With branded PC makers beginning to enjoy a pretty good run in India thanks to good pricing, many new buyers, especially of laptops, are increasingly getting used to genuine Windows pre-loaded into systems. Such users of the “original” could download for free Microsoft’s antivirus protection solution Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE). It is free for life, but then how good is this MSE?
One could accuse the Redmond, Washington-based software giant of using anti-virus solution as yet another turf to hard sell its operating system , but one cannot deny MSE’s benefits, claim Microsoft officials. There is no clutter and confusion: There are no trials, no renewals, no expiration, not even registration. It is light on your PC. And the software is optimised for the world’s most widely used operating system, they say.
Launched last year, Microsoft has lately extended free download of MSE to small businesses with up to 10 PCs. Pankaj Ukey, director, Windows (consumer and online business), Microsoft India, says this move comes in the wake of tremendous response for MSE in the country, where the price difference between branded and assembled PCs have narrowed over the years.
Take the case of Bangalore-based Konni Anoop. A network engineer, Anoop says he always used pirated Windows until recently when he bought a new PC. On his previous desktop computer, he used pirated Windows with anti-software software by a reputed global company every year.
“One good thing, apart from the fact that [Microsoft] Security Essentials is free, one doesn’t have to renew it and bother about expiry, paying for upgradation, etc. It is not heavy on your system,” he says. MSE provides protection against various types of malware such as computer virus, spyware, rootkits and trojan horses for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.
“I know that it is always cheaper to go for pirated Windows and get anti-virus software from a reputed company. But in these days when you get Windows pre-loaded into your laptop, MSE looks like a good option to me,” says Anoop. Interestingly, though there are several free-for-life anti-virus programs available in the market, such as those by Avast, AVG, Bitdefender , Malwarebytes, Panda Cloud and so on, customers have a belief that paid solutions are more effective. But analysts say this perception is mostly likely to change in the case of Microsoft which enjoys a uniquely peculiar position in terms of brand name and reach.
By extending its customer base, from home users to small and medium businesses, Microsoft has, in recent months, incurred charges of unfair competition from its rivals. MSE, unlike Microsoft Forefront protection solutions which are enterprise-oriented products, is largely for consumer use.
Akhilesh Tuteja, executive director at KPMG , is of the view that Microsoft’s strategy is likely to pay off in combating both piracy and the scourge of virus attacks on Windows. “I think the quality of MSE is good. The challenge, however, lies in how the company is going to make into an all-encompassing threat-management system.”
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