Windows Live OneCare released

Windows Live OneCare released
Three years after announcing its intentions to create its own security products, Microsoft finally unveiled Windows Live OneCare on Thursday. The product is a combination of antivirus, anti-spyware and firewall software and has also got a host of tune-up tools for Windows PCs.

"Windows Live OneCare delivers what millions of consumers have been asking for: one source for top-to-bottom maintenance, support and performance optimization tools plus increased protection that takes the worry out of PC care," Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in a statement.

The service is available in the United States for an annual subscription of $49.95 and covers up to three PCs. Redmond said that it has plans to expand the service to other international markets in the next 12 months. Windows OneCare Live has been in testing for many months now and the final product offers "all-in-one, automatic and self-updating PC care service," according to Microsoft.

Dennis Bonsall, director of the Windows Live OneCare section at Redmond revealed that the decision to integrate all security requirements under one platform was taken after the company conducted surveys to assess the needs of the consumers. "What we heard was that consumers really wanted one comprehensive, all-in-one solution. Today, no one is providing that," he said. "We are creating a new category."

He also defended the approach of Microsoft, which has been criticized by experts who feel that it should not profit from flaws in its own operating system. "It's the Windows team's job to make Windows as resilient as possible," he said. "My challenge is helping folks understand that even with that resilience, you can still do things that aren't advisable."

The release of Windows OneCare Live has not ruffled Symantec and McAfee, who are talking up their own products. Marc Solomon, McAfee's director of product management said that they had lately not concentrated, as much on the security aspect, but that would change now. He touted his firm's own product called Falcon, "There'll be something we call McAfee X-ray for Windows that scans beneath the file system for rootkits and stealth technologies," Solomon said. "Another feature, SystemGuards, will look for specific behaviors, like a Trojan that's trying to change the local HOSTS file, and detect and stop that, or alert the user."