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Published
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March 15, 2011 |
Last Updated |
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March 15, 2011 |
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Introduction |
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free Antivirus
program. It provides real-time protection against
viruses, spyware and other malicious software. In this
article, I'll be showing you how to download and install
it on Windows 7 using two methods, either directly from
the Microsoft Security Essentials website or using Windows Update.
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If you have Windows 7, and you
didn't install any antivirus software on it, then the
Action Center will notify you that you need to install
an Antivirus

Note : Before installing Microsoft
Security Essentials, make sure that you uninstall any
Internet security programs from your computer. If you
use more than one antivirus or antispyware program at
the same time, your computer may experience decreased
performance, become unstable, or restart unexpectedly.
The following are the system
requirements for Microsoft Security Essentials :
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Operating System :
Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3); Windows
Vista (Gold, Service Pack 1, or Service
Pack 2); Windows 7
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For Windows XP, a PC with a CPU clock
speed of 500 MHz or higher, and 256 MB
RAM or higher.
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For Windows Vista and Windows 7, a PC
with a CPU clock speed of 1.0 GHz or
higher, and 1 GB RAM or higher.
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200 MB of available hard disk space
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VGA display of 800 × 600 or higher.
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Windows Internet Explorer 6.0 or later.
Mozilla Firefox 2.0 or later.
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An Internet connection is required for
installation and to download the latest
virus and spyware definitions for
Microsoft Security Essentials.
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Your PC must run
genuine Windows to install Microsoft
Security Essentials
You can download and install Microsoft Security
Essentials either from its Website or using Windows Update.
I will be showing you both methods.
Downloading and installing
Microsoft Security Essentials From its Website
- Go to
Microsoft Security Essentials Download site
- Choose your
Language and Click on the
Download Now button
- After download is
completed, double click on it.
On the File Download dialog box, you can
either run the installer or save it on
your machine. I will be clicking
Run

- If you have the
User Account Control
enabled, then a dialog box will open
asking you if you want to allow the
following program to make changes to
this computer, click Yes
- On the
Welcome to the Microsoft Security
Essentials Installation Wizard
page, click Next

- Review the license
terms, and then click I accept

- On the Join
the Customer Experience Improvement
Program page, make your
selection and then click Next

- During the
installation of Security Essentials, it
can turn on the Windows Firewall to
optimize security.
Keep this option selected to
enable the Windows Firewall if its not
turned on.
Click Next

- On the
Ready to install Microsoft Security
Essentials page, click
Install
Remember the note I wrote at the
beginning of this article, that you
should make sure to uninstall any
Internet security programs from your computer. If you
use more than one antivirus or antispyware program at
the same time, your computer may experience decreased
performance, become unstable, or restart unexpectedly.

- The installation
will be completed, as you can see, there
is an option selected which informs you
that once you click on the Finish
button, Microsoft Security Essentials
will start downloading and updating its
required definition updates and then
once the update is completed, the scan
process will begin. Keep this option
selected and click Finish.



Now lets see how you can download it
and install it using Windows Update.
Downloading and installing Microsoft Security Essential
Using Windows Update
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Click the Start
button
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click All
Programs, and then click
Windows Update.

- In the left pane, click on
Check for updates
- Microsoft Security
Essentials is listed under the optional
updates. Click on the #
optional update is available
Note : # refers to the
number of optional updates available for
your PC, for example in my case, there
was only 1 optional update

- Select the checkbox
beside Microsoft Security
Essentials - KB2267621, then
click OK

- Click on the
Install updates

- Review the license
terms, and then select I
Accept the license terms and
click Finish

- Downloading
Microsoft Security Essentials will start
and once downloaded, it will be
installed automatically


- Once the
installation is completed, you can find
Microsoft Security Essentials tray icon
in the notification area

If you opened it, you will find out that
the definition update process has
started.
Once its green, this means you are good.

Summary
Microsoft Security Essentials is a free
antivirus program from Microsoft. Installing it on
Windows 7 is easy and straight forward.
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