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  • MS ESSENTIALS ~ Anti Virus

    I installed this program a few days ago and it looks fine. My question is that I have set the program to do a quick scan each day about PC at 21.00 hours. (While the PC is idle).

    So far when I look at the Scan Details at the bottom of the Home Page it tells me when last scanned but this has never happened Automatically. I have always had to click on Quick Scan.

    Have I missed a check box? Or is this all happening in the background without updating the date?
    Last edited by Margaret N; 12-08-10, 23:23.
    Margaret N
    DOGS HAVE OWNERS ~ CATS HAVE STAFF

    Researching:- WILBURN from Yorkshire/Kings Lynn, London. NEWMAN from Dover/Reading. DOUGHTY from Portsmouth. ROGERS from Bethnal Green. Rumbelow from Norfolk

  • #2
    I've been running Microsoft Security Essentials for a month now and I have the same problem.It won't update automatically either; I have to tell it to update every day.Not only that, if I shut my computer down completely (which has always been my habit at the end of the day), the next time I boot it up, Security Essentials has switched itself off and I have a big red cross in my system tray telling me my computer isn't protected. To begin with, I would open the program and switch it on manually but it seemed to take an age before it came on and sometimes it would say it couldn't switch on - after which, it would do just that! Then,one day, having seen the usual red cross and its message, I was called away before I could do anything about it. When I came back, it had switched itself on without any help from me!I found that it would do this every time if I left it alone. This was OK but it meant I had to wait about 10 minutes before I dare go online. Now I have changed to putting my computer in hibernate mode at the end of the day and MSE is always on when I next bring the computer back to life.I still have to update and scan manually though. I've looked at Microsoft's help pages and done almost everything they say to overcome these problems but nothing works. What I will NOT do is start messing around renaming files in the Registry as they seem to suggest if all else fails - I'm not a computer specialist and shouldn't have to do stuff like that. If you look at the Microsoft forum on their website, lots of people seem to have similar problems with Security Essentials.

    To be honest, I was more than a bit fed up and disappointed, not to mention worried that it might not be working properly. I have been rather busy lately, but had more or less decided that, when I had more time, I would uninstall SE, re-install it and if it still played up, I would go back to paying BT for my security package. BUT....last evening I suddenly got a pop-up saying Security Essentials had identified a threat and recommending I tell it to clean my computer. I did, of course and, apparently it had found a severe threat which it got rid of. I still can't understand HOW I got the virus since I was only on Google and hadn't opened any of the sites it threw up but still....it did show that Microsoft's security is working. I just wish it would do it's updating and scanning automatically the way it's supposed to.I'm still undecided whether to keep it or not.

    Ann
    ".... thy memory shall be blest by the children of the children of thy child".
    Alfred, Lord Tennyson





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    • #4
      Hello Val,

      A good link thank you. I have noticed this week that MSE updates when I switch on and has the green tick in the box but it does not do an autmatic scan of the system. However, it does appear to be running in the background.

      Always something with a PC I think that I have spent more time 'tweeking things' since I had a PC and have hardly put the work on it that I intended. Now I am playing with the printer but HP have heard of the problem but do not know how to fix it. Suggested a new printer ~ it certainly won't be HP if I can help it but I do have to consider the price of the inks etc. Fancy a Canon but inks are expensive and it would seem that 'compatible inks' don't work easily as you have to move the print head. All too much for me.

      Nice to know your are still on site Ann and hope your next update may fix the problem.
      Margaret N
      DOGS HAVE OWNERS ~ CATS HAVE STAFF

      Researching:- WILBURN from Yorkshire/Kings Lynn, London. NEWMAN from Dover/Reading. DOUGHTY from Portsmouth. ROGERS from Bethnal Green. Rumbelow from Norfolk

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      • #5
        I had a HP and it costs a bomb for the ink , now have an Epson and its great and the ink cartridges are a lot cheaper, have a nosey on Amazon.

        Comment


        • #6
          Originally posted by Margaret N View Post
          Fancy a Canon but inks are expensive and it would seem that 'compatible inks' don't work easily as you have to move the print head. All too much for me.
          Don't bother with compatibles. We had one leak in the past - almost ruined the printer.

          The cartridges arn't that expensive if you go to Amazon. My printer is the Canon IP4500, and I can get each geniune ink tank for just under £10 each. Just changed the black the other day, two years after it was last change. Mind you, I don't use the printer very much.
          Dave - Hungry Monkey
          IT Support Specialist

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          • #7
            Dave,

            That sounds good to me. I do very little printing but it is a useful thing to have. Thank you.
            Margaret N
            DOGS HAVE OWNERS ~ CATS HAVE STAFF

            Researching:- WILBURN from Yorkshire/Kings Lynn, London. NEWMAN from Dover/Reading. DOUGHTY from Portsmouth. ROGERS from Bethnal Green. Rumbelow from Norfolk

            Comment


            • #8
              Anne,

              How is MS Essentials going? I had a shock tonight when I switched on the icon was not showing on the task bar. Panic, I did a search on my PC for the folder and no result. More panic, switched off and thought the time had really come to through the PC out the window.
              I switched on later and it was there as bold as brass and so was the folder when I searched for it. I am therefore feeling worried about it now and wondering if it is only a toy. I did a full scan of the PC and when it finished the screen froze.
              Margaret N
              DOGS HAVE OWNERS ~ CATS HAVE STAFF

              Researching:- WILBURN from Yorkshire/Kings Lynn, London. NEWMAN from Dover/Reading. DOUGHTY from Portsmouth. ROGERS from Bethnal Green. Rumbelow from Norfolk

              Comment


              • #9
                Originally posted by Margaret N View Post
                Anne,

                How is MS Essentials going? I had a shock tonight when I switched on the icon was not showing on the task bar. Panic, I did a search on my PC for the folder and no result. More panic, switched off and thought the time had really come to through the PC out the window.
                I switched on later and it was there as bold as brass and so was the folder when I searched for it. I am therefore feeling worried about it now and wondering if it is only a toy. I did a full scan of the PC and when it finished the screen froze.
                Mine's being OK after a fashion, at the moment Margaret (*whisper it quietly!*) but I really think that when I downloaded it in the first place, there were some files missing because if I shut the comp down completely it is still not being switched on for about 10 minutes after start up. If I put the comp in hibernation, it's fine....but it still doesn't update itself or scan automatically. This doesn't bother me too much as I've developed a routine of putting the comp on, opening Security Essentials and telling it to update, then doing a manual quick scan - all before I go online. Once a week I do a manual full scan. It's not ideal but I really don't have time to spend hours sorting it out at the moment.

                That business of it not having loaded when you started your computer up: I had that happen a few times when I had Norton - no idea why but it was always put right by shutting down and restarting. With Security Essentials, I find the screen is a bit sluggish to respond whenever I've done an update but I wouldn't go as far as to call it freezing; it just thinks about doing what I've told it to for a few seconds - lol!

                All in all, I haven't found the thing is as good as the write-ups suggested it would be...but it does seem to keep tabs on my computer and as long as it does that, I'll put up with it for the time being.

                Ann
                ".... thy memory shall be blest by the children of the children of thy child".
                Alfred, Lord Tennyson





                Comment


                • #10
                  Anne,

                  Again a repeat performance with MS Essentials when I switched on last night it had stopped working and nothing would start it again. I uninstalled it and tried to download first AVG FREE but it was difficult to establish what I was about to download as so many adverts. I then tried AVAST that I used to use and it didn't want to know Vista. I have spent over three hours with this lot and am not at all happy. I notice on the Avast Forum that many people had the same problem as me on the 27th August when my printer stopped working. It is now at the tip.
                  I am now back with MS Essentials fresh installation.
                  Margaret N
                  DOGS HAVE OWNERS ~ CATS HAVE STAFF

                  Researching:- WILBURN from Yorkshire/Kings Lynn, London. NEWMAN from Dover/Reading. DOUGHTY from Portsmouth. ROGERS from Bethnal Green. Rumbelow from Norfolk

                  Comment


                  • #11
                    Sorry to hear of your problems Margaret. My Security Essentials is working OK so long as I take account of its foibles as detailed before. Something occured to me the other night. My default browser is Firefox but I had to switch to IE because I couldn't get images from Scotland's People to load in Firefox. That made me wonder, if I made IE the default browser, would SE work automatically? I haven't tried doing it in case I can't get back to making FF my default as I like it so much better than IE. It is a thought though.

                    Ann
                    ".... thy memory shall be blest by the children of the children of thy child".
                    Alfred, Lord Tennyson





                    Comment


                    • #12
                      Hello Ann,

                      I now wonder if this is linked to IE8 as I have only had the problems with Antivirus since I updated. Now wondering if to go back to IE7. This is certainly pushing me more in the direction of an Applemac even though they are expensive. While they certainly have their problems as one can see from the Forum Pages I would at least get MS out of my hair.

                      Regards,
                      Margaret N
                      DOGS HAVE OWNERS ~ CATS HAVE STAFF

                      Researching:- WILBURN from Yorkshire/Kings Lynn, London. NEWMAN from Dover/Reading. DOUGHTY from Portsmouth. ROGERS from Bethnal Green. Rumbelow from Norfolk

                      Comment


                      • #13
                        Ann from Sussex,

                        MS Essentials, I understand that MS are going to stop support for this product for those using XP. Several shops have told me this and that it is like to be the same for Vista shortly.
                        Mine still has funny days when it gives me a message saying that the PC is not protected........ I find when that happens I open the program and sometimes it gives me a choice to scan my PC and the program comes back to life.
                        Margaret N
                        DOGS HAVE OWNERS ~ CATS HAVE STAFF

                        Researching:- WILBURN from Yorkshire/Kings Lynn, London. NEWMAN from Dover/Reading. DOUGHTY from Portsmouth. ROGERS from Bethnal Green. Rumbelow from Norfolk

                        Comment


                        • #14
                          Originally posted by Margaret N View Post
                          Ann from Sussex,

                          MS Essentials, I understand that MS are going to stop support for this product for those using XP
                          . Several shops have told me this and that it is like to be the same for Vista shortly.
                          Mine still has funny days when it gives me a message saying that the PC is not protected........ I find when that happens I open the program and sometimes it gives me a choice to scan my PC and the program comes back to life.
                          Oh that's great isn't it? And just when I'm getting along quite well with it! Well, I won't be blackmailed into upgrading to Windows7 before I'm ready. My computer is pretty old and it will probably need to be replaced within the next year so upgrading can wait until then. In the meantime I'll just have to try one of the other free anti virus programmes.I've lost count of how many times i've changed my anti-virus cover!

                          Thanks for telling me this Margaret; fore-warned is fore-armed as they say.

                          Ann
                          ".... thy memory shall be blest by the children of the children of thy child".
                          Alfred, Lord Tennyson





                          Comment


                          • #15
                            AVG is pretty good the new free version AVG11 is out now, used versions for a while now not had any problems so far

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                            • #16
                              Originally posted by mikeg13 View Post
                              AVG is pretty good the new free version AVG11 is out now, used versions for a while now not had any problems so far
                              Thanks Mike, I'll bear it in mind when the time comes.


                              Ann
                              ".... thy memory shall be blest by the children of the children of thy child".
                              Alfred, Lord Tennyson





                              Comment


                              • #17
                                For what it's worth, Computer Shopper reviewed Anti-virus software for Windows in the Feb 2010 issue.
                                Their 'best buy' was Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 (this is not free)
                                Their 'budget buy' was Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 (free) which doesn't have all the features the other one does.
                                Both need Windows XP or later (incl Windows 7).

                                They don't mention automatic or scheduled scans in their test reports, so I guess they did not have any problems with this: they are more concerned with the effectiveness at detection of threats.

                                I believe Microsoft are stopping support for XP soon, so it isn't surprising that the SE version for XP would no longer be supported.

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                                • #18
                                  PS Computer Shopper also rated AVG9.0 highly (this was the version which came out while they were testing, so it was not a level playing field when it came to comparisons).

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                                  • #19
                                    Originally posted by col48 View Post
                                    For what it's worth, Computer Shopper reviewed Anti-virus software for Windows in the Feb 2010 issue.
                                    Their 'best buy' was Kaspersky Internet Security 2010 (this is not free)
                                    Their 'budget buy' was Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 (free) which doesn't have all the features the other one does.
                                    Both need Windows XP or later (incl Windows 7).



                                    They don't mention automatic or scheduled scans in their test reports, so I guess they did not have any problems with this: they are more concerned with the effectiveness at detection of threats.

                                    I believe Microsoft are stopping support for XP soon, so it isn't surprising that the SE version for XP would no longer be supported.
                                    Microsoft are stopping, or already have stopped, support for XP if you haven't downloaded Security Pack 3 which I did when it first came out. I read in Computer Active some weeks ago that XP support will stop altogether in (I think) 2014...by which time my dear old computer will have definitely given up the ghost!! Computer Active likes Security Essentials alot and often recommend it - which is how I came to use it - and they haven't mentioned that support for XP users is to be withdrawn imminently. I do actually like it as it doesn't hog power and slow everything down the way Norton seemed to. I don't mind the fact that I have to manually update and tell it to scan. It is obviously working where it matters since it found and removed a threat for me. I'll keep using it for as long as MS let me.

                                    Ann
                                    ".... thy memory shall be blest by the children of the children of thy child".
                                    Alfred, Lord Tennyson





                                    Comment


                                    • #20
                                      Microsoft will probably not prevent SE running until the computer drops dead. But if they ever stop providing updates for the Virus definitions, it will be time to change, because the computer is then vulnerable to any newer viruses it may encounter. Which may be none, of course!

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