiously save their e-mail to a location that can be included in their backup regimen.

MesageSave (www.techhit.com) is most useful for those who must for business or legal reasons archive their e-mail. But because its ability to selectively save individual e-mail and folders of e-mails is so user friendly, it might be worthwhile for even the casual user to investigate its features.

And it does have a 30 trial version.

Here’s wishing you a Good Boot.