Roughly one month prior to the release of Windows 7, Microsoft debuted its consumer antivirus and antispyware solution, Microsoft Security Essentials. This solution does not include a firewall which is understandable since Windows 7 does include one. Microsoft has a sketchy past with previous firewall incarnations that either left systems open for attack or did not provide the customization options that existed in commercial solutions. In this review I will take a closer look at the capabilities of Microsoft Security Essentials and the Windows 7 firewall. I will try to determine if the software giant has managed to stroll into the desktop security space as a solid contender.

We pick up the Security for Everyone series this week with the free Comodo Internet Security. Comodo entered into the security arena in 2001 with their personal secure email certificate. In 2005 Comodo added desktop security to their portfolio with their firewall product. In 2008 the Comodo Internet Security suite was introduced adding another option to the firewall, antivirus and antispyware space. How does this relative desktop security newcomer stack up?

In one of our previous tutorials I've shown how Windows Defender works in Windows 7. For those of you who use other security solutions with similar or better functionality, it might be useful to know how this program can be turned off. In this article I will teach you how to turn Windows Defender on or off, depending of your needs.

Windows Defender is a software built to detect and remove spyware and other similar harmful programs. However, it does not provide any antivirus protection. It is included by default in all versions of Windows 7 and Windows Vista. In this article I will show you how to access Windows Defender and how it works.

This week on Security for Everyone, our guest is Trend Micro Internet Security 2010. Trend Micro is a company with moderate success on the security market, and they now have a new product which has the mission to bring lots of improvements versus the rather poor 2009 version. Not only this but it also has to make its way on a market that is highly competitive and is shared by companies like Symantec, ESET or Kaspersky. Does Trend Micro Internet Security 2010 have what it takes to survive in this veritable lion pit? Read on to find out.

This week on Security for Everyone, we are reviewing F-Secure Internet Security 2010. F-Secure comes after a rather disappointing 2009 incarnation and promises to deliver a streamlined interface, better resource use and better integration. In addition, the suite has full Windows 7 support, joining the crowds of security solutions for Microsoft's latest operating system. Let's see if the waiting has been worth it.

Our guest this week in the Security for Everyone series is AVG Internet Security 9. AVG is one of the companies with a long tradition in providing quality home security software. The last time we looked at AVG Internet Security I was somewhat disappointed at the lack of integration and many usability errors. However, being an intermediary version that aimed to integrate new technologies, my hopes for the 9th version were quite high. Let's see if they have been met.

This week's guest on Security for Everyone is Avira Premium Security 9. Avira is a well-established player in the home security market, an area they entered back in early 1990s with a tool called Luke Filewalker. The name still pops up every once in a while in their tools, despite Luke Filewalker having become an entire suite of home security tools, and during the last few years, Avira Premium Security and its friends rose to international fame. The suite has been recently blessed with Windows 7 support. Read on to see if Avira managed to keep the pace with their fame & competitors.

Carrying on with our Security for Everyone series, our newest entry is Panda Global Protection 2010. After a few years of relative decline, Panda Security has had a period of constant, solid improvement that has received appreciation in terms of technical efficiency. The latest version of their flagship desktop security program has a few aces up its sleeve: a low resource consumption and a new technology called Collective Intelligence that tries to harness the power of cloud computing. But are they enough to make Panda Security's product line competitive again? After a lengthy beta aiming to ensure perfect compatibility with Windows 7, let's see what our guest has to offer.

ESET Smart Security is one of the security solutions of relatively recent fame. You wouldn't believe it, but ESET is one of the older players on the market, its first version being released in the mid-90s. Fame came later, and ESET's NOD32 Antivirus is now renowned as one of the most solid antivirus solutions on the market. While the latest builds have been working on Windows 7 for some time, ESET has only recently blessed its Smart Security suite with official Windows 7 support. ESET Smart Security 4 is built upon the NOD32 technology, hoping to capitalize its prestige by integrating it in a larger suite. But is it worth it?

Our guest this week in our Security for Everyone series is ZoneAlarm Internet Security 2010. ZoneAlarm is one of the established players on the home security market, especially through the scope of their freeware desktop firewall solution. Check Point Software Technologies have recently blessed their suite with Windows 7 compatibility, thus joining the game of home security solutions. Read on to see how well they are playing so far.

Our guest this week in our Security for Everyone series is Kaspersky Internet Suite 2010, the latest version of Kaspersky's security suite that has recently been blessed with Windows 7 compatibility. Kaspersky Lab is one of the most important players on the security market. Read on to see if they have lived up to their name with this release.