Windows Defender has been released to the web!
Microsoft Defender (formerly Microsoft Antispyware beta) has Released! This is a consumer product, there are no plans for making this product Enterprise ready for centralized simplified administration, update distribution, or assessment scanning. For an Enterprise ready solution see below regarding Microsoft Forefront Client Security. This is very good information to pass to your employees and customers as they have personal systems that often have access to your production networks.
This release includes enhanced features that reflect ongoing input from customers, as well as Microsoft’s growing understanding of the malicious software landscape.
Specific features of Windows Defender include:
· A redesigned and simplified user interface – Incorporating feedback from our customers, the Windows Defender UI has been redesigned to make common tasks easier to accomplish with a warning system that adapts alert levels according to the severity of a threat so that it is less intrusive overall, but still ensures the user does not miss the most urgent alerts.
· Improved detection and removal – Based on a new engine, Windows Defender is able to detect and remove more threats posed by spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Real Time Protection has also been enhanced to better monitor key points in the operating system for changes.
· Protection for all users – Windows Defender can be run by all users on a computer with or without administrative privileges. This ensures that all users on a computer are protected by Windows Defender.
· Support for 64-bit platforms, accessibility and localization - Windows Defender supports accessibility and 64-bit platforms. Microsoft will release localized versions including German and Japanese soon after the availability of the English versions. Please be sure to use WindowsDefenderX64.msi for 64-bit platforms.
· Delta definition updates - Windows Defender now downloads smaller delta definition updates when possible which reduces the time required to download and install definition updates. Customers can expect shorter download times when updating their definition updates.
· Free Limited Support - As a part of our commitment to the security of our customers, free support for installation, configuration, definition update, detection and removal errors will be available for a limited time after download and installation. Please refer to the Windows Defender support policy for more information.
· WGA enforcement - There are significant risks to running non-genuine Windows. Only genuine Windows customers can receive product downloads, Windows updates and special offers. Windows Defender will validate that your copy of Windows is genuine before installation. Furthermore, Windows Defender will only remove Severe threats for machines that are not genuine. Low, Medium and High threats will be detected, but not removed unless your copy of Windows is genuine. For more information, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/genuine
Important Notes
· Windows Defender no longer supports Windows 2000 as it will be out of mainstream support in October 2006. Please refer to the support lifecycle website for more information.
· Access to Newsgroups:
In addition to phone support we also have newsgroups to help get your questions answered.
For Additional Information:
Please see the Release Notes to learn more about known issues with Windows Defender.
To Download, go to: https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=435BFCE7-DA2B-4A6A-AFA4-F7F14E605A0D&displaylang=en
To download the x64 version: https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=61F0C114-6FFE-4FAD-8CA5-74F236E9283B&displaylang=en
Microsoft Forefront Client Security
Features that are required by Enterprises, such as centralized simplified administration, update distribution, or assessment scanning, are being designed into Microsoft Forefront Client Security <https://www.microsoft.com/forefront/clientsecurity/default.mspx> (currently in development - public beta coming soon).