Starting in early October, Microsoft will freely license its Security Essentials product to small businesses with 10 or fewer desktops, nicely expanding the availability of this excellent utility. Here's the word from the Windows for Your Business blog:
Security is foundational to everything we do at Microsoft –small business owners tell me they want technology that not only improves productivity but equally important they want reassurance that their work is safeguarded.
With Windows 7 Professional, we made sure to include a breadth of security features to help our small business customers keep their PCs protected and secured. We know this is top of mind for small businesses -- when we surveyed small-business owners around the U.S., security (including malware and data protection) was named the most important benefit from Windows 7 Professional. This includes features like Advanced Backup, which schedules periodic backup to save data; Encrypting File System, technology that protects information; Windows Defender, which offers enhanced protection against Internet threats and improved Windows 7 User Account Control to provide security with less interruptions for small business employees.
We have more good news to help keep your Windows 7 Professional PC secure. If you haven’t already seen it, today we announced that small businesses will be able to download and install Microsoft Security Essentials on up to 10 PCs for free. Microsoft Security Essentials is a no-cost antimalware service that provides real-time protection to address the ongoing security needs of genuine Windows PCs, helping to protect from viruses, spyware and other malicious threats.
Small businesses should definitely take advantage of this free offering and can go to download it here http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/.