Microsoft Security Essentials is an antivirus software product that provides protection against different types of malware such as computer viruses, spyware, rootkits and Trojan horses. It runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, but not on Windows 8, which has a built-in AV component. The license agreement allows home users and small businesses to install and use the product free of charge. It replaces Windows Live OneCare, a discontinued commercial subscription-based AV service, and the free Windows Defender, which until Windows 8 only protected users from adware and spyware. Built upon the same virus definitions and scanning engine as other Microsoft antivirus products, MSE provides real-time protection, constantly monitoring activities on the computer and scanning new files as they are downloaded or created and disabling detected threats. The product received generally positive reviews praising its user interface, low resource usage and freeware license. It passed secured AV-TEST.org certification, having demonstrated its ability to eliminate all widely encountered malware. According to a March 2012 report by anti-malware specialist OPSWAT, MSE was the most popular AV product in North America and the second most popular in the world.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Security_Essentials

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1876:

William "Boss" Tweed (pictured), a New York City politician who had been arrested for embezzlement, was handed to US authorities after having escaped from prison to Spain. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_M._Tweed

1924:

Edwin Hubble's discovery that Andromeda, previously believed to be a nebula, is actually another galaxy, and that the Milky Way is only one of many such galaxies in the universe, was first published in a newspaper. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Hubble

1955:

The Cocos Islands in the Indian Ocean were transferred from British to Australian control. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocos_(Keeling)_Islands

1996:

Ethiopian Airlines Flight 961 was hijacked, then crashed into the Indian Ocean near Comoros after running out of fuel, killing 125 of the 175 people on board. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_Airlines_Flight_961

2010:

In response to artillery exercises held near the border between the two nations, North Korea bombarded Yeonpyeong Island, killing four South Korean soldiers and injuring 19 others. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardment_of_Yeonpyeong

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

yowzah: an indication of surprise, excitement, or amazement. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/yowzah

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

He who thinks we are to pitch our tent here, and have attained the utmost prospect of reformation that the mortal glass wherein we contemplate can show us, till we come to beatific vision, that man by this very opinion declares that he is yet far short of truth. in --Areopagitica https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Areopagitica