David Leonard

Microsoft have released a free antivirus and antispyware program called Windows Security Essentials. I have long since thought that programs like Norton and McAfee have got too big for their boots in terms of their size and the way they can interefere with the smooth-running of a system. Partly for that reason, I have been using AVG free for a long time, but this needed the addition of SpyBot (also free) to cover the spyware/malware angle. Microsoft have produced a program that does all of this, aiming to do so simply and unobtrusively.

I installed WSE on one of my computers earlier this week (remembering, of course, to uninstall AVG and the realtime scanner of Spybot first). The installation and configuration was easy and painless, but upon re-booting the machine, the reassuring little green icon in the system tray (bottom righthand side of the screen) had disappeared. Not good.

After a bit of research I found that this is a “known issue” when used with Windows XP and that there is a solution – download a “Microsoft Fix it”, doubleclick on the downloaded file and then re-boot the machine.
 

I’ve never claimed to be the most technically savvie person working in IT, but doesn’t this beg the question “why don’t Microsoft integrate the fix into the program?”. What’s the point of trying to reassure punters that you’ve got a simple. trustworthy, antivirus program if it’s already patched up in this way, adding a layer of complexity to the installation that it could well do without? You don’t actually need the patch. I found that the scanner was actually working before I installed the patch and, no doubt, Windows Security would have flagged it up if the scanner had not been working. Nevertheless, when it comes to a vital security progrma I feel better if I can see a reassuring little icon telling me that it’s doing its job.