Microsoft Security Essentials on Win7

[Ziggy]

It's been a while since I've bought a brand name computer, but every manufacture is a little different. With Dell, getting the OS disc was an option when ordering your PC. If you didn't get one, you could contact them for one (I've done this is the past for other people's computers). I know that Compaq and HP stopped providing reinstall discs in favor of backup partitions as well as being able to burn your own reinstall discs if you choose. I have no idea about Gateway (I didn't even know they still existed in 2010!) but it's worth a shot. Unless you dig them out of the back of your closet.

[ExedExes]

Recovery partitions may be convenient, but many times I'd die for an original Vista/7 CD on some of the jobs I've been on, because only they'd have special features for recovery/repair that the F8 menu or even the recovery partitions themselves wouldn't have. The old desktop I bought in 2004 was the first computer I saw that didn't give you an original disc. That's how far it's been.

[isiolia]

I still don't have a Win7 disc for that PC either, but I was googling around and sounds like I can probably get the OS copied over to a different drive?

If you have a general Windows 7 disc (or can find the ISO online), and the machine has a license sticker on it, then you can likely get it working anyway. It'll probably just take calling the manual activation number or support.

[Xeogred]

I guess the newest Malwarebytes includes Anti-Exploit in the same program now.

I wasn't smart enough to grab the lifetime $50 Malwarebytes keys off ebay when they were linked earlier. So I'm still sticking with the free stuff.

In this day and age though, it's almost scary when you have to constantly update programs or they get a full facelife (like Malwarebytes recently). Sounds like CCleaner recently had a serious intrusion for anyone on 32bit systems with a CCleaner version from August or something.

I'm really just at the point where I don't like installing anything new for the most part.

[Ziggy]

I guess the newest Malwarebytes includes Anti-Exploit in the same program now.

Yes, it makes the yearly subscription fee easier to justify if you haven't purchased a lifetime license.

[Xeogred]

I guess it is ideal. Anti-Exploit was nice though, I liked how it was just this tiny program in the corner doing some good work. lol