Microsoft has managed to score its first points in the security industry with Windows Live OneCare. Microsoft's latest operating system has received the second VB100 award in its short life. But so far the awards delivered by Virus Bulletin have been a negative vote on the performances of Windows Live OneCare, especially when Microsoft's antivirus needed all the support it could get. In February 2007, OneCare failed to detect all the malware samples thrown against it on Windows Vista. But in June, OneCare repeated the good performances from 2006 on Windows XP.

"We're pleased to report that Windows Live OneCare just received the VB100 award from Virus Bulletin. This award comes on the heels of OneCare's recent re-certification from West Coast Labs and the ICSA Labs. Together, these accolades are a strong endorsement of OneCare's powerful anti-malware tools and mean that OneCare protects customers from known threats on the market today. We'll continue our ongoing work to keep PCs safe and secure. In the meantime, we're honored that top testing bodies endorse the powerful protection that OneCare provides as a part of an all-in-one PC care offering," revealed a member of the Windows Live Onecare team.

Not only has Microsoft been awarded VB100, but also outperformed rival security solution from Kaspersky. Kaspersky Anti-Virus 6.0.2.621 on Windows XP failed to get the VB100 award, while direct competitors from Symantec, McAfee and Sophos had no problems through the tests. Kaspersky, a household name in the security industry, has downplayed Microsoft's first steps on the security market on more than one occasion. While this success is a confirmation for Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft has a long way until it will reach a standard similar to that of the Russian security developer. However, Kaspersky's failure to achieve the VB100 award comes to show that there is sufficient room for oscillation on the security market, and that Microsoft could benefit from enough elbow space to get out of its niche.