14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft quietly introduced an upgrade to Windows Live OneCare. Made available concomitantly with Windows Vista at the end of January 2007, OneCare represents Microsoft's baby steps into the security industry. And while going head to head against house-hold names such as Symantec, McAfee, Sophos and Kaspersky, the Redmond Company has not had an easy ride. In fact, from the get go, its presence and future impact on the security market was downplayed by the old anti-virus wolves.
Kaspersky predicted a mediocre performance for Windows Live OneCare based on the "in-security" that is traditionally associated with all Microsoft products. And Symantec was not far behind the Russian security developer stating that a single vendor providing both the operating system and security solutions generates a conflict of interest.
OneCare did indeed live up to the modest expectations set up for it. Following the January 2007 launch, Version 1.5 underperformed in a couple of tests, including VB100 and AV Comparatives. The VB 100 test pointed out the faults OneCare delivered on Windows Vista. Still, Microsoft is determined to send out the signal that it is on the security market to stay, and also committed to the long run.
In mid May, the Redmond Company announced that OneCare had been reloaded. West Coast Labs and the ICSA, "the top independent certification authorities in the security industry" according to Microsoft, re-certified OneCare. Additionally, the company is now offering an upgrade of the security solution.
Windows Live OneCare version 1.6 is already available for download and will be served as an update to all existing users of OneCare 1.5 over the coming weeks. OneCare 1.6 brings to the table a few enhancements mostly under the hood, but also increases firewall management and reporting. However, as of yet, Microsoft does not yet offer support for the 64-bit editions of Windows Vista and Windows XP.
"Sophos welcomes Microsoft's role as a responsible newcomer to the anti-virus market. The launch of the consumer product Microsoft OneCare highlighted the need for *real* protection amongst many home users who have been traditionally poorly protected. I don't think it would be appropriate for us (as a competitor) to comment on the quality of Microsoft's security protection products. After all, you would expect us to say that they were inferior wouldn't you! So that's not very helpful to people," recently commented Graham Cluley, Senior Technology Consultant at Sophos for Softpedia.