

You can most easily do that by going here: Download Microsoft Security Essentials.īefore it downloads, of course, you have to approve it:Ĭlick “Next” a few times, well, maybe a half-dozen times. The first step to getting Microsoft Security Essentials running on your system is download it from the Microsoft Web site. Just FYI if you’re confused by the comments below. Microsoft Security Essentials is designed to disable Windows Defender in order to manage the PC’s real-time protection, including anti-virus, rootkits, Trojans and spyware.” An earlier version of this article had tutorial information about Windows Defender but, well, that was daft. “…if you are running Microsoft Security Essentials, you do not need to run Windows Defender. To start, there’s a built-in spyware protection system called Windows Defender that you might be running, but according to Microsoft, Windows Security Essentials replaces it. Instead, you have to download it, but it’s a free download and it’s pretty darn easy to install.Īnd as for the other anti-virus solutions, I’m sure that they’re still good and they definitely offer capabilities that Security Essentials doesn’t offer, but if you haven’t cracked open the hood in Windows 7, there’s a lot you’re missing. That’s the only reason I can imagine that Microsoft isn’t automatically including it – enabled! – on every new system that it powers. Ever since Microsoft introduced its own antivirus and anti-malware solution, I think it’s been getting a lot of unhappy pushback from security vendors like Symantec and McAfee.
