Microsoft Anti-Virus (MSAV) was an antivirus program introduced by Microsoft for its MS-DOS operating system. The program first appeared in MS-DOS version 6.0 and last appeared in version 6.22. The first version of the antivirus program was quite rudimentary, had no update facility (though a single update became available), and could only scan for about 1,000 viruses. Microsoft Anti-Virus for Windows (MWAV) was supplied with Windows 3.11.

History

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Microsoft Anti-Virus was written by Central Point Software Inc. (later acquired by Symantec Corporation in 1994 and integrated into Symantec's Norton AntiVirus product) and was essentially a stripped down version of the Central Point Anti-Virus (CPAV) product.

Microsoft Anti-Virus for Windows was also written by Central Point Software. This product became noted as determining that the upgrade program of Windows 95 was detected as a computer virus, something which was embarrassing to Microsoft.

Features

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Both the MS-DOS and Windows versions of the final product had common features; the "Detect and Clean" strategy of Microsoft Anti-Virus could scan for and detect 1,234 distinct viruses. Other features included the detection of boot sector and trojan horse-type viruses which was the typical virus problem at the time.

The program also had an anti-stealth and checksum feature that could be used to detect any changes in normal files. This technology was intended to make up for the unavailablity of regular update packages. Only one virus update was introduced since the original releases bringing the total protection to 2,371 viruses in 1996.

Windows XP and Vista

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With the acquisition of GIANT Company Software and the arrival of Microsoft AntiSpyware, and the acquisition of RAV Antivirus from GECAD, Microsoft has once again entered the antivirus market with:

• Windows Live OneCare (subscription program) for Windows XP and above
• Windows Live Safety Center (free web service) for Windows 2000 and above
• Windows Defender (free program) for Windows 2000, XP, and above

Discontinued Microsoft software | Antivirus software