Security Essentials v2.0 on Windows Server

Microsoft released a beta of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) version 2.0 on July 20. The major new advertised feature is that it integrates with the Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) on Windows Vista and later to provide real-time network traffic inspection.

What they didn’t mention is that MSE 2.0 will install and run on Windows Server platforms. I suspect their target market here is Windows Home Server but it doesn’t seem to be picky.

I hope this feature stays in the final product. It and it makes sense to be able to protect servers as well as the client OS. MSE is a great option for SMEs and home users—any organization that is too small to make use of the centralized monitoring and management capabilities of a product like Forefront. It also might make sense for some bastion hosts.

MSE 2.0 beta x64 installed happily on my Mac Mini running Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard x64.