On Win XP, Win 7/64 and Win 7/32 using only Microsoft products what would be the best strategy for protecting against all on wanted activity such as viruses, worms, Trojans, root keys and so on? I was thinking some combination of, or one of, MSE or MSRT or Windowsdefenderr or all of the above.

The Malware Removal Tool is suggested as an important update by Windows Update every time a new version becomes available, so this is the first important step to take. I'm currently using Microsoft Security Essentials on both my two notebooks (running Windows XP Professional SP3 and Windows 7 Ultimate SP1) with the Windows Firewall enabled and I think this could be a good defense; Windows Defender is automatically disabled when you install Microsoft Security Essentials, but this one provides the system with more protection. Bye.Luigi Bruno - Microsoft Community Contributor 2011 Award

The Malware Removal Tool is suggested as an important update by Windows Update every time a new version becomes available, so this is the first important step to take. I'm currently using Microsoft Security Essentials on both my two notebooks (running Windows XP Professional SP3 and Windows 7 Ultimate SP1) with the Windows Firewall enabled and I think this could be a good defense; Windows Defender is automatically disabled when you install Microsoft Security Essentials, but this one provides the system with more protection. Bye.Luigi Bruno - Microsoft Community Contributor 2011 Award

Hi, I am currently standing by for an update from. Is the information above helpful? If you have any feedback, please let us know. Best Regards, NikiPlease remember to click "Mark as Answer" on the post that helps you, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

In addition to Luigi's answer. Windows Defender = Anti SpyWare solution MSE = Anti Mallware solution (this includes anti spyware so MSE will detect everything that Windows Defender detects + antiviruses and more.) MSRT= Is a small update that only scans and removes the latest popular antiviruses. Like Luigi told you when you install MSE, Microsoft disables Windows Defender. which is normal because MSE will do the same job as Windows Defender + more. So if you want to protect your machine agains mallware you need MSE. If you want to add an additional layer of protection (e.g. if your MSE gets corrupted, etc ...). You can install MSRT to scan and remove the latested popular mallware. note: MSE is a solution for home users not for enterprises. For enterprises you can use the Microsoft Forefront solution. Kind Regaders DFTIM me - TWiTTer: @DFTER

It really comes down to your budget, MSE is free and by default windows defender would be off because mse has it's own features that mirror windows defender, Personally I use the full versions of these utilities and mse so they can pick up the junk that mse might not pick up, http://www.malwarebytes.org/ http://www.superantispyware.com/?tag=SUPERANTISPYWARE They also have free versions avalible.

In addition to Luigi's answer. Windows Defender = Anti SpyWare solution MSE = Anti Mallware solution (this includes anti spyware so MSE will detect everything that Windows Defender detects + antiviruses and more.) MSRT= Is a small update that only scans and removes the latest popular antiviruses. Like Luigi told you when you install MSE, Microsoft disables Windows Defender. which is normal because MSE will do the same job as Windows Defender + more. So if you want to protect your machine agains mallware you need MSE. If you want to add an additional layer of protection (e.g. if your MSE gets corrupted, etc ...). You can install MSRT to scan and remove the latested popular mallware. note: MSE is a solution for home users not for enterprises. For enterprises you can use the Microsoft Forefront solution. Kind Regaders DFTIM me - TWiTTer: @DFTER

Hi, As this thread has been quiet for a while, I assume the issue has been resolved. At this time, we will mark it as "Answered" as the previous information should be helpful for many similar scenarios. If the issue still persists, please feel free to reply this post directly so we will be notified to follow it up. You can also choose to unmark the answer as you wish. BTW, we'd love to hear your feedback about the solution. By sharing your experience you can help other community members facing similar problems. Thanks for your understanding and efforts. Best Regards, Niki Please remember to click "Mark as Answer" on the post that helps you, and to click "Unmark as Answer" if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.