Microsoft Skips 3, Releases Security Essentials 4 Beta

News
By Douglas Perry
published

Microsoft just released the first beta version of Security Essentials 4 (MSE4).

Users interested in downloading and testing the software have to sign up for the beta test and provide either a Windows Live ID or Connect ID.

According to Microsoft, the new version has received a new "protection engine" with better detection and cleanup features. MSE4 will automatically remove malware and not require user action in cases of "high-impact malware infections". The user interface has been slightly changed and further simplified. Microsoft says that the new version is optimized to make better use of background resources, won't use as much memory and won't degrade a PCs performance during scans and cleanups.

Some users may notice that the current version of MSE is 2.1. Apparently, there will not be a version 3 of the software.

Douglas Perry
44 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Parsian
    great, cant wait.
    Reply
  • BlackHawk91
    I started using MSE a few weeks ago and I love it, it does a great job with few system resources. It works amazingly in old PCs.
    Offtopic: How many times has that image been reused?
    Reply
  • I'm interested to see how MSE is going to use less memory. It already uses so little. Is it going to come over to my house and install some more ram in my system?
    Reply
  • andyross63
    I've been using MSE for over a year now, after the included McAfee updated itself and then later self-destructed.

    The only issue I have is that it can freeze the computer for 30-60 seconds during a background definition update.
    Reply
  • MSE was the first anti-virus software I can tolerate using. Almost entirely unobtrusive and even when running a full scan it does not lock up even my old Athlon x2 2gb ram htpc. It seems like such a huge leap forward compared to Norton and all those other ones with their random game killing pop ups and hard drive strangling scans.

    I hope MS puts those bastards out of the consumer business!
    Reply
  • acerace
    Sadly though, I have problem with MsMpEng.exe, using too much CPU usage even when not scanning.
    Reply
  • MSE is a great program, i recommended it more than anything else, for people who don't want to spend money on anything and even those who do!
    Reply
  • alikum
    This is a software that I don't mind paying
    Reply
  • randomizer
    I guess if people notice that they are seemingly 2 versions behind they might be more inclined to update. People complain about Firefox and Chrome versioning - at least they haven't started skipping versions yet :lol:

    Hopefully the automatic removal can be disabled. I don't want any application deleting files without my knowledge and/or permission.
    Reply
  • pjmelect
    I don't like the idea of it automatically removing infected files, I will certainly turn this feature off if possible or change my anti virus program. One thing that I would like to see changed though is if you cancel a scan half way through the all results are lost, it should allow you to see the results found so far rather than making you do another scan.
    Reply