blog post 23423Microsoft, the software giant, has a hit on its hands. In just the first week of its release, the new Microsoft antivirus software registered over 1.5 million downloads.

The software, Security Essentials, is a free toolset for any Windows user to protect themselves from the malware that plagues the world of Windows computing. For most of its history, Microsoft has provided some basic tools, and left the heavy lifting to third party companies.

However, in an effort to step up total coverage across the Windows install base, Microsoft created Security Essentials. The software is compatible with Windows 7. According to ITWorld, it has found immediate popularity amongst users of the unreleased operating system. Perhaps it is a lack of other Windows 7 compliant solutions that is driving this  demand.

The software is available in 19 countries, covering much of the world’s computing populations.

It’s availability and popularity might spell a sea change of sorts in the large antivirus market. As always with new products, innovation drives innovation, and we can only expect more from both Microsoft and other platforms such as McAfee in the near future.