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Yes, especially if your have Windows 8. Microsoft rolled out a new version of Defender that is more potent than MS Security Essentials or Defender for earlier version of Windows. Note: In my experience Defender works well for the latest viruses, but not too well for old viruses. I suspect MS focuses on malware that are more likely to occur - ie later creations. This may cause Defender to score low on tests, that evaluate it against viruses of all ages. However, this is just my personal impression.
The nice part: Defender (for Windows 8) and Security Essentials (For Win 7), are both free!
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Good point, Windows 8.1 here. I have actually never run it on 7.
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I dumped Symantec years ago, when Security essentials caught a virus embedded in an email, that Symantec failed to discover. I have never regretted this decision.
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Ironically, their best software was their own uninstaller : it would remove every single bit of any symantec product on your computer, and was very effective. (It was supposed to be run before upgrading or installing a new symantec program, but if you ignored that last step  )
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Rage wrote: it would remove every single bit of any symantec product on your computer
Definitely not the uninstaller I used, it left a mess, admittedly this was 5-6 years ago. I had to manually uninstall the damn thing  ohh what fun! The only good thing is, they had instructions for manually uninstalling it. The fact that they have those instructions available is scary.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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I wonder whether these companies realize how many customers they lose, by rushing half-completed apps to market, that p*ss off their customers and thus lose future revenues? Mr. Manager: Is it really worth sacrificing your company's long term future for the sake of your next quarterly bonus?
modified 4-May-15 12:30pm.
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They've certainly lost my business, and indirectly lost more due to me telling people about my experiences with them.
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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Yes! If you lose one customer the future cost to your company is unknown and unknowable! But since so many companies are run by accountant types, who cannot wrap their heads around the long term unknowable, focus tends to be on short term profits!
modified 4-May-15 11:51am.
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Cornelius Henning wrote: short term profits
ding! ding! ding! we have a winner. This kind of makes me think of my old man. He never once had to advertise his services in 55 years, it was all word of mouth. He had more work than he knew what to do with, why? he was honest with people, did good great work at a reasonable rate. People would put their projects off for year until he could do the job, it was crazy. I have to call my old man. 
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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Quote: I have to call my old man
Give him my regards!
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Will do. 
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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Same experience a dozen years ago. My sister had Symantec Home preinstalled on her new laptop. When she got to school they required it's overpriced brother Norton Corporate to be installed before she could connect to their Novel powered lan  . It gleefully half-installed itself over Symantec Home before giving up in a state that prevent it or Symantic's installer from working. With no internet available to look for instructions I spend about 4 hours searching the registry for every key written by the two pieces of malware before I could reinstall the one she needed. 
Did you ever see history portrayed as an old man with a wise brow and pulseless heart, waging all things in the balance of reason?
Is not rather the genius of history like an eternal, imploring maiden, full of fire, with a burning heart and flaming soul, humanly warm and humanly beautiful?
--Zachris Topelius
Training a telescope on one’s own belly button will only reveal lint. You like that? You go right on staring at it. I prefer looking at galaxies.
-- Sarah Hoyt
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Dan Neely wrote: With no internet available to look for instructions I spend about 4 hours
You've got my sympathies, that sounds brutal. Hell it was brutal even with the instructions let alone without!
"the debugger doesn't tell me anything because this code compiles just fine" - random QA comment
"Facebook is where you tell lies to your friends. Twitter is where you tell the truth to strangers." - chriselst
"I don't drink any more... then again, I don't drink any less." - Mike Mullikins uncle
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We use McA, the only thing i got problems with is the sheduled scan where it's nearly unable to work. But our McA Admin did the job quite good with the server and the app and so on.
But yeah Mc Affee is a problematic program
if(this.signature != "")
{
MessageBox.Show("This is my signature: " + Environment.NewLine + signature);
}
else
{
MessageBox.Show("404-Signature not found");
}
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You can try Windows Defender. It won't catch any virus, but at least it doesn't use any resources. 
In fact I'm pretty sure, the Security Essentials and Windows Defender are just empty interface, with one low priority thread looping and showing some scan animation.
There is only one Vera Farmiga and Salma Hayek is her prophet!
Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.
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I tell everybody who will listen to avoid McAfee like the plague - I have had nothing but trouble with it in the past - but do they listen? Actually, many have, and have happily changed to something else - almost any other product is better. For personal use I prefer AVG Free [^].
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Most AV's are more pain than gain.
DEP + hostfile works for me
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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/ravi
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Avast has a free version, and regarding my experience it works. It is not able to clean all threats but defiantly will detect if you're infected, so you can make the only reasonable virus cleanup: format->reinstall.
Other decent option is Kaspersky. And Kaspersrky has a perfect free rescue disk, that you can boot from and clean your PC for good.
There is only one Vera Farmiga and Salma Hayek is her prophet!
Advertise here – minimum three posts per day are guaranteed.
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We've been happy users of Eset Nod 32 for many years in our company.
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Michael Varey wrote: What are your choices for a better solution?
Stop surfing porn at work.
Jeremy Falcon
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Jeremy Falcon wrote: Stop surfing porn at work.
He's actually looking for a workable solutions. Not fairy tales like this.
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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Michael Varey wrote: What are your choices for a better solution?
- Microsoft Security Essentials.
- A custom hosts file.
/ravi
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I've been using Bitdefender free[^] and:
- Is extremely lightweight.
- Doesn't need even to look at it and it is not showing adverts, hints... It's like it is not there.
- It works well. I've installed it in some family computers that had MSE installed and it has found all kind of things running there...
- It doesn't allow to configure anything. If you need to avoid scanning a specific location or set exceptions it is not your choice. In order to do that you should go for the payment version.
I've used AVAST and even it looked good it took a lot of resources.
I've been tempted to use AVG in computers with MSE and that need to apply some exceptions, never done that though.
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