Microsoft has been planning to ship an free built-in anti-malware solution with Windows 8, and it seems we already have the product up for selected few users under beta-testing phase.

Microsoft® Security Essentials Beta provides users an fully functional antimalware application featuring regularly updated anti-malware database files for complete protection from viruses, spyware, and other types of malicious software's. More details and screen-shots after the jump.

If you are a member of Microsoft Connect program and received the above beta participation email, you can grab the installer from the link provided in the email.

Once downloaded you can install/upgrade your existing Microsoft Security Essentials installation.

New features in Microsoft Security Essentials Beta :

This Beta version of Microsoft Security Essentials includes the following new features and enhancements to better help protect your PC from threats:

• Enhanced protection through automatic malware remediation: The Beta program will clean highly impacting malware infections automatically, with no required user interaction.
• Enhanced performance: The Beta includes many performance improvements to make sure your PC performance isn’t compromised.
• Simplified UI – Simplified UI makes Microsoft Security Essentials Beta easier to use.
• New and improved protection engine: The updated engine offers enhanced detection with cleanup capabilities and better performance.

Old Vs New Microsoft Security Essentials About Screen Comparison (Click to enlarge)

Threat Alert From Microsoft Security Essentials 4.0 Beta

There is no word from Microsoft whether this is the upcoming free Windows 8 anti-malware solution or not, but I have a strong gut feeling it is.