First let me tell you what you already know. The central problem with Windows security is that there are too many computers out there that are unprotected. This is something I see on a weekly basis through my work, and I commonly find that the "average home user" either has no security software at all, has a product that they haven't activated, or has a product subscription that has run out. Quite a lot also don't have a product with anywhere near recent enough definitions.
The actions of the user are cause number one. In my experience, people do not want to be informed about anything, don't want to be asked to do anything, and will do whatever it takes to avoid doing what is asked of them. For instance, they will close the window asking them to activate their security software time and again, without even reading what is on it, never mind following the steps. In another example, when a message generated by firewall software comes up, people just find it annoying and click whichever button gets rid of the message quickest.
The common practices of many of the security product vendors are cause number two. The very fact that a product requires activation introduces a step that most people try to ignore. Even worse is the standard model of yearly subscriptions - people don't want to have to renew their licence and find that process far too complicated. Not to mention that they will often be attempting the dicey prospect of renewing online after the subscription runs out and definition downloads have been denied for days or weeks. That practice isn't even as bad as the one that besets the vast majority of people who purchase a new computer - having a trial version of a security product pre-installed that lasts for 30 or 60 days at the most, forcing people into the renewal process. Changing your security software for something else is also fraught with difficulty as many products simply won't uninstall properly.
So where does Microsoft Security Essentials fit into this? Well firstly it is a solid product that is founded on the technology from Microsoft's corporate solutions. (See the impressions of Paul Thurrott, and ARS Technica.) Even more crucially than this, MSE addresses all the problems mentioned above by a) being free, b) not needing a subscription, and c) not bothering the user unless absolutely necessary. And that is enough to make it a truly useful security product, because it is largely invisible.
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