Can Microsoft Security Essentials be installed remotely to several PCs from one central PC?

Question

I would like to rollout MSE over a network, mange it and update it all remotely. I am sick of having to visit each and every client.

Answer 1

Microsoft Security Essentials is not licensed for business use. (Source) That being said it can be used in a home or home office, so installation via the network may still be an option.

You can extract the download using this command:

mssefullinstall-x86fre-en-us-xp.exe /x

Then you can use psexec to silently install the msse.msi. Something similar to below.

psexec \\computername msiexec "\\server\share\Pathtomsse.msi" /s /runwgacheck 

or if you have a text file with all the computers on their own line like:

computer1
computer2
computer3

your command would be

psexec @c:\Computerlist.txt msiexec "\\server\share\Pathtomsse.msi" /s /runwgacheck

Please note I haven't actually tried the silent install, but that should get you on the right track.

If this is for a business you can try out Microsoft Forefront Client Security.

Answer 2

I have push out M.S.E. on my company's network and we made a .msi from the M.S.E. executable. Then used Active Directory's Group policy to push it out to all the computer at once. Alternatively you could use EMCO Remote Installer to push out the msi. i have used this and it works great.

Answer 3

It sounds like you're looking for Microsoft Windows InTune, currently in Beta, but I'm not sure what the licensing policies and costs will be.

Manage updates: Centrally manage the deployment of the Microsoft updates and service packs that you choose to all your PCs from the Windows Intune console—freeing up your IT staff from routine management tasks.

Protect PCs from malware: Help safeguard your PCs from the latest threats with centralized protection built on the Microsoft Malware Protection Engine and using the same trusted technologies as Microsoft Forefront® Endpoint Protection and Microsoft Security Essentials.