Microsoft has now released their free anti-virus/malware program called Microsoft Security Essentials. It's designed as a totally 
free and always free anti-virus/malware which will require no subscriptions, no renewals, no popups, low resource usage and will automatically update through the Windows Update service which I hope everyone has switched on by now! If you're currently using a free anti-virus then I'd recommend switching, you can literally install and forget about it. If you're using a paid alternative and you feel comfortable about that, then keep continuing with it, but if you're unsure about whether to pay for next year's subscription or Norton's bloating out your PC - then grab this.
I'll step through how to install it, which is the hardest part of the process, because you actually have to do something. Once it's installed you have nothing more to do. So installing it is actually quite easy. Firstly make sure that you uninstall your previous anti-virus program or trial if you have one currently
1. Open Internet Explorer. Microsoft does some funky stuff with the website so if you use IE, it will automatically detect what system you have and supply you the correct download. Then visit www.microsoft.com/security_essentials which will take you straight to the download button.
2. Click Run on the download window. If you want to keep the installer then save it. The installer is only about 4.5MB
3. The Download will start, just wait for it to finish and the install process will commence.
4. On Windows Vista and Windows 7 a UAC (User Account Control) prompt will appear asking you if it's OK to run the program. Click Continue (Vista) or Yes (7) to start the installer. If you're using Windows XP still (please think about upgrading) then you won't get this safety prompt and the installer will start.
5. The Microsoft Security Essentials installer will now start. The first screen is a brief explaination of what it will do and offers a chance to read the privacy statement. When you're down browsing, click Next.
6. The next screen is the licence agreement. If you want to install the software, click I Agree.
7. The next 2 screens will tell you that Windows has to be Genuine (aka properly activated) for this to install. Click the Validate button and if everything is fine, then you'll get a screen popping up for 2 secs saying, it's Genuine and then it will move on to the final install screen. If you are running a copy of Windows that is not Genuine, the Installer will stop, tell you this and require you to get Genuine before you can install it.
8. Ok - that's it, all you have to do now is click Install! How easy was that?! Just a reminder from before, make sure your previous anti-virus (if any) is gone off your system before you click install. It will then install itself quite quickly, the installer progress bar is one of those looping ones though, so you won't see a percentage, but it should be less than 30 seconds to install.
9. Now that Microsoft Security Essentials is installed, it will offer to do a quick scan as part of its first run. Leave this box ticked as it's always a good idea to give it a check, see what it can remove (if anything) straight away. Then click Finish - Microsoft Security Essentials will now launch.
10. Security Essentials will show you that, currently your computer is at risk. This is because it has no virus definitions and it needs to get them from the internet - which is exactly what it does. Once they are installed, it will start it's first scan.
11. Ok - the system will start to scan now. The scan should take between 10-35 minutes and if everything is fine, the bar will turn green. If problems are found the bar will turn Yellow and if severe problems are found, the bar will stay red. If problems are found, then follow the steps to remove them, normally you just click Remove.
That's it - you can now close Microsoft Security Essentials and forget about it. It will automatically scan for viruses, check stuff you open, update itself and just do it's job, and you won't even know it's doing it. The only thing you may see is if you do get a virus, it will ask to fix it, and then will go back to it's job.
If you want a quick tour of Microsoft Security Essentials (there isn't much to see really) then keep reading.
Home Screen. Not much to see here. Basically tells you the current status of MSE and allows you to run a Quick, Full or Custom Scan.
The Update tab is even simplier than the Home tab, it has one button - Update, which will force an update even though MSE automatically checks itself. Also tells you when MSE was last updated.
The next tab is the history tab. This tells you of actions Microsoft Security Essentials has taken in the past on certain items. You can view all items, quarantined items and allowed items.
The last tab is the settings tab. This one lets you change the settings MSE defaults to. Most of these you will never ever need to change. I always change the Spynet to Advanced Membership, but most will stick with Basic Membership. Possibly you may want to change the Scan Schedule time, that would be a good idea if you don't have your PC on at 2am Sundays.
Lastly - this is the MSE icon once it's installed. It's hidden deliberately on Windows 7 systems to avoid clutter. It's the Green house with the tick!
