Microsoft anti-virus software dawdles over updates
Under certain circumstances, Microsoft's recently launched Security Essentials (MSE) security solution fails to download updates for several days, despite new anti-virus signatures being available on the server. As a result, the software no longer offers adequate protection against new malware. These are the results found in tests run by The H's associates at heise Security for the latest edition of the computer magazine c't.
The tests showed that, despite being connected to the Internet, under certain circumstance MSE fails to download updates for up to seven days. The phenomenon was reproducible, occurring, for example, on a laptop which was regularly placed in sleep mode by closing the lid. On resuming from sleep mode every day, MSE assured the user, even after more than an hour online, that anti-virus and spyware signatures were up to date and that the user was protected.
