Morro Free Security Software becomes Microsoft Security Essentials, Beta Available on June 23rd

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 19 Jun 2009

More details about Microsoft Morro, the security software solution that will replace Windows Live OneCare, have come to surface. There are plenty of things to report, so the best way to go about it is to take them in chronological order.

The first Morro-related piece of news we have to report is that a few screenshots have been leaked online. The images depict an internal Morro build, and have been leaked exclusively to Neowin by an anonymous tipster. The images are available below, and as you can see they are not much too look at – the UI (user interface) is not that impressive, but then again it looks pretty decent for a very early internal build that is subject to change. And as you’ll see later on, it has changed.

It didn’t take long for Morro to make the news once again, but this time it was something a bit more exciting: the free security software changed its name to Microsoft Security Essentials and with the name change came an overhauled UI as well (just like I mentioned above). The images, which are available below, show just how much Microsoft has improved the software’s user interface. And to top it all off, the software itself, not just some screenshots, was leaked online. Users who are interested in giving the software a shot can download the Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 version off some of the most popular torrent sites out there.

The last piece of news regarding Morro, or Microsoft Security Essentials if you will, comes directly from the Redmond-based software giant itself: Microsoft has announced that it will lunch a public beta come Tuesday, June 23rd. The catch is that only 75,000 uses will be able to download the software; Microsoft did say it might increase that number if necessary, but it remains to be seen whether the general public is that interested in MSE (Microsoft Security Essentials).

According to Microsoft, MSE is not meant to compete with existing free software solutions – it is meant to address the security needs of those users out there that have no security solution in place. As a matter of fact, if you install MSE on top of another security software, MSE will prompt you about the fact that you already have security in place and that two antivirus products are not necessary and might interfere with one another.

General Manager of Microsoft’s Anti-malware Team, Alan Packer, comments: “We were surprised at the number of people out there not running anti-malware software -- a lot of Windows consumers are not protected. The hope is that people who install Security Essentials and enable auto updates in their Windows configuration will be protected [automatically].”

Microsoft Security Essentials Beta will be made available for download June 23rd here.
Warning: MSE requires you to run a genuine validation of your windows operating system. If money is the issue why you are runnign a pirated version of Windows, then MSE even though comes free of charge, is not worth it.


Early Morro build screenshot leaks








Microsoft Security Essentials leaked online version screenshots




















Image credits: Neowin and Ars Technica.


Latest News


Sony's 'Attack of the Blockbusters Sale' Slashes Prices in Half for a Ton of PS4 Games

17 Aug 2017

How Samsung's New T5 Compares to the Old T3 Portable SSD (Infographic)

17 Aug 2017

See all