Personally, I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole. I installed it on a virtually clean Windows system (two days old with only drivers installed) and it crippled different parts of the internet for me. Oddly enough, it's all microsoft stuff, so i couldn't log into anything using a .NET passport or MSN messenger. After three days of trying every fix on the net ever, I just uninstalled it.
For the brief time it was installed, I found it intensely annoying and patronising. Example: when installing unsigned drivers, you used to receive a prompt warning you, which you could accept and install. Now, you receive the prompt, but you are repeatedly prompted all the way through the installation (read about 30 times). The Microsoft solution for this is to 'turn off the warning for the duration of the install' - how is that more secure?? One could easily forget to turn it back on. For another example - Internet Explorer no longer downloads .exe files by default - I was wondering what happened to my download, when I suddenly noticed in a tiny part of the toolbar a message saying it hadn't been downloaded because it could be dangerous and I had to click there. They didn't even give you a pop-up asking you about it. They've gone from 'security lax' to 'nanny security' and I found it really impaired my experiences with Windows.
If you have SP1, don't use Internet Explorer or Outlook Express, have a decent firewall and AV programme, don't open suspicious files, you have
no need for this piece of junk.
If of course you do still use IE or Outlook Express, then it's probably a good idea. But allow me to direct you to
www.opera.com or
http://www.mozilla.org/ for two alternatives that will keep you just as secure in your browsing and avoid you having to install this monstrosity. I would give it at least half a year before you should install this - wait till all the bugs have been sorted out.
[ 11-02-2004, 07:32 AM: Message edited by: shamrock_uk ]