Well it’s now here for those people that were eagerly awaiting the beta: Microsoft have just sent out emails informing beta program participants that the new Microsoft Security Essentials Public Beta is available for download. If you accepted the invitation sent out earlier this month, simply go to the Microsoft Connect website and start your download.
According to Microsoft there are four major improvements to Microsoft Security Essentials with this beta:
- Enhanced protection through automatic malware remediation: The Beta program will clean highly impacting malware infections automatically, with no required user interaction.
- Enhanced performance: The Beta includes many performance improvements to make sure your PC performance isn’t compromised.
- Simplified UI – Simplified UI makes Microsoft Security Essentials Beta easier to use.
- New and improved protection engine: The updated engine offers enhanced detection with cleanup capabilities and better performance.
It’s good to see here from this list that Microsoft are dedicated to improving the protection engine and malware prevention methods while still keeping the software free to download and use. Keep in mind that to run the beta you must be using either Windows 7 SP1, Windows Vista SP1 or SP2, or Windows XP SP3. Your computer must also be running genuine Windows, as is a requirement with the non-beta version as well.