Did Microsoft just kill the antivirus industry?

Virus, Spyware & Malware Protection | Microsoft Security Essentials.

Am I imagining things or did Microsoft effectively kill Symantec and McAfee and every other anti-virus vendor with this free release of the Security Essentials?

I am on a new Win 7 platform, the 30 day trials all expired, and I was a bout to pull out the credit card when a colleague sent me a link to the Microsoft Security Essentials. After years of prowling through download.com looking for free virus scanners like AVG, I am a happy man. I wonder why Microsoft didn’t do this sooner.