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I hope it works, is quiet, and lite to the system. I have been using AVG free on all my computers and I've never had a problem. With windows 7 and vista I gone months with out having an anti-virus. I am sorry to say that over my long history with computers I have learn to stay away from norton/mcafee. They just slow down your computer and I been infected when they where on watch.

Don't worry AVG I will continue to support you as long as you keep it up, but please stop telling me when you update or clean a file. Bother me only when you can't clean a virus.

Does soon mean in a week or like (Dish network) soon?

Windows, now with free virus! (C) Ballmer

is there anyone who pays for a Virus software?

No, you usually download virus from *** sites and/or spam email for free

"Windows, now with free virus! (C) Ballmer"

No. It's an anti-virus actually. And it won't come with Windows because that will result in another investigation by the EC.

I still use Windows Live OneCare and like it a lot. Since this is the Morro product that is supposed to be replacing that, its not really un-expected, except that someone at Microsoft must have talked to a reporter out of turn...I wish that they would keep OneCare, though...because it provides so much more...at least to me.

--tayme

Gosh... is that really going to make a difference?

BTW, word of warning, for those using free antivirus from AVG, Avira or Avast, please use another scanner to chek your system regularly. I noticed certain malwares would slip pass and stay dormant in these systems.

sweet, this is further proof that Paul's WinSuperShilling nets him inside information.  Can't derail that gravy train...  and he's right not to, Microsoft is notoriously vindictive to boat rockers.  They're almost as relentless as Paul is himself when he's in attack dog mode.  Good stuff.

I'm still using OneCare. I was hoping for Microsoft to release its free anti-virus software before, or shortly after, my OneCare subscription had to be renewed earlier this year.

I know Paul has said in his reviews that he only uses free AVG with Vista's firewall (and something else). I might go that route with "Morro".

I haven't had a virus in a long time. If a Windows user now gets a virus, it's because of poor Web surfing practices.

@tayme - RE: Cont. support of OneCare.

I second that. I would use OneCare in Windows 7 but Microsoft has said OC won't be supported  in Win7

One Care is nice, so hopefully this successor is similar.

DarkSages, I gotta say that I have the same feelings and experiences as your post, for what it's worth. It's good to know that it's just not me.

Thanks,

Doc

I agree, I liked the latest version of OneCare as well

This anti-virus will most likely be Onecare with all the features (i.e. backup and firewall) stripped out except basic virus scanning.

I must say, I LOVE how MS has pulled this off.  Windows comes with a nice firewall already.  You have Windows defender for malware.  And now a free anti-virus.

So you pretty much have EVERYTHING for free provided by MS that you otherwise would have to pay for from Sin-moron-tech and and Mc-frack-thee.  

NICE!!

JamesNT

How about Microsoft Money? I just read on News.com that Microsoft is going to stop selling it on it's website and stop support by 2011. Things seem to hoping in Redmond...

One last question for Paul... Did you ever review the MS OneCare.. and if so, was it as good as AVG?

I can't wait. If you have good internet/email habits you hardly need anything but a free AV. I'm using free Avast right now, and I'm looking forward to switching to something a little more reputable.

Also, I think this will stop some of Apple's constant criticism of Windows security. But then again, Apple is Apple and they'll probably make up security issues to criticize once this is released.

"Did you ever review the MS OneCare"

10 seconds of research...

www.winsupersite.com/.../wloc2.asp

I did review OneCare a few times. Long story short:

- Effective anti-malware.

- Excellent tools.

- A bit slow

- Really annoying notifications, just too much

Overall, "good"

"I wish that they would keep OneCare, though...because it provides so much more...at least to me."

It does on XP for sure.  On Vista, not so much, but it at least consolidates features that Vista has, and makes it easier to access those features.

On Windows 7, Action Center basically is OneCare, sans antivirus, so Morro will just plug into it.

FYI:  Microsoft always announced that the free antivirus codename Morro will be available when they discontinue retail sales of OneCare.  That date was supposed to be something like the end of July.  It was also said that Morro is NOT based off the current FCS agent.  Instead, it'll be based off the new, more heavily optimized agent that is included in the FCS component of Forefront "Stirling".  That's also why it's not ready yet - neither is Stirling.

Also, a quick question to the OEM System Builder group gave a response "Partners will receive more information near the end of June".

"I was hoping for Microsoft to release its free anti-virus software before, or shortly after, my OneCare subscription had to be renewed earlier this year."

Really?  I know people that ended up getting emails from the OneCare team (in Canada at least) where they said they were extending their soon-to-be-expiring OneCare subscriptions for another 6 months.  That seems to have started about a month ago.

"BTW, word of warning, for those using free antivirus from AVG, Avira or Avast, please use another scanner to chek your system regularly. I noticed certain malwares would slip pass and stay dormant in these systems."

OneCare has continually been improved on since they received a low score on AV-Comparatives.  It only had a bad review once, but AVG and Avast used to be up there near the top slots.  Avast is still pretty good, but AVG is now very low in scores.

"This anti-virus will most likely be Onecare with all the features (i.e. backup and firewall) stripped out except basic virus scanning.  I must say, I LOVE how MS has pulled this off.  Windows comes with a nice firewall already.  You have Windows defender for malware.  And now a free anti-virus."

Morro is being developed by the Forefront Client Security (FCS) team.  FCS (the client agent program that runs on desktops anyway) looks like Windows Defender and has practically the same feature set.  It has the same scanning engine technology too.  The only difference is that Defender only scans for spyware/adware, whereas FCS adds in support for Microsoft's AV scanning definitions as well.

FCS is designed to be deployed to multiple computers and have monitoring and extra enterprise-level features implemented (it requires a VERY powerful back-end SQL Server-based system for data consolidation and reporting).

I've said it before and I'll say it again:  I hope the FCS team just take the client agent and makes an easy to use installer for it.  Rebranding the FCS agent and creating an installer that automatically installs it in unmanaged mode is all they really have to do to come up with Morro.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's what Morro turns out to be, and I would welcome it.  Defender works, and so does FCS.  Baseing Morro off of an identical code package would make very good sense.

"Bother me only when you can't clean a virus."

I'd like to know that viruses are actually getting into my system.  That's usually a result of an unpatched operating system (worms), or bad internet habits (everything else).

"I second that. I would use OneCare in Windows 7 but Microsoft has said OC won't be supported  in Win7"

You won't need it in 7.

Action Center has all the capabilities of OneCare except for antivirus.  Just load Morro on 7 to take care of that last remaining missing option.

Wow! I was thinking about this today and when it would come up again...

I like this part because it makes me laugh:

"Microsoft's free product is basically a stripped down version of the OneCare product Microsoft pulled from the shelves," said Symantec Consumer division president Janice Chaffin. "A full Internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected."

So why does Symantec offer a stripped down version of Norton 360, aka Norton Internet Security, or Norton Antivirus then?

Does that mean that gamers are left in the lurch too, since they don't make a "Norton 360 Gaming Edition" like they do for Norton AV?

@wildscribe: "How about Microsoft Money?"

Todd Bishop talks about it a little bit here:

www.techflash.com/.../Why_Microsoft_is_dumping_Money_47539952.html

"Microsoft has been tightening its belt in the face of the difficult economy, and Money is just the latest product to be cut by the Redmond company."

Is Office Accounting also being discontinued?

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@Weathorn - RE: Email from OneCare team - I did get an email from OneCare but that was just a generic/automated email about my subscription about to be automatically renewed. This was in Feb. '09, a month before the actual renewal.

RE: Windows 7's Action Center - Nice! Thanks for the heads up.

One thing that I won't miss from OneCare is its backup and restore feature. It's okay but I wish it had better options, such as restoring full folders. Click on 100 checkboxes to restores files was a pain! Now I use Nero to backup folders instead of individual files.

"One thing that I won't miss from OneCare is its backup and restore feature. It's okay but I wish it had better options, such as restoring full folders."

Use the restore search option and just give it the name of the folder.

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I use AVG.  No complaints here.  I know, I know...it does X.

What can I say...it and www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

have kept me safe for a long while now.

Hey Paul --- they like you:  episteme.arstechnica.com/.../439008498931

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I'm looking forward to this, not so much for myself, but for average users. I currently use the Forefront Client in a standalone environment and I've been extremely satisfied with it. If Morro is even remotely comparable it will be a great asset to the Windows community.

Ocean, don't be a d!ck!

"So this puts me in an awkward spot. I can't really discuss this too much further at the moment"

What exactly are you holding back?  We have all known that onecare is dead and a slimmed down version is coming for free.  Not to mention AV software is boring with a B, as far as software is concerned, and no kind of announcement would make it exciting.

Free AV software from MS should have been a given all this time.

Dont get me wrong I know an OS is a very complicated thing, but it just always seemed ironic that MS would charge for onecare.

Shouldn't the OS just stop viruses from attacking it? Oh no, wait. This is Windows you're talking about. You're plagued with viruses and spyware, so you HAVE to run anti-virus software to protect you. To also slow down your machine.

Something OS X users don't have to worry about. Another reason why OS X is so superior to Windows.

@Ocean wow that was telling.  The "___goblin" comment was funny:)  Shark you a family member of Paul or something?

"What exactly are you holding back?"

The question is, what is Microsoft holding back on?  There hasn't been any kind of announcement to partners yet, which I find frustrating with a capital F.  A screenshot or deployment whitepaper would at least be something that I would expect by now - especially if they're keeping to their schedule of having it ready when OneCare retail sales are discontinued at the end of July.  You (and Microsoft) have to realize that partners want early access to some of this information, because they want to be able to preload this software on new systems on the day of launch.

I think it's kind of silly to hold off on information on this.  Partners can get access to information before the general public, and information on the partner websites are given out under NDA status unless Microsoft has already gone public with it, so it doesn't make much sense to hold back.

It's also the same frustrating reason why Microsoft has said that the Windows 7 deployment kits (for businesses and OEM's) won't be in release form until AFTER general availability.

....I mean, WHAAAAT?!

"Shouldn't the OS just stop viruses from attacking it?"

Something that OS X certainly doesn't do.

"Something OS X users don't have to worry about."

Ya, cuz OS X can't even get NEGATIVE attention.  If anybody cared, they might find that sad, but meh....

@Waethorn: Thanks for the tip! I'm going to try it next month during the next scheduled tune up.

Another thing that I hope MS learned from OneCare is how it handles notifications. In OneCare, if you don't run Tune-up for more than 5 weeks, you get a warning saying that the status is "Fair". I think that should change to something less alarming. Say, just pop-up a balloon (OneCare is/was infamous for its balloon popups) letting the user know that Tune-up hasn't run in x-days/weeks (I have Tune-up set to run every 4 weeks).

"Free AV software from MS should have been a given all this time.

Dont get me wrong I know an OS is a very complicated thing, but it just always seemed ironic that MS would charge for onecare."

Maybe you should read some of the other comments here. OneCare was more than just an anti-virus.

"@Ocean wow that was telling.  The "___goblin" comment was funny:)  Shark you a family member of Paul or something?"

Nope. Not even close. Are you a family member of lindy's?

OneCare was a good idea, badly done. (Does the fact that the central backup disk on this machine was offline when the other machine wanted to back up really mean an un-clearable yellow state is called for on this machine--even after the backup does run?)

I'm only on 7 now, so OneCare is behind me (but not yet expired). Avast! for now, whilst awaiting Morro. Actually, the laptop is naked now (and this machine was until last week).

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One Care was faster than Avast on my $399 Vista laptop and custom XP box, and had much less annoying notifications. I would give it a higher mark than just good. It found and deleted the Virtumonde trojans on my XP, when fully updated VG and McAfee didn't even find it [even though they claimed to do so on their websites]!!!! I'd give One Care least three Paul heads:)

@techfan - "One thing that I won't miss from OneCare is its backup and restore feature."

Plus, it locks you out of the backup directories and you have to force it to give you permission back. That is actually my biggest complaint about OneCare.

--tayme

arstechnica.com/.../av-comparatives-may-2009-report-three-winners.ars

Microsoft has made dramatic improvement in A/V according the latest A/V Comparitives report. OneCare used to always be rated low IIRC.

I just thought of something again...does anyone else notice that a lot of "leaks" are coming out of Redmond lately? Is Microsoft doing that on purpose to build anticipation? Ya gotta wonder.

--tayme

@tayme: I haven't had that happen to be (yet), but one really annoying thing was that OneCare wouldn't recognize previous bloody backup DVDs! I ended up throwing away a few DVDs because OneCare wouldn't recognize them and say to insert the previous backup DVD.

That was one of the reasons why I stopped using the Backup feature.

I tried One Care when it first came out on mt old XP desktop I wasn't impressed. I'm happy with Avira right now it works on Windows 7 both 64 and X86, its lightweight and effective. I choose Malwarebytes for anti-spyware i'ts used a lot by computer techs for cleanup and very lightweight and fast and integrates well with Avira or NOD32 which I think is the best paid AV out there.

@tayme

I've been thinking the same lately, the leaks seem to be more common than before, and tell me MS is very confident of their products these days

@techfan

I agree about the backup from one care I had a similar experience.

The backup available with Vista and I assume 7 works great, it saved my bacon more than once and is all many people need. Just schedule to backup as often as you need and it does it all. Restoring your data after you install  your apps works seem less.

As a former Program Manager on the OneCare 1.0 team, it's really great to see the people who love the product.

Thanks.

One thing I'd like to see is customizability and full control over settings i.e.fine tuning the AV. Compared to the configurability we have in Norton 2009 or Kaspersky, OneCare was really a sad joke and why I stayed away from it. But Microsoft is known for their dumbing down of products so I'm not really expecting anything good. Their protection might be good but of no use to me if I can't setup the stupid AV as I want like I can do with just about any other AV/security suite on the market.

And I expect some Vista/Windows 7 features to show XP users the thumb.

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"Shouldn't the OS just stop viruses from attacking it?"

It does generally.  However, when users open the door and let them in, the OS can't really protect itself.

Case in point:

blogs.paretologic.com/.../mac-malware-is-more-popular

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"In OneCare, if you don't run Tune-up for more than 5 weeks, you get a warning saying that the status is "Fair". I think that should change to something less alarming."

If a utility that you scheduled to run every 4 weeks doesn't have a chance to run general maintenance on your machine, wouldn't you say that your system is missing something that it needs, and not having it done would lead to detrimental performance?

I mean, if you don't change the oil in your car and the "Change oil" light comes on, how long would you leave it like that before you actually do something to rectify the problem and get rid of the warning that says that you haven't completed it?

"Does the fact that the central backup disk on this machine was offline when the other machine wanted to back up really mean an un-clearable yellow state is called for on this machine--even after the backup does run?"

The hub PC (the one the central backup device is connected to) gives you overall status for your OneCare circle.  The PC status in OneCare may show green, but the OneCare Circle status will be yellow, and it will show that way in the system tray - BECAUSE it's the hub, and so that you can monitor your circle.  It's just like how SBS status will show red for security if any of your PC's on your network aren't secure.  If you don't want your hub PC to indicate the status of your OneCare circle, don't make it the hub PC - it's designed to work that way for your benefit.

"NOD32 which I think is the best paid AV out there"

It's been slipping on AV-Comparatives.  People only remember AV-Comparatives because OneCare reviewed poorly compared to the others, and NOD32 was top on the list at the time (it's the same reason why Leo always mentions it on TWiT).  If it weren't for AV-Comparatives, NOD32 wouldn't be considered "good" and OneCare wouldn't be considered "bad" (even though it wasn't really - it's a comparative test using samples).

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* Microsoft getting ready to unveil free anti-virus service * Software maker says will soon put beta

In other news,

Palm (run by ex-apple guy) introduces completely new, built from the ground up in 2 years, smartphone that without question is the first real iPhone competitor.

And what does Paul have to say?  First, multiple days of silence.

Then, he issues a review of a windows mobile Palm!!!!  That has got to be the most hilarious thing Paul has done in recent memory.  I mean, who the f** cares about Palm's windows mobile products.  NOBODY.  Just look at all the press on the Pre.  Paul, sorry to break the news to you, but neither Palm nor the public cares one whit about windows mobile at this stage, for good reason.  

Windows mobile is part of the reason Palm drove itself into the ground, before being taken over by an ex-apple guy.  Apparently apple guys are the only ones who can produce a smart phone anybody in the general public wants (and general public doesn't include IT guys and Android geeks, sorry).

Obviously, it's painful for Paul to have to see what's happened with the Pre.  He's naturally desperate for MS to come out with something, anything that remotely approaches the Iphone.  But who does it first - ex-apple guys at Palm (ditching windows mobile).  I can understand the pain, Paul.  Really I can.

@whiplash55: I'm going to first try 7's backup and if it's good enough for what I need, I stick with it. I just need simple folder, and occasional single/multiple file backups.

@Waethorn: I see your point but I do find the "You're computer might be at risk" (IIRC, I think that's the warning) might be a bit too dramatic, especially for those that know the machine isn't at risk because the tune-up hasn't run.

I think it should know that the computer is up to date (mine always is), no viruses are in the machine. It's just the tune-up hasn't run.

The first time I saw that yellow  warning, I thought some bad had gotten in.

"The first time I saw that yellow  warning, I thought some bad had gotten in."

Nope.  That's why it's yellow.  Status is Fair, meaning you're secure, just that a maintenance task couldn't run for whatever reason.

If you have an infection, you'll get a popup right away as soon as the active scanner detects it.  If it's some other security problem, such as a disabled firewall or whatever, OneCare will just go into Critical (red) status and tell you that you need to open the program to get more information.

cesjr, did you actually read the review?  

"Microsoft's built-in software reads like a who's-who's list of obsolete relics from another era. Internet Explorer 6 Mobile. Outlook Mobile. An Explorer dating back to the first version of Windows CE, from 13 years ago. It's in bad need of a makeover. A do-over. Something."

That doesn't read very positive to me.

And you do realize that Paul doesn't only cover consumer oriented devices and software, but does cover IT related ventures that you eschew as meaningless, when they are indeed to the target audience that Paul speaks to?

Sounds like you just want to complain about Paul.

FWIW, I have no interest in WM, and the selection of phones, except for these new Centros and some HTC devices, are poor.  However, I am very interested in the Pre and other WebOS devices that will come to Sprint and other carriers.

"Internet Explorer 6 Mobile"

Actually, it's not "IE6 Mobile" because that's in WM6.5.  It's just "IE Mobile".

IE Mobile works fine for sites designed for mobile use too.  Mobile sites are growing more and more, what with people dissatisfied with the capabilities of small-screen phones.  Even with Safari, there are a quickly growing number of "iPhone-optimized" websites being made available.  That begs the question:  if Apple was marketing that the internet on the iPhone is supposed to be stellar as it is, why "optimize" pages for it?

"I have no interest in WM"

Looked at the Zune HD lately?

Feed: LiveSide - Windows Live news and interviews Posted on: Thursday, June 11, 2009 5:03 AM Author:

@Waethorn: Well, you know, by nature humans are a visual animal/being, so when one sees a yellow status icon, it can be inpertreded as something bad, especially since "green" is the ideal status.

I think it would be better if it stayed "green" but imformed the user that tune-up hadn't run in a while.

The good thing is that I have never been in "red" state. Well, not by my own browsing practices. There was that infamous false-positive of Gmail.

"by nature humans are a visual animal/being, so when one sees a yellow status icon, it can be inpertreded as something bad"

It's cautionary, not critical.  I don't know anybody (besides you) that would confuse the two.

It's the same as street lights.  You don't have to stop on a yellow if you can't.

"I think it would be better if it stayed "green" but imformed the user that tune-up hadn't run in a while."

Because if it was green, everything was working and running as scheduled.  It wasn't, so it isn't.

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