Microsoft Security Essentials 2 released

[Glenn]

Direct link to download

http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/default.aspx

http://lifehacker.com/5714508/microsoft-security-essentials-2-released-still-the-best-darn-antivirus-around

[Rik]

 

[MikeSh]

Got it using your link.
Wonder why my existing Microsoft Security Essentials ver' 1 did not tell me there was an upgrade?
Ah well - seems to work OK.

Thanks.

[zappaDPJ]

Thanks Glenn

I'm still a very impressed with MSE. Yesterday it flagged a number of warnings on my daughter's laptop while she was on Facebook. When I went to check the details I noticed it had dealt with quite a number of other exploits in the past few days.

[pctech]

FB is a bit of a haven for rogue code which is why I steer clear.

[zappaDPJ]

That would seem to be the case but it surprises me somewhat as I don't really understand how Facebook could directly serve up a virus. At least one that I found was quite nasty, a trojan key-logger and the others were Java exploits. Could it be coming from embedded video content perhaps?

[DorsetBoy]

It is the "applications" that people/companies produce that seem to be the source of the problem, Facebook are stupid enough to allow add ons that have not been security tested.

[Gary]

Facebook now has a security app by Bitdefender which is on the facebook api not your browser, its generally dumb links from people like "look at this sad girl crying" or "look you in a video" but the bitdefender app catches things pretty well by other peoples reviews, I use the bitdefender app but don't run game apps or any others or open dumb links also my profile is locked down so random people cant send me stuff. If you use the Bitdefender app it will let you know if you add something dumb so you can delete it, if you don't use them, you have no worries on that front.

Social engineering gets people on fb the most I think as in many other sites people seem to open links to videos and mail thats really pretty suspicious to start with also if anything that uses java like koobface wants permission to run avoid it, the Bitdefender app checks for bad links as well, its not full proof nothing is, but it helps. Twitter has its own share of issues as well with bad links doing the rounds now and then unleashing malware. You can get got just as easily opening a bad link on the web or a email that slips through tbh. Facebook gets more attention as its so big that's why you hear about it more often, like Apple and Microsoft big names get the most press, and sometimes things get overblown, or people get way to paranoid or are just plain dumb, a bit of common sense goes a long way.

[gizmo71]

its generally dumb links from people like "look at this sad girl crying" or "look you in a video"

Agreed. As much as I fear Facebook is part if the general destruction of society *bites tongue to keep straight face*, it's no worse than email as a vector for nasties.