RSSMicrosoft to replace Live OneCare with 'no-cost' anti-malware
By Scott M. Fulton, III | Published November 18, 2008, 5:57 PM
Exactly one year after it re-announced the commercial subscription edition of its anti-malware service for individual Windows users, Microsoft announced it will discontinue Windows Live OneCare, replacing it with a free alternative.
The new service, which has yet to be formally named but which is being referred to by its code-name "Morro" (perhaps named after a famous Spanish fortress) is said to be constructed around the current anti-malware engine used as part of the Live OneCare service, though with a smaller footprint. The aim is to enable the new service to be used in devices with smaller memory and resources, probably including netbooks.
An explanation on the Windows Live OneCare team blog this afternoon reads, "Ultimately, we believe the decision to offer a security solution at no additional cost to consumers and phase out Windows Live OneCare is the right step to broaden PC protection and improve the Windows experience for more users around the world. Microsoft will continue to deliver on its commitment to provide consumers around the world with a world-class security solution."
There's actually a chorus of statements provided by Microsoft this afternoon, some of which refer to "no additional cost," which could lead some to wonder, "in addition to what?" But one corporate statement this afternoon specifically used the phrase "no charge to consumers;" and a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to BetaNews this afternoon that "the new consumer security solution will be broadly available at no additional cost to anyone running Windows."
In a surprising admission for a typically well-scripted Q&A, product manager Amy Barzdukas said the key reason Microsoft chose to eliminate the charge for its new anti-malware service is to increase its usefulness in emerging markets such as China -- countries where Microsoft happens to be shifting its emphasis in its efforts to find shelter from the global economic storm.
"Many of today's consumer security models are based on annual subscriptions that need a credit card to renew," writes Barzdukas. "Given that many consumers in markets like Brazil, India and China do not have access to those types of payment services, it can be difficult to secure and maintain quality malware protection. There is also the issue of limited bandwidth and the growth of locally produced malware to consider.
"Even in developed markets, there are still obstacles to maximizing protection. Free trials can confuse consumers as to whether or not their PC is secure, and procrastination when it comes to renewing a paid service can mean that consumers aren't getting the most up-to-date protection," she continues. "By offering a solution that removes these barriers, Microsoft is reaffirming its commitment to provide core anti-malware functionality to the majority of today's PC users who either don't have protection, can't afford quality protection, or don't keep it up date."
The timing of OneCare's anticipated release is interesting. While it's being slated for the second half of 2009 -- the same timeframe as Windows 7 -- Live OneCare will officially discontinue sale at the end of the day June 30. While OneCare service will presumably still be active during the interval between its official end-of-life and Morro's premiere, that interval probably shouldn't be extended too far. And Morro's premiere, one would think, would likely coincide with that of Windows 7.
It's actually somewhat difficult to get an accurate count of the number of times Windows Live OneCare "premiered" or "debuted" since first word of its existence came in the winter of 2005; despite being version 2.0 at present, Microsoft statements now say the product actually premiered in November 2007. But a post-mortem will show that the service was born in November 2005, then exited beta for the first time in May 2006. Since then, it led a somewhat unhappy life, along the way having failed some security tests, deleted Outlook users' e-mail files, mysteriously canceled users' subscriptions at random, and blocking previously validated applications from running.
Today's descriptions of Morro make no mention of firewall-like capabilities, so that will probably be a function left to Windows Firewall. Perhaps with the smaller operating footprint, Microsoft could have better luck keeping its anti-malware client in good behavior.
What about the Phone Support... Till when will be the phone support on for OneCare ?
Score: 0
|WAIT?!!
I thought "windows defender" was the FREE antimalware???
Score: 0
|Windows Defender is Antispyware
Score: 0
|since when has anti-spyware and anti-malware been segregated? lol
Score: 0
|What about current subscribers whose subscriptions end between now and the start of the free version?
Score: 0
|They get a class action $4.99 coupon for any Microsoft product in a few years.
Score: 0
|Why don't they build it into Window's. Microsoft should not create an operating system and then create something that protects it. It just doesn't make any since, just make a safer operating system. Right?!
I switched to a Mac a few weeks ago - could not be happier and I don't forsee ever returning to the wonderful world of windows.
Score: 0
|Because they get sued for doing such consumer friendly acts.
I switched to a PC a few years ago. Don't seem myself ever turning back to the closed world of Apple.
Score: 0
|Same here :P would never look back @ rotten apple again
Score: 0
|Don't seem myself ever turning back to the closed world of Apple.
With the grammar of a 5 year old, it seems you and Windows were made for each other...
Score: 0
|Same here. It's been just over a year since I was liberated from using crappy PCs. There's definitely no going back for me as well. A Mac is the only way to go, everything else is just child's play.
Score: 0
|Er...that's spelling, not grammar (he meant to say "see myself..."). Nice try :)
Score: 0
|Oh. So sorry to offend you twat - but it would be even better to post a correction. Errare humanum est.
It would turn out better in any of the other languages I spoke before picking up English.
Score: 0
|Typing ;-)
Score: 0
|Isn't it wonderful?
Working in an environment that not only allows you to choose your hardware, but your software, peripherals, and yes, even typos?
Well, of course, anything would be better than being locked into the monkey-see monkey-do world of Apple. That is, if you can pass their "Elitism Test".
Free yourself, Apple users. Open yourself up to the wide and expansive world of Windows! We'll accept you, even if you're human.
Score: 0
|This does not really bother me at all, I never used live one care at all. I use zone alarm, and Avast which is very good along with Spybot and other Malware remover software and have had no problems at all. Using common sense while on the internet is also helpful.
Maybe Microsoft has learned something from this, if so, that is good, if not, they will move on anyway.
Score: 0
|ZoneAlarm is unecessary, by the way.
Score: 0
|Free, eh?
Cool.
Now all they have to do is stop stealing people's bandwidth with ads in Live Messenger and make IT free - again.
Score: 0
|uh, no. Just move to another IM platform. When I saw the bloat on Messenger live I bailed to google talk and never looked back.
Score: 0
|uh, minus ad's... these services wouldn't exist, WLM, Yahoo, Gtalk, you name it... don't want ads? use a third party client. but just think if everyone used a third party client that did not incorporate ads would there even be services to connect with? i don't think so
looks like you just have no idea what you're even talking about there buds
Score: 0
|there are no ads in Google Talk and it exists.
Score: 0
|gtalk is built into gmail and is for the most part web based and ad supported, that and gtalk exists, barely... when was the latest gtalk client released?...
yeah, i thought so.
Score: 0
|Right... Maybe Google shareholders should sue the corporation for wasting resources on projects unrelated to profits.
*sigh*
Score: 0
|Really, now.
Funny how M$ operated it for YEARS without ads. Also, given the cash flow the company has, a freebie obviously wasn't out of the question - until the last few years when the greed started to become really obvious.
Score: 0
|It's a corporation not a charity; of course you will see more attempts to get revenue.
Score: 0
|He doesn't think that a company, once it reaches a certain market share, should be allowed to profit from their position in the market.
;)
And yes, roj. I am teasing you. :p
Score: 0
|yeah because when you reach close to 300 million users of your IM service, traffic generated cost should fall on MS alone... right.
Score: 0
|Right 'bout now is time to say: GNU/Linux! Always free, always open, and doesn't need these insane malware prevention schemes, software, and endless updates.
Oops. But you're not supposed to expose Microsoft's big dirty secret in front of toolie. That makes him cry, b****, and moan like a banshee.
Score: 0
|and endless updates.
How does that work? You just don't connect your linux box to the net? Last I checked, even ubuntu had countless updates.
Microsoft's big dirty secret
Ah, profit? Yeah. Companies like making money. Funny how that works.
That makes him cry, b****, and moan like a banshee.
Good to see your one-sided love-affair with me is still going strong. Might want to seek some help regarding that. Such a strong desire for that which you will never achieve can only lead to heartache and depression.
Score: 0
|Like I said, your memory is short. When the service debuted and for several years afterwards, it was free. Also, do note that despite the rhetoric that the majors love to issue, bandwidth isn't as expensive as they'd have you believe when they're lobbying.
Score: 0
|Yup - and as consumers, we should ride herd on that. If you don;t, costs rise, monopolies occur...
Oh wait - that's already happened.
Score: 0
|Always free. Always open.
Always impotent.
No consumer experience, no mature multimedia, apps that look and feel amateurish with no polish...
The list is consistent.
It's also been iterated for at least 10 years that I'm aware of and nothing changes except the cries form the peanut gallery.
Score: 0
|...but you're also right.
I - Totally - Distrust - Corps...
...primarily because of how they treat consumers when they gain absolute ascendancy. I mean, there's the legal definition of monopoly (and great splitting of hairs occurs in that discussion) and then there's practicality where "I own 95% of the market so I'll do whatever I want" really DOES mean monopoly. And nothing good has ever come of that - some kind of balance is needed. We give them the same rights as individuals and then fail to hold them accountable, the way we do with individuals.
But this is digressing real fast... :)
Score: 0
|I'm not so much upset that Microsoft is giving away free stuff. If I want free stuff, I can get Avira Antivir with superb detection rates without Microsoft's offering. I'm upset they are dumbing it down and stripping away the features I frequently use, like integration with family and auto tuneups and backups. They're just gonna have Defender and an AV sitting there...that's not helpful to me personally.
Score: 0
|One Care is no worse than say Mcafee VirusScan. http://www.av-comparativ.../ergebnisse_2008_08.php
Score: 0
|No anti virus is perfect
Anyway how long has One Care existed? It's just a matter of time, it will be better though I've never used it. For me NIS 2009 is the best
Score: 0
|'no additional cost," which could lead some to wonder, "in addition to what?"'
Last I checked a Windows license wasn't free.
Score: 0
|I was hoping this would happen soon.
and to all of you, who is complaining that Microsoft IS GIVING AWAY FREE STUFF.... If you dont like it, then just dont install it. Nobody is forcing you to install anyting. Go and spend your money on Norton or McAffee or something and stop complaining about a company giving out free stuff. seriously
Score: 0
|i think it is a great decision.
people that utilzie free a.v.'s don't bother reading the fine print and as such would know that information is being aggregated and sent back to h.q.
what kind of information?
each time an a.v. checks a file or site for infection, they are logged and the data is sent to h.q. for analysis and or for sale as payment for an update/download for that freeware.
the subsequent question is if the update is truly "an update to the virus definitions".
Score: 0
|I really hate what Microsoft has done with Hotmail as of late.
I really do not like the altered web interface, and I'm not really a big fan of the Windows Live Mail Software Client. The very latest version of that client is loads better than the first versions, but I still would rather use Outlook Express 6 with OE-QuoteFix instead.
I use IE 6 but only with Maxthon 1.6.x for those sites that work best in an IE environment, but otherwise, I use Firefox 3.x
I remember when Microsoft wanted everybody to use that "Passport Identity" thing, and then they dumped that. Now this "Windows Liveware Identity" stuff that pretty much just gets in the way, much like how they pushed all that MSN crud on folks some time back.
They lack a clear, efficient, well planned long-term vision. They are just skittering all over the map, never seemingly able to maintain focus.
Just look at how that affected Vista. They had WinFS, then they dropped WinFS. They were going to allow OpenGL only in a DirectX Wrapper, but then they changed their mind on that. They hyped up DirectX 10, but since they moved the graphics to an outer ring of the kernel, they basically nullfied any potential efficiency gains. Then they decided to re-write the entire audio driver model, which focuses mainly on Software instead of accelerated Hardware.
They really need to find a person with a consistent, unified vision to run that company, imo. Their customers would be far better off.
Score: 0
|not sure if i could agree because their profits is a measurement and a validation of their decisions.
we should all be so lucky and fortunate.
Score: 0
|why not use gmail? or anything else
Score: 0
|I think their profits are more a representation of how they have leveraged their monopoly status.
Score: 0
|I agree, the orignal OneCare was not very good, but the 2nd version was a better but still was not worth the price.
This is a great move on Microsoft's end. Granted MS did make a lot of mistakes with Vista, but I think they are making up for it in Windows 7. Granted, Morro will not be bundled with Windows 7, but at least people will have another option besides Norton and McAfee.
Score: 0
|Score: 0
|OneCare is good and being free is better
Score: 0
|I like OneCare and have been using it since it first came out. It doesn't get in the way or hog resources and has caught things several times. Nothing bad has gotten past it.
Score: 0
|There's no need to put up with Microsoft's crap, just get a Mac and experience a peace of mind for a change.
Score: 0
|Oh look, it's iTard7 being a complete retard again...
How redundant...
Score: 0
|LOL @Steive Blow Jobs
Score: 0
|Better to just get a Big Mac (but tell them to hold the "secret sauce")
Score: 0
|I refuse to pay for something I have always felt to be the responsibility of the OS publisher anyway.
Score: 0
|oops seems like Symantec and McAfee will sue Microsoft if they do so. Am sure they will
Score: 0
|Why aren't they suing Grisoft and Avast? No difference. Read carefully, it will be standalone, not bundled. Therefore - legal.
Score: 0
|OneCare was most certainly one of the worst and lowest quality products from Microsoft. Low customizability, poor detection rates, crappy broken firewall, annoying popups and dumb UI. Another crapware freebie like OneCare is what they call "PC Advisor".
Score: 0
|"OneCare was most certainly one of the worst and lowest quality products from Microsoft.
LOL. Doesn't that about sum up everything M$ produces? Perfect example of what is happening to another one of Microsoft's crappy products:
http://macdailynews.com/...p/weblog/comments/19151/
Score: 0
|I would argue the case for Microsoft Onecare, and i'm a little upset to see them dump the product.
I picked it up last year and installed it on my Mom's PC and my Sister's PC with my PC as the hub. I've been able to track virus alerts, monthly alerts and turn on their firewall if it's turned off. I set up automatic tuneups for their PC's so they are defragmented and cleaned every two weeks. I used logmein to go into their PC's if anything was wrong, and it was the perfect setup even though we were miles apart.
To respond to Sumone, customizability isn't something Microsoft was aiming for. Onecare was designed with simplicity in mind. One can make a good argument that Onecare's detection rates wasn't superb. However it does not matter what Antivirus product you have, expect it to miss some if you're a dangerous surfer. The firewall worked fine, just because it doesn't pester you doesn't mean it's terrible. I also never had any prompts in the latest version of Onecare.
I thought it was a great piece of software to take care of a family's PCs, and I was glad that it wasn't Norton. Looks like I need to look into Norton 360 for next year.
Score: 0
|Guys try Crapple iVirus (AV), the world's most advanced anti-virus. Unfortunately you will need to buy iVirus hardware to run it and don't worry it only costs about $5000 and is specific to iCrap.
We ignorant Mac users are just jealous of what we can never do ie try to catch up with Microsoft. They keep kicking our @ss and Windows 7 will just throw our @ss away, but don't worry we will continue to be jealous and bark in our mac forums where there are less than 100 (gays) people using Crapple iCrap.
Score: 0
|The multiple personality disorder that you seem to be experiencing needs to be addressed as soon as possible before you become a danger to yourself and to others.
Score: 0
|For Remote Administration of distant PC's the best solution I have come across is Team Viewer, it is the best.
http://www.teamviewer.com/index.aspx
You set it up to run as a service on the "Target Computer" set a password for "log on" in the utility. And your setup. It will run around Vista's UAC and Firewall setting like your setting in the room, people talk about "Crossloop", it doesn't have a thing on Team Viewer" which is free for personal use, I.E. family,friends though not businesses.
Get setup with it, you'll smack yourself for not knowing about it sooner. I'm in love with this program, it couldn't be any simpler.
Score: 0
|Actually if you pay close attention, the (i) in my username is lowercase and the (I) in the username of the other guy is capital.
You see Internetworld7 knows that I voted YES on Pro. 8 so he's extremely angry with me. I'm part of the reason he can't come to California with his hairy bearded lover to "tie the knot". So this is his childish way of getting even. LOL.
Score: 0
|lol
Score: 0
|Of course, I am the most childish one here. As you can plainly see by my totally immature use of "gay jokes".
The other two are pathetic impostors. They just haven't seen the light yet (Miscrosoft), and have yet to grow out of their larval stage.
Score: 0
|LOL :)
Score: 0
|Man, Microsoft just has so many bad ideas as of late it's staggering.
Deep pockets allow them to work on all these pet projects and if they don't catch on, they just dump 'em.
I swear - it's just not worth even trying their crap anymore.
I'll do Windows XP, IE6 with Maxthon and Outlook Express 6 with OE-QuoteFix, and I have a copy of Office 2000 Pro, but all this other junk they are releasing is just not something I'm even remotely interested in.
Score: 0
|"Man, Microsoft just has so many bad ideas as of late it's staggering...I swear - it's just not worth even trying their crap anymore."
Well said. Maybe the others here will one day WAKE UP!
Score: 0
|Unfortunately there is no alternative. Since
Apple is for losers.
Score: 0
|Sorry man you got it wrong, it's not Apple, it's Crapple :)
And it's not only losers but also for ignorant morons with no brain but only money!!
Score: 0
|(Ahem) Here's one of Bill Gates' worst ever ideas http://query.nytimes.com...CF93BA3575BC0A961958260
Score: 0
|IMO, all if not most security related software should be freely available.
Score: 0
|Did anyone buy One care?? It was really bad..
Damn microsoft needs to get sued for this!!!!
Giving away free stuff will NEVER fly in the EU.
Score: 0
|man...I didn't know a government that is supposed to support democracy would force people to not give out free stuff.
The whole problem with the EU and MS was the bundling. Since this Morro is not bundled...it is totally legal.
Score: 0
|not a bad move by microsoft, figured this would happen.
Score: 0
|Sounds like they couldn't play with the big boys. One Care sucked.
Score: 0
|No way... I used tons of different programs, free and such... Onecare is great. No system slow down, stops threats on the fly.. I used norton, mcafee, Avast, avg, etc... Onecare crushed them..
Score: 0
|So is it just going to be windows defender or will there be virus protection as well? If its both I can see Mcafee, Kaspersky and Norton foaming at the mouth if MS releases a free alternative to Windows ONE even though there is already free software readily available....
Score: 0
|