You’ll only be alerted when there are specific actions to take. Microsoft Security Essentials runs quietly in the background. Runs quietly without hurting PC performance However, if there’s a red or yellow threat, Microsoft Security Essentials will alert you and recommend what to do (you can act directly from the notification area without having to enter the application).

It’s simple-when you’re green, you’re good. Microsoft Security Essentials uses green, yellow and red color codes to designate the security status of your PC and a color-coded icon in the taskbar tells you at a glance if your attention is needed. We’re constantly tracking new threats and we keep your PC updated to help protect you. Once you have installed it, the software updates automatically once a day. We’re proud to have received great recognition for the protection we offer: the VB100 award from Virus Bulletin Ltd., Checkmark Certification from West Coast Labs, and certification from the ICSA Labs.ĭownloading and installing Microsoft Security Essentials is free* and easy. We have a whole team watching for new threats and coming up with ways to squash them. Microsoft Security Essentials is built for individuals and small businesses, but it’s based on the same technology that Microsoft uses to protect giant businesses (security products like Microsoft Forefront, the Malicious Software Removal Tool, and Windows Defender). The best brains and brawn in the background Microsoft Security Essentials offers award-winning protection against these intruders without getting in your way. There are a host of nasty intruders on the Internet including viruses, trojans, worms and spyware.

We recommend you move to a Windows 11 PC to continue to receive security updates from Microsoft. Support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020

Microsoft security essentials free