Windows 7 sale Microsoft does an about-face; offer

In an about-face, Microsoft is now arranging to provide its absolutely free Microsoft Protection Essentials (MSE) antivirus/antimalware software to small businesses,Windows 7 64bit, rather than just consumers.
Starting in early October, Microsoft will permit tiny businesses to put in MSE on up to ten PCs for absolutely free. If they will need antimalware/antivirus for more than 10 PCs, Microsoft is still pushing them to give some thought to its Forefront line of products.
Offering MSE to little companies is a change in policy. In Could possibly of this year, I had a number of small-business customers and partners asking me regardless of whether Microsoft would support them using MSE,Buy Windows 7, considering that the firm;s position had been that MSE was a consumer-only product. Microsoft execs advised me no,Windows 7 Home Basic Key, repeating that “Microsoft Security Essentials continues to be available for buyers and home-based companies. The Microsoft Safety Essentials OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK) was made available to OEM partners as a way to provide a pre-installed protection solution on home use PCs.”
Microsoft was attempting to push small-business clients — other than “small-home-based businesses with only a few individually managed PCs” — to use its paid Forefront line of goods. (I;m unclear what today;s announcement signifies about Microsoft positioning of Forefront and have asked for a comment. No word back so much.) Microsoft officials say the move has nothing to do with its positioning of Forefront.)
So what;s behind today;s change? It;s partially about tiny businesses being unable and/or unwilling to pay for security software, the Softies acknowledge. But it;s also about licensing.
“This extended availability to modest companies centers on a alter to the End User Licensing Agreement (EULA) that allows tiny organization buyers to legally download the software program onto individually managed company PCs,” a spokesperson said,Windows 7 sale, via an e-mailed statement.
The line between MSE and Forefront client (and its still-unfinished successor, Forefront Endpoint Protection) has been a bit murky, other than the encounter MSE is absolutely free. Microsoft delivered new betas of both the next release of MSE and Forefront Endpoint Protection in June of this year,Microsoft Office Pro 2010, with execs committing that both would ship in final form before the end of this calendar year.
The new beta of MSE included Windows Firewall integration (allowing users to turn on or off the Windows Firewall during setup); Internet Explorer integration for additional protection against Web-based attacks; an updated anti-malware engine; and network inspection system functionality to help fend off network-based exploits.