Get Microsoft Security Essentials 32-Bit & 64-Bit Free Downloads

Introduction to Microsoft Security Essentials

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is an antivirus software product that protects against different types of malicious software, such as computer viruses, spyware, rootkits, and trojan horses.

It automatically checks and downloads the latest virus definitions from Microsoft Update which is updated three times a day. Based on these virus definitions, it provides real-time protection, constantly monitoring activities on the computer, and scanning new files as they are created or downloaded from the Internet.

To protect data, it also creates System Restore checkpoints before removing the detected malware.

When the product was released, it received generally praise for its user interface, low resource usage, and freeware license. It also got the AV-TEST certification in 2009, indicating it can eliminate all widely encountered malware, but lost that in 2012.

Microsoft Security Essentials reached the end of service on January 14, 2020, but Microsoft will continue to release signature updates to service systems currently running Microsoft Security Essentials until 2023. Microsoft recommends users move to Windows 10/11 and Windows Defender Antivirus for our best security option.

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Microsoft Security Essentials Free Downloads

Microsoft Security Essentials has several versions including the initial version, v2.0, v4.0, v4.5, and v4.10. Microsoft Security Essentials can’t run on Windows 8 and later versions.

In addition, MSE versions before version 4.5 can run on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7, but version 4.5 and later can’t run on Windows XP.

At the time of writing, Microsoft still offers the Microsoft Security Essentials free downloads and the version is 4.10.0209.0, which is the latest version. You can download them from Microsoft. Here are the download links:

Microsoft Security Essentials English 32-bit

Microsoft Security Essentials English 64-bit

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Microsoft Security Essentials System Requirements

To run the Microsoft Security Essentials version 4.10.0209.0, your PC needs to meet the following requirements:

• Supported OS: Windows Vista SP1 or SP2 and Windows 7
• CPU: Clock speed at 1.0 GHz or higher
• RAM: 1GB or higher
• VGA display: 800 × 600 or higher
• Storage: 200MB

Most PCs can meet the above requirements, but it’s recommended that you check your PC specs. You just need to press the “Windows + R” keys to open the Run box, type “dxdiag” and press Enter to open the DirectX Diagnostic tool. Then, check the OS, CPU, RAM, and GPU information.

Microsoft Security Essentials Install

Although Microsoft Security Essentials can’t protect your PC well, you may want to install it sometimes. To install it, you need to uninstall other antivirus software already running on your PC. Running more than one antivirus program at the same time can potentially cause conflicts that affect PC performance.

If your PC has Windows Defender installed, please refer to this post: Windows Defender Download, Install, Reinstall on Win 10/11. Then, run the downloaded MSEInstall.exe file to install Microsoft Security Essentials.

Bottom Line

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