On Thursday, August 19th, Microsoft will release an updated engine for their Microsoft Security Essentials software. The Engine Version will be in the range of 1.1.610X. This release is to address the latest in the threat landscape. Forefront Client Security will also benefit from the engine update.

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There's also a Beta of Microsoft Security Essentials version 2 available. My copy is version 2.0.0375.0

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Version 2 is going to be awesome from everything I've heard.

From the Microsoft TechNet "Engine Notifications" blog:

Antimalware Engine 1.1.6103.0 is released to all MSE and FCS customers on 19 August 2010. Signature package 1.89.7.0 is the first that contains this engine.

The previous release was Antimalware Engine 1.1.6004.0

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Microsoft have released Version 2 of Microsoft Security Essentials. My copy is version 2.0.657.0.

If you already have MSSE (version 1) you can upgrade directly.

The full download is also smart enough to detect an existing install and switches to "upgrade".

Version 2 includes:-

• better integration with the Windows Firewall;
  
• Network Inspection System. This feature enhances real-time protection by inspecting network traffic to help proactively block exploitation of known network-based vulnerabilities. (Vista and Windows 7 only);
  
• New and improved protection engine. The updated engine offers enhanced detection and cleanup capabilities with better performance.
  

The interface is little changed from version 1. You can now:-

• limit the CPU percentage used during a scan;
  
• opt completely out of SpyNet.
  

Website: http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

In my (limited) testing, MSE has already found trojans that have previously been missed by McAfee VirusScan (enterprise version).

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