Microsoft’s anti- virus software passes litmus test

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), Microsoft's security software, has passed the anti-virus test. The software launched Wednesday on Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7, succeeded in preliminary malware detection testing where it was used to clear AV-Test's "WildList" collection of 3,194 common viruses, bots, and worms.

AV-Test coordinator Andreas Marx stated, “All files were properly detected and treated by the product.” He further added, “several other [antivirus] scanners are still not able to detect and kill all of these critters yet."

AV-Comparabives.org, an antivirus testing lab said it would test MSE in August this year and release the results within a month.

Beta program filled up

Microsoft had made available free beta of its software. Within 24 hours after its launch, Microsoft succeeded in achieving 75,000 downloads of its free antivirus product. It has now stopped offering the downloads.

Read More Article...

Microsoft to Launch Free Anti-Virus Software

Microsoft Corp. is giving consumers a helping hand when it comes to anti-virus software.

The Redmond, Wash.-based company said it will soon release free anti-virus software to users this month. The Microsoft (News - Alert) Security Essentials service, dubbed under the code name Morro, will reportedly offer protection from several types of malicious software, including viruses, spyware, trojans and rootkits. If the software scanner detects a suspicious file that is not yet registered as malware, the program alerts Microsoft researchers for further investigation,Reuters ( News - Alert) reported.

A beta version of the product will be available for download on its Web site on June 23. The company said it plans to offer a final version this fall, Reuters said.

“This is good news for consumers. It's bad news for competitors," Roger Kay, a PC industry analyst with Endpoint Technologies Associates, told Reuters.

Read More Article...

Microsoft to Unveil Free Anti-Virus Software

BOSTON (Reuters) Microsoft Corp is getting ready to unveil a long-anticipated free anti-virus service for personal computers that will compete with products sold by Symantec Corp and McAfee Inc.

A Microsoft spokesman said on Wednesday that the world's biggest software maker is testing an early version of the product with its own employees. Microsoft would "soon" make a trial version, or product beta, available via its website, he added, but declined to provide a specific date.

Symantec shares fell 0.5 percent on Nasdaq and McAfee fell 1.3 percent on the New York Stock Exchange, while Microsoft was up 2.1 percent. The Nasdaq composite index was down 0.47 percent.

Investors are closely monitoring the free service, code-named Morro after Brazil's Morro de Sao Paolo beach, amid concern it could hurt sales of products from Symantec and McAfee, which generate billions of dollars of revenue a year protecting Windows PCs from attacks by hackers.

Read More Article...

"It's a long-term competitive threat," said Daniel Ives, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets, though he added that the near-term impact was minimal.

Remove Blackworm Virus

Blackworm is a nasty internet worm which can delete DOC, XLS, MDE, MDB, PPT, PPS, RAR, PDF, PSD, DMP, and ZIP files. In addition to Blackworm, the worm has been named Kama Sutra, Blackmal, MyWife and Nyxem. This worm started on the 3rd of February and has been programmed to attack an infected computer on the 3rd of every month thereafter. So far it has been estimated that over 300,000 computers all over the world have been infected. Besides destroying those types of files, the worm also tries to disable anti-virus software so that it stops updating. It can also disable the keyboard and mouse of infected computers. Some Internet users have already lost important files after becoming infected by the Blackworm mainly because the clock time on their computer was wrong.

Like many Internet worms, Blackworm attempts to spread by mailing itself to contacts in a user's address book. The e-mails containing the worm can have a wide variety of subject fields and attachment names. The worm also tries to add itself to the auto-start programs in the Windows registy. Once a computer in a network has been infected, Blackworm will try to infect all other systems in the network.

To prevent getting infected by Blackworm you shouldn't open attachments or click on Web links within these e-mails, especially if these e-mails have a porn-related subject line. Use caution before opening any e-mail attachments, even if you know the sender. You should also backup any important files that you want to preserve. Most antivirus products will detect Blackworm assuming the worm hasn't disabled the antivirus software. Because of this, it is important to frequently update your antivirus software. It is also recommended to scan your computer for viruses and use a firewall. To prevent the worm from spreading to other computers in a network, you should use strong passwords on all the users accounts.

Source : http://antivirus-software.topchoicereviews.com/