14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is hard at work cooking a basic security solution for Windows, which was developed initially under the codename Morro. The past week, a refresh for the testing development milestone available since mid-2009 was pushed by the Redmond company through its update infrastructure. Following the official availability, Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0.1500.0 (formerly codenamed Morro) has been leaked and made available in the wild. Various warez and torrent trackers are currently offering Build 1.0.1500.0, illegally of course.
After approximately a week since it started serving Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0.1500.0, the software giant continues to remain mute on the update. No official details have been made available until the time of this article, and the only visible change is the evolution of the status icon. My best guess is that Microsoft delivered improvements associated with the feedback it has been harvesting since the security solution was initially offered.
Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 was launched into Beta on June 23rd, 2009. Still, in advance of the official release, version 1.0.2140.0, which was in fact a pre-Beta build, had been leaked since mid-June 2009. Official downloads of Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0 Beta lasted less than a day, as the software giant was only looking for a limited Beta pool of testers. The leaked Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0.1500.0 comes in all three versions for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors.
From the get go Morro was advertised as a basic security solution that would be offered to Windows users for free. Microsoft also announced plans to kill off Windows Live OneCare once Morro was released officially. But so far so good, Windows Live OneCare continues to be available to end users, and the company has made public no plans for the launch of Microsoft Security Essentials 1.0.