Microsoft is cooking a free security solution, designed to integrate seamlessly with Windows 7, as well as with Windows Vista RTM/SP1/SP2 and Windows XP SP3. Advertised as a no-cost consumer security offering, code-named “Morro” is set up to be much more than a simple antivirus, also offering protection against spyware, rootkits and Trojan horses, according to the software giant. However, the Redmond company emphasized that the streamlined solution would be focused on nothing more than offering core anti-malware protection. Code-named “Morro” is expected to be made available in the second half of 2009, just in time for Windows 7, whose RTM is reportedly planned for mid-2009, and for the second Service Pack for Windows Vista.

“Customers around the world have told us that they need comprehensive, ongoing protection from new and existing threats, and we take that concern seriously,” revealed Amy Barzdukas, senior director of product management for the Online Services and Windows Division at Microsoft. “This new, no-cost offering will give us the ability to protect an even greater number of consumers, especially in markets where the growth of new PC purchases is outpaced only by the growth of malware.”

The introduction of code-name “Morro” will be synonymous with the death of Windows Live OneCare. Microsoft informed that sales of the Windows Live OneCare subscription service would be discontinued completely, come June 30, 2009. In this context, code-name “Morro” would be made available as a free offering, designed to replace Windows Live OneCare. Microsoft argued the need for “Morro” in the context of the increasing need for computer security in emerging markets, that of smaller PC form factors, but also of the continued growth of malware incidence.

Code-name “Morro” is slated to be architected on a smaller footprint, coming to the table optimized to consume as little hardware resources as possible. Still, “Morro” is nothing more than the successor of Windows Live OneCare. The upcoming free security solution from Microsoft will be based on the same malware protection engine as Windows Live OneCare. The focus on core anti-malware protection means that “Morro” will not be offered packaged as a security suite with additional non-security features.

“Because uptake of standard anti-malware is low around the world, particularly in developing nations, the availability of basic protection for anyone who wants it is all the more important,” added Roger Kay, founder and president of Endpoint Technologies Associates. “By offering such basic protection at no charge to the consumer, Microsoft is promoting a safer environment for PCs, service providers and e-commerce itself, since it is through unprotected PCs that the worst threats are introduced to the system as a whole.”