Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows 8...?

[keysteele]

if you get that error just disable windows defender then re-enable it again. that'll create the registry key that the program is looking for (for some reason it's not always automatically created by windows defender)

how do you disable it?

[spaceelf]

I have to think that they left out some bits from MSE in defender for windows 8 so the rest of the antivirus companies didn't cry antitrust.

The other AV vendors can't cry antitrust.

Their business is based on weaknesses in MSes product. MS has every right to secure their product in whatever manner they see fit.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

how do you disable it?

under the setting tab there is an Administrator selection, and you can turn windows defender on and off from there

[ToneKnee]

Something I have noticed is that if I download a questionable file, I get told about it, it's done automatically rather than needing to do a scan myself, also with a network share I've noticed it picked something up as soon as I entered a directory so I'm guessing that part is working.

[George P Global Moderator]

Something I have noticed is that if I download a questionable file, I get told about it, it's done automatically rather than needing to do a scan myself, also with a network share I've noticed it picked something up as soon as I entered a directory so I'm guessing that part is working.

Yes, you have to tell it which directories to skip scanning automatically.

[Noir Angel]

Ah yes, *THOSE* people, the same people who can take a rock solid stable computer and make it BSOD in under 5 seconds. Please, 9/10 when I hear whining about MSE it is from someone who has screwed up their computer beyond belief.

Not at all. My computer hardly ever crashes, I just dislike MSE because it's always seemed to me to be a resource hog.

[DeadEndAccount]

Not at all. My computer hardly ever crashes, I just dislike MSE because it's always seemed to me to be a resource hog.

How do you refine 'resource hog'? I've just had a look on 'Task Manager' and fail to see where the hog actually is. Ever thought that maybe there is something else at fault?

[goretsky Supervisor]

[First off, a disclaimer: I work at a competitor to Microsoft in the anti-malware space, so please keep that bias in mind when reading my reply. AG]

Hello,

As far as core features like prevention and removal goes, Microsoft's anti-malware line (Microsoft Security Essentials/Windows Defender, Forefront/Intune) are fairly decent choices.

Where the free offerings tend to fall down are on the features like configurability (high-granularity of features), remote management, centralized logging and so forth. There's also a matter of things like design philosophies (what techniques and technologies the company uses in architecting its software), employee allocation (which affects the product in various ways), threat prioritization and the like which make subtle (but often noticeable) difference in how an anti-malware program operates.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

I have to think that they left out some bits from MSE in defender for windows 8 so the rest of the antivirus companies didn't cry antitrust.

[Brandon H Supervisor]

Not at all. My computer hardly ever crashes, I just dislike MSE because it's always seemed to me to be a resource hog.

MSE was only ever a resource hog in XP, in Vista and 7 it has been just fine

[joddie191]

In my experience, MSE and the Defender in win8 both use way less resources than anything else I've tried.

As many people have pointed out, why would you need to manually scan a file, since it is:

- Scanned upon download / creation

- Scanned when you go into the folder in explorer

- Before it is opened/executed both through explorer, windows start menu, windows run dialog or through other programs directly