Comments on: Should Windows Come With Anti-Virus?

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:54:27 +0000

Personally, I would like to see Microsoft take all non-essential components out of the package and offer them as optional add-ons, free or otherwise.

Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Outlook Express/Windows Mail (which they have done with Windows 7), etc.

Pare down the OS until it is clean, fast, and secure, then let the consumer decide what components they want to use to personalize their Windows “experience”.

By: Matt Sharpe

Matt Sharpe — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:57:49 +0000

Microsoft Security Essentials is truly excellent and I am recommending it to everyone I know.
However, I voted “No” in the poll, because I believe competition is important. If everyone was using the same AV we would have a monoculture which is inherently less secure.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:37:29 +0000

You know as well as I do that as soon as Microsoft even thinks about bundling anything above Notepad and Paint in with Windows, people are going to scream “antitrust”.

By: jgoto

jgoto — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:51:49 +0000

I’ve been using the beta of MSE for a while and even as a free download it should prove to be a big threat to Symantec and McAfee and all other 3rd party AV software.

By: L1A

L1A — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:33:13 +0000

Symantec and McAfee have no right to complain! They are only exploiting the incompetency of Microsoft being able to protect their product. Both companies have been using their scare tactics on Mac users with their Lab Viruses and Trojans to pigeon hole them into their bloated products that slow down their systems. Windows should come with their own anti virus software, free or otherwise, if it’s needed to protect their consumers.

By: JackAZ

JackAZ — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:02:50 +0000

Microsoft has already screwed up the pc operating system; why should they screw up anti-virus software as well. Microsoft’s history of delays in acknowledging vulnerabilities, time to address said vulnerabilities, and latency in publishing patches that didn’t open a whole new slew of vulnerabilities should be proof enough that the last thing the non-spammer, non-malware world needs is Microsoft providing security products.

By: joe

joe — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:58:16 +0000

I wish it came with one. What exactly is windows defender anyway? I have used both AVG free and Avast home in the past. I recently upgraded to Avaast PRO but I can think of a million other things that I would rather spend my software dollars on.