Hard times are coming…
Microsoft Security Essential (MSE) is on testing phase already and will be launched before long-waited avast! 5
Let’s think a little bit. Main marketing initiative of avast! - its free version for home users. But money comes from corporate sales only (I don’t belive that Professional version give a lot of money as it has even never been at retail boxes). And main driver for corporate sales is free home version, installed by administrator or decision maker in that company.
Currently home user has 4 alternatives: no protection, paid protection, pirated protection, free protection.
Almost everybody now knowk that “no protection” is no good…
So we have only 3 choises.
Paid protection is good if you need something more than just antivirus - firewall, antispam, privacy control, parental features and so on.
Pirated protection is not so good as it was before. Nowadays it’s really huge chanse to become infected before you even install crack for antivirus.
So currently we have a greate marketing driver - free home version. And in this field avast is in competense with another third-party vendors like avira or avg.
And it’s obviouse for home user that having free antivirus is better than having nothing.
With Microsoft Security Essential it’s not enought to compete with avira and avg to share market of free users. Avast! will have to show something really exclusive to manage users to swith from default installed FREE antivirus to another FREE antivirus. And currently in terms of functionality avast is not much more than MSE - tha same antivirus, antirootkit and antispyware functions.
Terrible thing that avast will lose it’s main marketing driver - free version exclusive offer…
Somebody can tell that MSE will be accessible only for licensed versions of windows. Yes, but is it good to have potential customer with pirated operating system? He will never purchase professional and in really rare case can be decision maker in corporate environment.
And McAfee with Symantec is not so vulnerable now. Their products has much more functionality and never have had free full-functinal version as marketing instrument.
Will MSE take a byte out of avast! ? Sure and that scenario goes for all the other free (home) versions of all the
other AV programs currently available.
Will it kill avast! ? No, never.
As some of us have already found out, MSE does have some shortcomings - Web scanning is just one of them.
The addition of Malware scanning is a plus for MSE even though avast! does a fair job in that department.
I tried MSE. It constantly took up over 90% of my cpu and was a total piece of crap. What else can you expect from Microsoft? Its better to stick with a tried and true product like avast!
My personal experience is that when an app takes up 90% of your cpu, well…
1.The system is loaded with un-necessary stuff
2. The CPU is slow or the system does not have enough RAM
MSE runs fine on my old XP Home system that is only P4 2.5GHZ CPU and 512MB RAM with 32MB RAM taken by the video adapter.
MSE seems to have the same problem that AVG 8 sometimes has - its a resource hog on some machines. My system is a 3.2GHZ with 2GB RAM. The only other security software I had running was Outpost firewall. I for one really do not like Microsoft stuff.
I do not run any software firewall as I have a very good hardware firewall in my DSL modem.
If you don’t like Microsoft then there are plenty of Linux versions and you could always get an Apple Mac.
I just loaned my old XP Home system to my neighbor because her system is on the fritz as she had to take it into the PC store where she bought it as it is still under warranty.
This is an interview with Bruce Harrison who is a developer at Malwarebytes – the company who created Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware (MBAM): http://www.besttechie.net/2008/08/20/malwarebytes-developer-interview <== software firewall discussion begins 8 minutes into the excellent video
Hi YoKenny. I’ve been waiting for the link to that video to come up again. I’m recording it now on my dedicated Microsoft laptop. My only non-Firefox computer.
I’ve got Outpost on the laptop. It’s a bit hardline, but I’m using a combo - runonce / learn-mode - to set some default rules. And keeping my fingers crossed.
BTW lots to add about MSE but just keep track performance for now.
I have had problems with vulnerabilities on the laptop due to outdated IBM functionality, including obsolescent web access features, as I have already posted about. Well, Windows Updates came to the rescue - I selected Custom instead of Express and checked for updates - I selected Hardware from the options available and found all that was needed to bring the IBM up to Lenovo support 2009, update all necessary drivers, including ATI Radeon, and considering I had flashed the bios earlier to bring the motherboard up to 2007 grade, everything just loaded perfectly, including I got a few new features, and the native IBM toolbox has been left totally unscathed as a stand-alone option. Plus MSE got its first kill - only a small fry ad-ware from IBMcentre but nevertheless MSE doing its work. Those underlying vulnerabilities were playing small havoc with MSE - turning it off twice. But I have to hand it to Microsoft this time, if perhaps expected in mainstream, a truly massive support role, what computer technology is meant to be all about.
I wait awhile before posting my MSE performance, but happy so far.
Outpost and Pc Tools seem to my eyes really good free firewall which is no annoying like Comodo… But maybe i could give a try when i would want to them. For now Vista Firewall is up and doing good job.
I’m just talking about marketing drivers. Free avast is the driver for commercial sales of commercial antiviruses (for corporates or Professional version). And it was the market for commercial firewalls before. Now we have no commercial personal firewalls on the masses, so I afraid about the same future for commercial antiviruses in the future, at least alwil should change its marketing strategy.
Please explain further why should Alwil in particular change its marketing strategy?
Walling Data joins avast! distribution network
ALWIL Software is pleased to announce that Walling Data, North America’s top value-added distributor of online security products, is now also an authorized distributor of avast! products in North America.
Product popular - and avast need a major distributor in Nth America - sorry but you back to front Lex ;D
BTW
And main driver for corporate sales is free home version, installed by administrator or decision maker in that company.
If you in corporate sales and you install free home version rather than pro version, then you must be living on a different planet.
Somebody can tell that MSE will be accessible only for licensed versions of windows.
It’s 2009 Lex, Windows is only accessible to licensed versions of windows.
And currently in terms of functionality avast is not much more than MSE - tha same antivirus, antirootkit and antispyware functions.
I dont know where you get this idea from.
And the following has no bearing on anything at all. Nothing at all is making any difference other than it has never been more important to have full protection for your computer system, especially when going to the internet. The market is opening up more and more for antivirus solutions in general and avast is in the right place at the right time to take advantage of this surge in demand.
And McAfee with Symantec is not so vulnerable now. Their products has much more functionality and never have had free full-functinal version as marketing instrument.
For McAfee and Symantec, things are still the same.
I’m talking about decision maker of potential client. Firs of all they install home version on their home computer and then promote purchase of corporate to their company.
May be it’s true for New Zeland, but in Russia we have more than 70% of pirated software, so 7 of 10 windows is pirated.
Please be more specific, I’m talking about functionality.
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And currently in terms of functionality avast is not much more than MSE - tha same antivirus, antirootkit and antispyware functions.
[b]I dont know where you get this idea from.[/b]
Please be more specific, I'm talking about functionality.
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They are both antivirus, they have that in common. They do function differently but you are right when you say that they both serve the same purpose. MSE stands to substitute for avast. But only in a general sense. Besides, I'm not sure Microsoft wants to delve too deeply into the antivirus market, not when there are abundant third party options that work in well with Windows system. You can count avast in amongst those.
Windows Defender was hardly a heavyweight amongst firewalls. The reality is that Microsoft is always about 80% of desktops on the market. And MSE tools is going to be part of those desktops. But it will hardly be a takeover as much as it will not be the winning of the war against malware. Those things never seem to happen. Instead Microsoft always seem disposed to working in with third party software if that means keeping Windows on the market in running order. From within the comfort zone of their ubiquitous desktops, they hold a privileged position in the market - when it comes to graphic, audio and antivirus, amongst other things, they can take options in both their own as well as third party software. So they wont be pushing too far out of their comfort zone. Especially with the world outside, ‘in the wild’, looking far too much of a handful for one single company to contend with.
