Maybe, just maybe, Microsoft gets it. I've recently installed OneCare Live...let's see what it can do. Please note, this should be considered preliminary, I will be taking it for a more in depth test drive later

Let me start by stating this: Windows "Live" is nothing more than an excuse for Microsoft to deliver "safe" targeted adware. No, I am not kidding. This will provide them with the chance to force you to see targeted advertising when and how they want you to.

But let's not dwell on that.

Across the board, Live is also an excuse to ween people off of google by integrating just about everything on your machine (from searches, messaging, anti-virus, the list goes on) into their web portal. The technology is pretty exciting.

I have no intentions of using it. Ever.

However...there is this OneCare Live. Basically it promises to provide a really lightweight low user interaction software firewall / antivirus. Not having any type of anti-virus solution in place (for years...I don't believe in them for me), I figured...what the hell. It's free.

Oh? Didn't I mention that. All of the Microsoft Live services are currently free (as in beta).

The process was fairly painful, sign in with your bogus passport information (we all have one...), fire up IE (damned ActiveX), and downloading Microsoft OneCare. Reboot...and this is what you get:


Two things of note:

Since it is beta, the purchase now doesn't work...and there is a chance that once it is formally release you may not have to buy the software at all...once a trial period is over it may become subsidied by Ads (this seems to be the MS Live strategy)

Performance Plus

Performance Plus system Tune Up is the part I am most curious about. The firewall works well, but there is nothing impressive there. Antivirus? Ditto. But the promise of the system tune up is intriguing. Let's look closer:

The default install of OneCare comes with tune ups scheduled once every two weeks on Saturday at 1:00am. During this time it will:

• Remove unnecessary files from your computer (this is disabled by default
• Defragment your hard disk
• Check your computer for viruses
• Check your computer for files needing backup
• Check for missing updates from Microsoft

That's right. Defrag. Most people seemed to have forgotten about this after switching to XP, and while admittedly it's not as important as it was on say, FAT32, it's still nice to see that this is part of the tune up. I will say this as well: It's fast. Anyone who recalls the dreaded Windows 98 "Defrag to 10% then hang" that took hours if not days to finish, assuming it actually would, will appreciate this.

The firewall.

All in all I find it difficult to get excited over something like a firewall, but let's run through it quickly.

First off, this is a definite improvement over both iterations of the XP firewall, no contest. Initial use proved easy (it worked out of the box, so to speak). But here is the thing about firewalls, especially this type. As anyone who has worked in tech support can tell you, firewalls can be the bane of your existance. Users install them (sometimes without realizing it) and then all hell breaks loose. Users open an application, are presented with an annoying pop-up with small text, click the affirmative (or worse, the default negative), and all of the sudden IM stops working.

Microsoft doesn't improve on this really at all. Of the applications I initially launched, GAIM was the only app that it recognized and made a default rule for (with no intervention, just a notification). However, Firefox and XChat both has to be "allowed". While personally I am ok with this...I can just feel the swell of tech support calls coming in. Otherwise, Firewall works. better than nothing for most people. 'Nuff Said.

At some point this weekend I will be trying to break this, as well as tossing a bunch of malware at it to see what happens. Who knows, maybe something will stick.

Preliminary Verdict Cool free tech, Microsoft is doing a lot of things right here. They are generating buzz by providing a slick public beta, (hopefully) getting user feedback to make a better product, and acknowledging that windows needs maintenance, more than just rebooting every few days. Downsides are a lackluster firewall, no power user settings (it's been over simplfied, for better or worse), and potential subscription/ad model.

The Call? Download it and try it out, just don't expect it to last forever.