Microsoft Now Recommends You Use a Third Party Antivirus

[essexboy]

MS's side of the story

In recent press coverage, the value of using anti-malware products was brought into question. Here is our point of view and some facts.

At Microsoft, we always encourage our customers to use our anti-malware products to help protect them from online threats. We are highly confident in our AV engine and its ability to provide a high level of protection for consumers and large organizations alike. System Center Endpoint Protection (SCEP) and Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) share the same AV engine (as well as Windows Defender and Windows Intune). The most recent data highlighting our protection value, as well as how we measure the effectiveness of our engine each month, can be found here.

Microsoft is focused on providing great protection to our customers by prioritizing defense against the most prevalent malware and emerging threats; furthermore, we share our protection capabilities with our anti-malware partners. We believe a diverse anti-malware ecosystem ensures better protection of our global customers.

We are proud of the protection capability we provide, and are pleased with the significant adoption of SCEP and MSE with well over 100 million PCs around the world.


Jason Leznek
Director, Product Marketing
Microsoft

[Asyn]

We are highly confident in our AV engine and its ability to provide a high level of protection for consumers and large organizations alike.

ROFL

[Para-Noid]

@ essexboy  Do you have the link to that quote? I'd like to read it in its entirety.

[essexboy]

It was an MSMVP copy based on a conversation http://www.microsoft.com/security/portal/mmpc/shared/protection.aspx

[OrangeCrate]

Goodbye Microsoft Security Essentials: Microsoft Now Recommends You Use a Third-Party Antivirus

In an interview with Dennis Protection Labs, Holly Stewart, the senior program manager
of the Microsoft Malware Protection Center, said that Microsoft Security Essentials was just
a “baseline” that’s designed to “always be on the bottom” of antivirus tests.
She said Microsoft sees MSE as a first layer of protection and advises Windows users to
use a third-party antivirus instead.

For average users — not geeks who can get by with the minimum protection — we’d recommend avast! Free Antivirus.

Bob, since many won't read the article, it should be noted in your post, that the last quote you reference regarding the suggestion to use avast!, is from the author of the article, and not from a representative from Microsoft.

[bob3160]

I'm quoting from the article linked in my post. For more information, simply click the link.

[polonus]

Hi bob3160,

But we are getting contradictory messages from MS about their commitment to MMPC. First they admitted that MMPC only delivers the minimal  basic protection for users, now we get this "full commitment to protection" news from Malware Protection Center's Dennis Batchelder, re: http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2013/10/09/our-commitment-to-microsoft-antimalware.aspx .
What is the real situation according to you as a "field man" giving your avast! Seminars etc.? I still think Windows Defender is a "waste of time" comparing it to a full-grown and complete av solution like our recommended avast!.

Damian

[bob3160]

Hi bob3160,

But we are getting contradictory messages from MS about their commitment to MMPC. First they admitted that MMPC only delivers the minimal  basic protection for users, now we get this "full commitment to protection" news from Malware Protection Center's Dennis Batchelder, re: http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2013/10/09/our-commitment-to-microsoft-antimalware.aspx .
What is the real situation according to you as a "field man" giving your avast! Seminars etc.? I still think Windows Defender is a "waste of time" comparing it to a full-grown and complete av solution like our recommended avast!.

Damian

It is better than having no protection. I'll leave it at that.

[Dch48]

Hi bob3160,

But we are getting contradictory messages from MS about their commitment to MMPC. First they admitted that MMPC only delivers the minimal  basic protection for users, now we get this "full commitment to protection" news from Malware Protection Center's Dennis Batchelder, re: http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2013/10/09/our-commitment-to-microsoft-antimalware.aspx .
What is the real situation according to you as a "field man" giving your avast! Seminars etc.? I still think Windows Defender is a "waste of time" comparing it to a full-grown and complete av solution like our recommended avast!.

Damian

It is better than having no protection. I'll leave it at that.

I think that's the best that can be said about it.

[polonus]

Well, whenever Dch48 says so here, I consider that as a big "amen" to our mutual conclusion.
Hi bob3160 and Dch48, thank you both very much for helping me making up my mind about this one,
and again thank you for your reactions,

polonus

[Corrine (MVP)]

Hi bob3160,

But we are getting contradictory messages from MS about their commitment to MMPC. First they admitted that MMPC only delivers the minimal  basic protection for users, now we get this "full commitment to protection" news from Malware Protection Center's Dennis Batchelder, re: http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2013/10/09/our-commitment-to-microsoft-antimalware.aspx .
What is the real situation according to you as a "field man" giving your avast! Seminars etc.? I still think Windows Defender is a "waste of time" comparing it to a full-grown and complete av solution like our recommended avast!.

Damian

No, there are no contradictory messages from Microsoft.  Microsoft did not say they only deliver minimal basic protection for users.  Note in particular that the comments attributed to Holly Stewart were to Dennis Technology Labs, which is an affiliate of PC Pro.  There is no direct quote of Holly "advising customers to use additional, third-party antivirus".  It is a misrepresentation by PC Pro.  As I wrote: Sensationalist Press Got it WRONG! Microsoft Does Not Recommend Two Antivirus Programs!. 

Based on a private email with someone in MMPC, I know for a fact that the MMPC article (Our commitment to Microsoft antimalware) was a direct result of the PC Pro article and the others that picked up that article and ran with it.  Obviously, it would not be "politically correct" of Microsoft to point fingers at the journalists who took PC Pro's article as face value. 

I would also point to the comments posted by "Blair" (who I believe is the same Blair who owns Geeks to Go and two other security forums), where he wrote:

Not designed to be the worst

Designed to be bottom of rankings does not equal, designed to be the worst.

Microsoft has simply decided not to game the tests. 3D video card test have had a similar problem for years.

In addition, Microsoft has a history of providing performance enhancements with vendors, now they are providing their definitions as well. This means every AV should match Microsoft's protection, and increase it with their own additions (or test gaming).

The problem with MSE and Defender protection is that it becomes the baseline. If you want to infect a Windows 8 computer, getting past it is the price of admission. Having a diverse ecosystem of supplemental protection is better for consumers, and Microsoft realizes this. All the while making it much tougher for the bad guys (which is their end game).

By Blair on 25 Sep 2013

Bottom line, Avast (and other A/V) customers are benefiting from the samples provided by Microsoft which, added to their research, improves the detection and helps everyone.

[Dch48]

I don't see any misrepresentation at all.

Holly Stewart, the senior program manager
of the Microsoft Malware Protection Center

She is a Microsoft representative and did say that MSE was only to be considered as a baseline and designed to be that way.  PC mag is not saying that, she (and by extension, MS) is.

It is commendable that MS is now providing information to other vendors but it is certain that they have admitted that their product is not the best.

[Canopus]

Artificial intelligence has always been right on the money.
It's the Human Intelligence that sometimes seems to go on holiday.....

Tell that to Alice

[Secondmineboy]

Do you mean Alice from Solitary?

[bob3160]

Do you mean Alice from Solitary?

No, my Alice.
@ Corrine,
All this boils down to is interpretation and context. I'm sure it was spun to prove someones point.
Unless you're using Security essentials as your primary and only defense, you're already convinced that
what ever you're using is better or you would not have gone through the trouble of deleting one and replacing it
with something else.
We avast! users already know that using avast! is better than using another product or we wouldn't be here.