Microsoft’s new and free security software Microsoft Security Essentials received some raving reviews since its first release as a beta version. The final version of the antivirus software program was released alongside Microsoft’s new operating system Windows 7. Microsoft Security Essentials is using Windows Update to update the virus definition files which can be problematic in situations where Windows Update is not activated by default which is for example the case in company networks where updates are tested before they are applied to computer systems. It can also be helpful if Windows Update is not working properly (either because of a computer virus or other form of attack or because of other reasons).
Nakodari over at Addictive Tips has created a small software program called MSE Update Utility which can be used to update Microsoft Security Essentials even if Windows Update is disabled.
The update intervals of the software can be selected in the main interface after startup. The choices are daily, weekly, monthly or on startup with the additional option to add the program to Windows startup. The program could be an interesting option for users who cannot use Windows Update to update Microsoft Security Essentials. It seems though that the update tool needs to be running in the background to update the virus definitions. A better solution would be to either run and quit after updating the definition files or use the Windows Task Scheduler to schedule the updates.
Source: ghacks
