icrosoft is working on a new, free antimalware suite that protects Windows users against viruses, worms, Trojans and spyware. A beta version of Microsoft Security Essentials was posted to the Web last week, but if you blinked, you missed it: A day later, it was removed, having reached a maximum 75,000 downloads.

If you know where to look, though, you may still be able to find a copy. For example, at this writing, you can get it at Softpedia, a software repository. There are versions for Windows XP, Vista and 7. There are also 64-bit Windows Vista and 7 versions.

Microsoft Security Essentials is designed to replace Windows Live OneCare, paid software that had a mixed reputation for effectiveness. (Microsoft will quit selling OneCare on Tuesday.) It uses components from various Microsoft security products, such as OneCare's scanning engine. The interface has the simplified look of Windows Defender, the free antispyware product that comes with Vista and Windows 7.

This minimalist look reflects the design approach to the product. Microsoft has made it lightweight and unobtrusive. The download is less than 4 megabytes, and generally that's about how much memory it takes up, according to the Windows Task Manager. I noticed no impact on my computer's performance, and at idle, Task Manager showed no CPU usage at all.

There are no annoying popups or unnecessary warnings, even when new definition updates are downloading in the background. In fact, MSE doesn't even require a reboot when you install it.

My buddy Ed Bott wrote about Microsoft Security Essentials just prior to its brief beta release, and used the EICAR test virus to check its effectiveness. Of course, any smart antimalware developer is going to make sure its product works with this kind of test, so it's no guarantee of effectiveness against real-world threats. But it does give you a feel for what MSE should do when it spots malware.

I tried to download the EICAR test, and MSE didn't even let the file save to my desktop. It immediately threw up this alert:

Clicking the "Clean computer" button let me delete the file that had been captured, and MSE returned to its idle state.

So far, I've put Microsoft Security Essentials on three virtual Windows installations - Windows XP Professional and 32-bit versions of the Windows 7 Release Candidate and Vista - and a physical install of the 64-bit version of Win7 RC. So far, so good. It has replaced AVG Free on those systems, and I'm happy with it.

It's too early to pronounce judgment on Microsoft Security Essentials, but at this point I like what I see. It's a very limited product, and probably isn't going to be much of a threat to full-featured packages from the likes of Symantec or McAfee. It may have more impact on companies such as AVG, which relies on its giveaway product to spur sales of its paid offerings.

If Microsoft Security Essentials works well in final form - it should be available later this year - I can see a lot of Windows users choosing it for its low footprint and quiet behavior, as well as the fact that it's free.

At long last, the latest version of Firefox will be polished off and released onto the Web sometime today. Firefox 3.5 is worth the upgrade, regardless of whether you're on a Windows, Mac or Linux PC.

At this writing, Firefox 3.0.11 is the version you'll find at the Firefox download page. That will be switched to 3.5 when the new browser is released. You can still get the 3.5 release candidate here.

I've been using Firefox 3.5 since early betas - when its version number was 3.1 - and have been very pleased with it. It's noticeably faster, more stable and further improves the browser's ongoing issues with memory usage. It's been my primary browser on both Windows and Macintosh systems for some time.

Here's what's new in Firefox 3.5, according to the release notes:

• Improved tools for controlling your private data, including a Private Browsing Mode.
• Better performance and stability with the new TraceMonkey JavaScript engine.
• The ability to provide Location Aware Browsing using web standards for geolocation.
• Support for native JSON, and web worker threads.
• Improvements to the Gecko layout engine, including speculative parsing for faster content rendering.
• Support for new web technologies such as: HTML5

Firefox has made solid gains against the market leader, Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, and now stands at 22.5 percent in market share, based on numbers collected by NetApplications. Firefox is credited with breaking Microsoft's stranglehold in the browser world, but in the process several new competitors have emerged.

From CNet's Webware blog:

Even as Internet Explorer's market share has slipped--down a dramatic 8 percentage points to 65.5 percent in about the last year--Firefox programmers face a surprising question: should they be more worried about the programmers in Redmond, Wash., or about those working on Apple's Safari, Google's Chrome, and Opera?

Firefox has gained about 3 percentage points to 22.5 percent in market share, according to Net Applications' statistics since July 2008, and Firefox backer Mozilla doubtless hopes for more gains with the release of Firefox 3.5 planned for Tuesday. But Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome each gained 2 percentage points, to 8.4 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively, indicating a growing appetite for alternatives to Internet Explorer that's not completely met by Firefox. Opera stayed flat at about 0.7 percent.

In short, Firefox isn't the only scrappy underdog in town, and Firefox fans' easy us-versus-them polarization is transforming into a more complicated multilateral equation.

Firefox has an edge in the rich ecosystem of plug-ins, themes and extensions available for it. You can pretty much make Firefox do anything you want it to as a result, thanks to an active and creative developer community.

Of course, with the release of a new version, many of those extensions will break. But developers are expected to quickly issue updates, so you shouldn't be without your favorite extensions for long.

When the Windows 7 beta was released in January, it was widely praised as being remarkably stable and polished. In some ways, the Win7 beta was in better shape than its predecessor, Windows Vista, was at its launch.

Because it was so good, some of those who downloaded and installed it - perhaps on machines they use day-to-day - may have opted to pass on the Windows 7 Release Candidate when it was posted in the spring. After all, it the beta works well, why mess with a good thing?

Well, here's why: Starting today, the beta begins exhibiting some very annoying behavior, shutting down automatically every two hours. On Aug. 1, the beta expires completely.

The Windows Team Blog warned you about this back in May:

For Beta, bi-hourly shutdowns will begin July 1, 2009. You will be alerted to install a released version of Windows and your PC will shut down automatically every 2 hours. On August 1st, 2009 if you are still on the Windows 7 Beta your license for the Windows 7 Beta will expire and the non-genuine experience is triggered where your wallpaper is removed and "This copy of Windows is not genuine" will be displayed in the lower right corner above the taskbar.

Of course, if you have the beta on a test PC, or running in a virtual machine, this is not as a big deal. If you put it on your main system, you've got some work to do.

For six more weeks, you can can still download the Win7 RC, but downloads end on Aug. 15. After that, you have plenty of time to check out Windows 7 -- the RC's auto-shutdown sequence begins on March 1, 2010, with the RC license expiring on June 1. The release of the finished version of Windows 7 is Oct. 22.

For most folks, the best way to install the Win7 RC if they already have the beta is to do a clean install. There is a way to do an upgrade installation, but it will require some light hacking. Seriously, you're better off biting the bullet and starting from scratch.

InvisibleSHIELD is a ultra-thin yеt tough аnd durable scratch-protection film thаt will provide total-body protection tо your Mobile Phones, Ipods, IPhones, Digital Media/Mp3 Players, Gaming Devices, Smart Phones, PDA аnd many other electronic devices from nicks and scratches. It is something like an iphone case or ipod case. InvisibleSHIELD provides a clear and almost invisible scratch-proof barrier around your mobile devices protecting both the screen and exterior of the device.

Eаsy to Apply, its custom cut fоr each device so that it molds itsеlf to аll the curves аnd contours оf your device keeping all thе necessary ports аnd openings accessible without taking anything away from the beauty and functionality of your device. It stays оn the device unfailingly unless yоu really want to remove it and cоmes off without leaving any adhesive behind. The best iphone skins available on the market.

With the amount of scratch protection invisibleSHIELD provides to your consumer electronic devices, even after years you will find them in the same pristine condition as the day you took it out of the box. Finally a product at affordable prices that would put an end to your ‘Scratch-o-Phobia’ forever. Install a invisibleSHIELD today and you won't miss the experience of showing off your gadgets in their full glory without worrying about scratches.

Carry them, Flaunt them and show them off ...that’s what Gadgets are made for.

On Tuesday, Microsoft released the second service pack for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Normally, releases for Windows service packs are a big deal, but this one was rather subdued.

Don't believe me? Hey, even my buddy Ed Bott, who's the go-to guy for coverage of all-things Windows, hasn't noted its availability yet in either of his blogs. That's subdued! (Though he did mention its completion back in April.)

I finally got the time this morning to download the 384-megabyte standalone installer for 32-bit Vista, dropping it onto the Boot Camp installation of Vista on my iMac. (There's also a 64-bit Vista version of SP2.) The process was flawless, and so far I've found no issues with broken software or drivers.

Despite what the box above says, it didn't take "an hour or more" - instead, it took about 15 minutes, and only rebooted once.

I haven't used it long enough to say whether there are any performance improvements. Here's what Microsoft says is new in SP2:

• Program compatibility. Microsoft works to ensure that your programs work seamlessly on Windows Vista. We also work with our partners to improve the reliability and compatibility of non-Microsoft programs. So, SP2 includes previously released updates that are available to you when you use Windows Update, and it also includes new compatibility fixes for individual programs.

• Hardware support. Among other improvements, SP2 provides you with additional support for Bluetooth wireless technology and improved performance for Wi-Fi connections after the computer resumes from sleep mode. Additionally, you can now record data to Blu-ray Disc media.

• General operating system updates. SP2 includes Windows Search 4.0, which has improved indexing and searching capabilities. SP2 also includes fixes that can improve recording TV using Windows Media Center.

Microsoft has some detailed release notes, and you can also see a complete list of hotfixes and security patches that are included. As is usually the case with service packs, those who run Windows Update automatically already have many of these fixes in place.

My general advice is that installing SP2 is a Good Thing^TM for Vista users. But unless you badly need some of the hardware support it offers - such as writing to Blu-ray disks - you can probably wait until Microsoft starts pushing it out through Windows Update.

If the release candidate is any indication of how good it will be, I'll probably be much more enthusiastic in my recommendations about Windows 7 when it is released this fall. As things are looking now, I'll likely be telling Vista users that they should run, not walk, to upgrade to Windows 7.

In August, I upgraded the hard disk in my MacBook to a roomy, 320-gigabyte Western Digital drive, effectively doubling its capacity. There was nothing wrong with the 160-GB drive that came out of it, and I've been pondering what to do with it.

I decided that I wanted to use it as a separate backup drive specifically for virtual machines. VMs take up a lot of room, and I've got quite a few of them - Windows Vista and XP setups from both Parallels Desktop 3.0 and VMware Fusion 2.0 on both my MacBook and iMac. Because they're large, I don't include them in my Time Machine backups. Every time a file changes in one of the VMs, they'd be rearchived on my Time Machine drives, which would take up a huge amount of space.

To turn the 2.5-inch notebook drive into a backup drive, I planned on buying an external enclosure. In Friday's Fry's insert in the Mighty Houston Chronicle, I spotted just what I was looking for - a Sabrent 2.5-inch Serial ATA enclosure for a paltry $9.99. I hustled over to the Fry's at Interstate 45 and West Road and grabbed one.

Unfortunately, once I got it home, I discovered that the Western Digital drive didn't quite fit. It was a bit too wide - or maybe the case was a bit too small. When I pushed it all the way in, the drive popped the end cap off. If I put the cap on first and slid the drive in, its flanges wouldn't fit inside the black aluminum case.

In addition, I noticed the case had a bad scratch on the side. Had this been opened before and returned? Fry's usually puts a restocking ticket on such items and there wasn't one here. Also, the box and enclosed materials didn't look like they'd been touched. I chalked it up to cheap design and went back to Fry's to get a different one.

This time, I picked up an AirLink101 AEN-U25SA. It was the same price as the Sabrent, which gave me pause. But I know several people who are using some of AirLink101's inexpensive wireless networking equipment who are happy with the brand, so I bit the bullet.

Installation went smoothly this time. There was plenty of room for the drive in the case, which was slightly wider and thicker than the Sabrent model. The front end cap includes a small circuit board and connector that plugs into the drive. I popped it into place and screwed it down with the supplied screwdriver. The drive isn't firmly fixed inside - it rattles a bit if you jostle the case. I wouldn't want to use this as a portable drive, but as a backup drive that stays on my desk, it's fine.

The AirLink101 comes with a USB 2.0 cable that allows for two connections to the host computer. This ensures the drive gets enough power, but I found it would work using just one. Still, when I transferred my 60-GB virtual machines files to it - which took about an hour per VM -- I had both connections plugged in, just to be safe.

The enclosure works with both Windows and Mac OS X systems, and requires no special drivers - just plug it in and start copying files.

While I probably could have paid a little more - 2.5-inch drive enclosures start around $10, with most costing about twice that - I probably could have one that held the drive a bit more securely. But this one will do what I need it to, so I'm happy.