Microsoft has released a new beta of my favorite anti-virus program on Windows, Microsoft Security Essentials. The beta makes the already fantastic program even better by adding two big new features. First is that it integrates with Internet Explorer and scans scripts before they’re executed. That’s kind of cool, if you’re an IE user, which I am not. I’d like to see them somehow extend that to Firefox and Chrome, but I don’t know if that would happen. However, the second feature, and in my opinion the biggest addition and what sets it apart from the rest of the anti malware solutions out there is the new network scanning function. This feature scans the traffic coming into your machine in real time and blocks out malicious packets, preventing them from even reaching your machine. The beta is only available to a limited number of people on Microsoft Connect, and as of this writing, all the spots appear to be filled. However, don’t let that stop you from downloading MSE since it’s already a great tool with a very small footprint .

I just wish Microsoft would include it with Windows, however Symantec and other people would complain that it undermines their business and there would be lawsuits, all because MS wants to make their product more secure without having to charge users an arm and a leg for AV software and subscription fees.

Source: Ars Technica