"Free Microsoft Security Essentials Coming for Small Businesses" -press release

Read all about it: http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/Features/2010/sep10/09-22SecurityEssentials.mspx

Good to hear. :slight_smile:

I wonder if there are any thoughts on the part of Avast to follow suit ???

I somehow doubt that, as their pockets aren’t as deep as Microsoft’s, buying market share.

Hmm, this just shifts the tectonic plates of anti-virus competition…

Maybe good for small business who don’t have any sensitive documents to protect…

I may be wrong but I don’t see this move by MS putting much pressure on other vendors to follow suit.

I’ve seen businesses already (sometimes blatantly) flout the “home” use restrictions on avast!, AVG & MSE. Policing such use is a nightmare. (Vlk has mentioned elswhere the subterranean priority of chasing down illegally used avast! Free keys.)
Also, unlike the others, MS doesn’t have an enhanced, reasonably priced retail version of their AV to sell (Forefront is nothing like MSE), but of course they do want you to buy their OS.
Use of MSE is already allowed for home-based business PCs. Allowing use by up-to-10 PC businesses might ease some policing issues for any vendor but for MS it is especially attractive because it creates goodwill at zero cost.