Solved MSE low detection rate?

DMGrier

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I have been a member on another forum in which use to recommend MSE to everyone and these days they are saying that MSE recently has been suffering from a low detection rate, does anyone know this to be a fact? I currently rely on Windows Defender but I am considering installing Avast! as that seems to be what everyone is recommending these days from what I am seeing on the web.
 

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    Windows Defender & Malwarebytes Pro
I have been a member on another forum in which use to recommend MSE to everyone and these days they are saying that MSE recently has been suffering from a low detection rate, does anyone know this to be a fact? I currently rely on Windows Defender but I am considering installing Avast! as that seems to be what everyone is recommending these days from what I am seeing on the web.

Studies have shown that MSE does not provide the best protection when used alone and I'll leave it at that; however, Asast is not doing so well latelly either because their new Avast 2014 is causing many issues and I'm waiting for them to be fixed before I attempt to reinstall Avast:

http://www.eightforums.com/system-s...vast-2014-causing-boot-power-mgmt-issues.html

So, right now, we're both in the same boat because we're both depending on Defender alone and anticipating an Avast install sometime soon. Good luck and hope this information is helpful.

my2cents
 

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my2cents: Any thoughts on AVG, I haven't used them in years but I remember using them probably back 2006-2009 and seemed pretty good back then.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sager NP2740
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4702HQ 2.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    W740SU
    Memory
    8 GB 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Pro 5200
    Sound Card
    High Defenition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250 GB mSATA
    Internet Speed
    60 Mbps cable, NETGEAR Night Hawk AC1900
    Browser
    Firefox 38.0.5
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender & Malwarebytes Pro
my2cents: Any thoughts on AVG, I haven't used them in years but I remember using them probably back 2006-2009 and seemed pretty good back then.

I have no thoughts on AVG so I'm just going to wait out the fix from Avast. I do know that most of the problems have been resolved but I'm waiting until they are all fixed. I browse the Avast forums everyday looking for that final confirmation that will allow me to do the reinstall. Also, thanks for that acknowledgement.

my2cents
 

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    Intel G2020
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    8GBs @ 1333 MHz
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    Samsung 840 EVO
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    400w
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    57/11
MSE always had low detection rate. avast 2014 is light on system resources.

Avast antivirus free 2014 is a very good option. You will be very happy to use it.
 

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    viktik
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    MSI CR420
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    Intel i3 330M
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    MSI
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    INTEL HD 1ST GEN
    Browser
    FIREFOX
    Antivirus
    F SECURE
While MSE might have low detection rates, I haven't really had any problems on a computer running it. I use Trend at work, and I use Avast on my wife's computer, and MSE on my own personal machines....and none of these machines seem to really be getting infected or having issues.
 

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    Windows 7
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    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
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I installed avast! and have had no problems with it working with Windows 8.1, I would say the only thing I found annoying was voice it uses, thank god it can be turned off in the settings.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sager NP2740
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4702HQ 2.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    W740SU
    Memory
    8 GB 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Pro 5200
    Sound Card
    High Defenition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250 GB mSATA
    Internet Speed
    60 Mbps cable, NETGEAR Night Hawk AC1900
    Browser
    Firefox 38.0.5
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender & Malwarebytes Pro
Hey DMGrier,

Thanks for the feedback. Did you try the power management test to see if that is fixed as well. I'm chompin' at the bit if that is fixed!

Go to Control Panel> Power Options> (click) change plan settings (for your plan)> (click) restore default settings for this plan> acknowledge the YES prompt and get no errors after the acknowledgement?

Screenshot (49).png
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel G2020
    Motherboard
    ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0
    Memory
    8GBs @ 1333 MHz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO
    PSU
    400w
    Internet Speed
    57/11
my2cents: sorry man no I got a access denied when I gave it a try. I will keep an eye out for when updates come to avast and give it another try each time and when I noticed it has been fixed I will shoot you a PM and let you know.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64 Bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Sager NP2740
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4702HQ 2.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    W740SU
    Memory
    8 GB 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Pro 5200
    Sound Card
    High Defenition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 840 EVO 250 GB mSATA
    Internet Speed
    60 Mbps cable, NETGEAR Night Hawk AC1900
    Browser
    Firefox 38.0.5
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender & Malwarebytes Pro
my2cents: sorry man no I got a access denied when I gave it a try. I will keep an eye out for when updates come to avast and give it another try each time and when I noticed it has been fixed I will shoot you a PM and let you know.

I can't ask for anything more than that so thanks a bunch!

my2cents
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel G2020
    Motherboard
    ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0
    Memory
    8GBs @ 1333 MHz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO
    PSU
    400w
    Internet Speed
    57/11
In my "day job", i test AV software and so far MSE has proven to be very effective...
 

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    Win 10 Pro 64bit
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    Home built Intel i7-3770k-based system
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    Intel i7-3770k, Overclocked to 4.6GHz (46x100) with Corsair H110i GT cooler
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    ASRock Z77 OC Formula 2.30 BIOS
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    32GB DDR3 2133 Corsair Vengeance Pro
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    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, Corsair SP2500 speakers and subwoofer
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    Corsair Air 540 with 7 x 140mm fans on front, rear and top panels
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    Thermaltake Poseidon Z illuminated keyboard
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    Chrome and Edge
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    Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro and CCleaner Pro
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    1GBps Ethernet ports
I have been a member on another forum in which use to recommend MSE to everyone and these days they are saying that MSE recently has been suffering from a low detection rate, does anyone know this to be a fact? I currently rely on Windows Defender but I am considering installing Avast! as that seems to be what everyone is recommending these days from what I am seeing on the web.

MSE's detection rate has always been low. I would not recommend it to anyone. What it does detect it cannot remove, this in turn makes you resort to third party removal tools.

If you look at the latest antivirus program test scores (not that THAT really means anything because some or most are fixed) you will see that MSE on more of those tests than none is not even listed due to the fact that Microsoft cannot seem to even get it to pass certification.

To me MSE is a last ditch antivirus, when absolutely nothing else is available and even then I would think you'd be safer without it.

I speak from personal experience and use of MSE, I can personally tell you about three instances I got caught with my pants down using MSE. Stuff it did not detect at all and just gave it entrance to my system and by the time it did detect anything it was too late and could not even remove it. To me MSE is useless and personally I will never use it again.
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 7 Home Premium x64 / Windows 8.1 Pro x64 Dual Boot
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    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
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    8 gigs
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GE Force 5200
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP 2009M x's 2
    Screen Resolution
    1600 x 900 x's 2
    Hard Drives
    One internal Western Digital HD 650 GB
    Three external Western Digital HD's - 1 TB each
I disagree about the "always low detection rates".

First you have to understand from where you hear those "rumors". Mainly I guess from sites testing AVs. Many are in the security business one way or another (noone does it for free), meaning all this malware/virus craze is good for them : they get more traffic and more money from ads, more money from security sponsors, etc... So you have to take all their testing with a grain of salt.

Now MSIE is very good at what it does : detecting known threats. When testing AVs, the focus is on modified viruses (new ones not directly registered in the av signatures database, but still based on known ones) where 3rd party shine, they use heuristic algorithms based on known signatures to expand them to possible threats. This comes usually at the cost of cpu usage, the more complex the algorithm the "heavier" the program is on resources, and the more fake positives are shown....

Still the main virus definitions from MSIE is one of the best since MS has so many users who report to base it on. If a new virus shows up in the wild, the first to know will probably be MS. That's why their database is actually used by most AV vendors.

The main problem is new threats show up exponentially and more and more are totally brand new (meaning the base signatures are useless) so even all those great AVs aren't that good against them. When you have an exponential number of threats turning up every day, a strategy based on blacklisting (basically you try to list all known malware and check it against the user files), is rapidly becoming useless even with heuristics. Now all the big names are turning instead to hips or behavior analysis to try and check if an application displays any malicious activity... But by then the malware/virus is already installed, probably has administrative rights to your system and can basically do you a lot of grief.

MSIE when launched was actually lauded for its efficiency, and recommended by many. Just google the tests from the time and you'll see many reviews affirming so. In my opinion this actually turned against MS because security products aren't its focus, so they were stepping on their partners toes without real benefit. This might explain this perceived lack of interest of MS in their AV : since it's becoming futile to try and predict new viruses with a regular signature system, MSIE only protects against known ones with very low overhead, and let MacAfee, Norton and others do their business if users want something a bit more proactive.

But overall if you want protection against malware I think the best solution isn't any 3rd party AV but actually a whitelist based strategy (compared to the blacklist by regular AVs) which is completely doable with built-in windows tools : Software Restriction Policy (Deny All), or Applocker plus Limited User Account, UAC, and integrated sandboxing (Low Integrity Level introduced with vista I think)... When done right this restricts any unknown executable from running, protecting from most current malware. For example if when browsing a site, a virus executes itself (drive-by download), it will be either blocked completely (SRP/Applocker) if the user doesn't approve, or given low rights (Low Integrity Level, User Account/UAC) and won't be able to change your system or install its payload. When you are suspicious of a new program, then before installing you can always calculate its hash and send it to VirusTotal (sigcheck from sysinternals does it automatically if you're lazy) and you get a much better preventive security than any known single AV.

Here are a few guides on how to implement some good security basics. You can apply most on them even on windows xp, even on home versions but you have to manually edit the registry to implement SRP (I might add a guide if some people want)... :
mechBgon's guide for first-time PC builders... Best practices for ongoing security
How to make a disallowed-by-default Software Restriction Policy
Hardening Windows 7 Guide. Part 1 | Harden Windows 7 for Security

And if you want a nice read to illustrate why AVs isn't the solution to the malware problem, check The Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer Security, especially Enumerating Badness which is basically the main concept of AV.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (x64)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I prefer MSE because of the light footprint. All other anti virus programs I have tried have used much more of the system resources. I have limited W8/8.1 experience but I have never had a problem with MSE on any of my Win7 machines. I do use SASW and active MBAM. My new LT came with McAfee and I like it so far.
 

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System One

  • OS
    8.1
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    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenova Flex 15
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    i5
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    8gb
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    Itel 4400
    Hard Drives
    ssd
    Browser
    IE
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    Dell Venue 8 Pro 64GB

    Numerous Win 7 machines

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
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    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Myself
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-3770 CPU @ 3.40GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI Z77A-G45
    Memory
    8 gigs
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    PNY GeForce GTX 660 Ti
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    onboard
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    Samsung Sync Master s27B550
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    1080p
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    1 TB internal driver and one 1TB external drive.
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    Antec NeoECO 620 watt
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    custom case
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    steelseries apex
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    stellseris sensel
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    Unknowen
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    Google chrome
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    Norton 360 from comcast
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