Microsoft announces new Security Essentials beta

A view of the controls for the new Microsoft Security Essentials beta.
Source: Microsoft Microsoft has announced the launch of a new beta for the next version of its Security Essentials anti-malware and virus protection software for Windows, formerly known as Morro. According to a post on the Windows Blog by Microsoft Windows Communications Manager Brandon LeBlanc, the next version of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) includes a number of new features over the first version of the free anti-malware service, which initially arrived in September of 2009.

The beta for the next major release of Microsoft Security Essentials features a new anti-malware protection engine with enhanced detection and clean up capabilities, better Windows Firewall integration and enhanced protection for web-based threats through its integration with Internet Explorer. Other changes include improved overall performance and a network inspection system for protecting against network-based exploits. However, the developers note that the network inspection system feature will not be enabled on Windows XP as it requires the Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) in order to run, which is only available in Vista and Windows 7.

As with all development releases, use in production environments and on mission critical systems is not advised. Users testing the release are encouraged to provide feedback and report any bugs that they encounter through Microsoft Connect.

The new beta is available to download (Microsoft Connect login required) for 32 and 64-bit systems from the company's web site. A date for the final release of the next version of Microsoft Security Essentials has yet to be announced.

See also:

• Microsoft provides free Security Essentials anti-virus solution, a report from The H.

(crve)