On my conventional desktop Vista PCs I have been using ESET Smart security
(supplemented by daily backups and occasional scans with Ad-Aware, Windows
Defender and Malwarebytes Anti-malware), but with the emergence from beta
yesterday of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE)downloadable and free from:

http://www.microsoft.com/Security_essentials/

I am wondering whether to settle for that instead. Indeed I am wondering
whether MSE hasn't effectively blown the other security suites out of the
water, and, if so, is whether that is a good thing or not.

I have just installed MSE, a very well behaved install. Interestingly on
first install the Security Center showed MSE installed as well as Windows
Defender, but after a re-start, Windows Defender had gone. MSE has done a
quick scan taking a few minutes and I now have it doing a full scan which
has been running for 45 minutes and looks as though it will take several
hours.

I am rather hoping that a side effect of changing to MSE will be that
Windows Live Mail is cured from its occasional lock-ups. I am already
encouraged by signs of increased sprightliness there.

Normally I am put off by Microsoft expanding their monopoly, but in this
case they seem to have produced an impressive product, and I am slightly
kicking myself for having signed up with ESET for three years covering two
PCs.

Doug