Download: Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 Beta / Microsoft Security Essentials 2010 Beta

Last Updated on Tuesday, 20 July 2010 12:42 Written by Mire_B Tuesday, 20 July 2010 11:50

Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 Beta / Microsoft Security Essentials 2010 Beta is available for download on Microsoft Connect. Just a quick update, I finished installing it, and it’s very similar to version 1.0, but definitely improved. I’ll use it as my main AV from now on and let you know. Tomorrow I’ll also install the 32-bit version on another PC.

Thank you for joining the Microsoft® Security Essentials Beta. We are confident that you’ll find Microsoft Security Essentials to be easy to install and use. The Microsoft Security Essentials Beta is a fully functional anti-malware application with ongoing updates to help protect your PC from viruses, spyware and other malicious software throughout the course of the beta. In addition to ongoing virus and spyware definition updates, we will be providing software updates to the beta for download through Microsoft Update on a periodic basis. To have these updates installed automatically, you must be subscribed to Microsoft Update with preferences set to automatically download and install new updates. Learn more about automatic updates through Microsoft Update.

This beta is available only to customers in the United States, Israel (English only), People’s Republic of China (Simplified Chinese only) and Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese only).

What’s New in the Microsoft Security Essentials beta?

This Beta version of Microsoft Security Essentials includes these new features and enhancements to better help protect your computer from threats:

1. Windows® Firewall integration: Microsoft Security Essentials setup allows you to turn on Windows Firewall.
2. Enhanced protection from web-based threats: Microsoft Security Essentials has enhanced integration with Internet Explorer® which helps prevent malicious scripts from running and provides improved protection against web based attacks.
3. New and improved protection engine: The updated engine offers enhanced detection and cleanup capabilities and better performance.

 How do I install Microsoft Security Essentials Beta?

1. Confirm that your computer meets the minimum system requirements to install Security Essentials Beta.
2. Read the KB article to determine whether your computer is running a 32-bit version or 64-bit of the Windows operating system.
3. Click the appropriate MSE download link listed under Title column. Select the download link based on your Windows operating system (32 -bit or 64 bit.)
4. Review the “Download location nearest you” drop down option. Select the appropriate value based on your geographic location.
5. Click Download link under Download single file column.

Download Microsoft Security Essentials Beta

 From the Windows Team blog:

Today we are announcing the beta for the next version of Microsoft Security Essentials. Microsoft Security Essentials was first released in September 2009 and is our award-winningno-cost light weight anti-malware service. It’s designed to help address the ongoing security needs of PCs running genuine Windows – helping keep people protected from viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.

Public Beta: Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1)

Last Updated on Monday, 12 July 2010 10:52 Written by Mire_B Monday, 12 July 2010 10:52

I already told you that Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Beta leaked a while ago. But even if you jumped the gun then, it’s better to choose the SP1 Beta releases for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 from Microsoft. From the Windows Team blog:

Today, we announced at our annual Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) the availability of the public beta for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1). As Gavriella Schuster and I have mentioned in previous blogs, SP1 for Windows 7 does not contain any new features specific to Windows 7. However, the new features in SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2 benefit Windows 7 by providing a richer Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) experience. For Windows 7, SP1 is simply a combination of updates already available through Windows Update and additional hotfixes based on feedback by our customers and partners. For more information on Windows 7 SP1 and new features for Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, I recommend reading this blog post from the Windows Server Division Weblog.

If you are an IT Professional interested in testing Windows 7 SP1, you can download the public beta via the Springboard Series on TechNet where you will find the download as well as other key deployment and support tools. For everyone else, Windows 7 SP1 will be available in the first half of 2011 through the usual channels.

Business customers tell us that they are already seeing the benefit of deploying Windows 7, and industry analysts agree that there is no need to wait for SP1. According to the IDC Survey “Deployment Opportunities for Windows 7” by Matt Healey, Al Gillen, and Cushing Anderson, Doc #223694, June 2010 - 64.7% of enterprises have already begun or will begin their migration to Windows 7 within the next 6 months and 89% of companies have definitive plans to begin their migration to Windows 7 within a 24-month period. And Forrester predicts that Windows 7 will become the new standard for most commercial PCs within 12 months (Forrester Research 2010):

“With Windows powering approximately 96% of corporate PCs, it’s a no-brainer for most firms to eventually transition to Windows 7.”

After only 7 months in market, Windows 7 had nearly 14% share of the global OS market, according to Net Applications for June 2010. Not only that, Windows 7 has become the fastest selling operating system in history. We recently announced that Windows 7 has sold 150 million licenses. Check out my blog posts here and here for more amazing Windows 7 momentum today.

In short – businesses should move full speed ahead with deploying Windows 7 today.

Along with today’s announcement of public beta availability of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, we also wanted to provide customers and partners with more predictability around the lifecycle of Windows.

Prior to shipping Windows 7, we communicated that end-user downgrade rights provided in the software license terms of Windows 7 Professional or Windows 7 Ultimate editions preinstalled on a new PC would allow a customer to downgrade to either Windows XP Professional or similar Windows Vista versions for 18 months, or until the availability of SP1, whichever came sooner. Generally, PC manufacturers are in the process of ramping down Windows XP downgrade facilitation options that some offer today. As background, an OEM’s ability to generally offer downgrade facilitation options (e.g., preinstalling Windows XP Professional on a new PC that includes end-user rights for Windows 7 Professional) ends on October 22, 2010.

While the majority of customers are actively transitioning to Windows 7, and PC manufacturers are focused on delivering PCs and devices with Windows 7 preinstalled, our business customers have told us that the removing end-user downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional could be confusing, given the rights change would be made for new PCs preinstalled with Windows 7 and managing a hybrid environment with PCs that have different end-user rights based on date of purchase would be challenging to track.

Therefore, maintaining a more straightforward policy would help those customer segments that rely on downgrade rights as part of their migration planning – particularly in emerging markets and customers who may not take advantage of our volume license programs. 

To support our customers’ “unprecedented move” to migrate their PC environment to Windows 7, we have decided to extend downgrade rights to Windows XP Professional beyond the previously planned end date at Windows 7 SP1. This will help maintain consistency for downgrade rights throughout the Windows 7 lifecycle. As a result, the OEM versions of Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate will continue to include downgrade rights to the similar versions of Windows Vista or Windows XP Professional.  Going forward, businesses can continue to purchase new PCs and utilize end user downgrade rights to Windows XP or Windows Vista until they are ready to use Windows 7. Enabling such rights throughout the Windows 7 lifecycle will make it easier for customers as they plan deployments to Windows 7.

In the interest of providing more consistency and predictability with how we manage the Windows lifecycle, we are confirming our current policy of allowing retailers to sell the boxed version of the previous OS for up to 1 year after release of a new OS, and that OEMs can sell PCs with the previous OS pre-loaded for up to 2 years after, the launch date of the new OS. This means that since Windows 7 launched on October 22, 2009, retailers will be able to sell the boxed version of Windows Vista until October 22, 2010, and OEMs will be able to sell PCs with Windows Vista preinstalled until October 22, 2011. I also recommend checking out this blog post regarding Windows XP end-of-sales and end-of-support deadlines.

This lifecycle policy has been in effect since before the launch of Windows 7, and it has very little impact on most customers, as many retailers and OEMs have already discontinued sales of Windows Vista in favor of Windows 7. But it does ensure that our OEM and retail partners can discontinue sales of earlier versions of Windows within a predictable timeline. 

We are humbled by the amazing Windows 7 momentum and the positive feedback we continue to hear from customers and partners.

New Windows 8 Modern Authentication Technology in the Making

Last Updated on Sunday, 11 July 2010 03:05 Written by Mire_B Sunday, 11 July 2010 03:04

The authentication technologies in Windows will advance to the next level in Windows 8. At least this is the word from a job listing for a position on the Modern User Authentication Team.

Senior SDE

Job Category: Software Engineering: Development
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 722498 19630
Product: Windows
Division: Windows Division

The Modern User Authentication Team (part of the Windows Security Team) is looking for a smart and motivated individual to help design and develop the next version of the Windows Modern Authentication technology.

Modern Authentication for Windows includes a vast array of technologies including smart cards and smart card-like devices, fingerprint authentication, facial recognition, voice recognition, smart phones, web authentication and more.

The inclusion of biometric devices and devices that can be used for biometric authentication on notebook computers has reached a fever pitch and it is becoming difficult to purchase a laptop without such a device. These devices include fingerprint readers, cameras and microphones. Other devices, such as smart phones and USB memory sticks are also increasingly adopting biometric technologies. In addition to biometric technologies, Smart Cards are increasing in usage spearheaded by major governments around the globe. We need to expand our current Smart Card offering in Windows to simplify and promote the use of these amazing devices. Smart Cards aren’t necessarily “cards” in the modern world and include devices such as USB sticks, mobile phones and biometric Smart Cards.

With Windows 7 we made great advances into this area and will increase our investments in the future.