The past month Microsoft announced a major shift in its anti-malware strategy. As a direct consequence, the Redmond company will kill Windows Live OneCare and replace it with a free security solution codenamed Morro.

Following the news that OneCare is heading straight for an early grave, critics indicated that Microsoft's decision was catalyzed by the all-in-one security solution, distributed under the Windows Live brand umbrella to gain sufficient traction with consumers and a consistent market share. The software giant dismissed such a scenario, and emphasized that in no way was Windows Live OneCare a failure just because it would be replaced by Morro.

“I know that there was a lot of fuzz on the Internet, that we do this because we failed etc. This is nonsense. OneCare is a great product, and the AV engine in there is world-class, getting different certifications like VB100 and West Coast Labs since quite a while. It will be the same engine as we run in Forefront Client Security – as I said: a world-class engine,” stated Roger Halbheer, chief security advisor for Microsoft Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

At the end of June 2009, Microsoft will discontinue the retail availability of OneCare subscriptions. By that time the company plans to start serving a free security solution focused on core anti-malware capabilities. Codename Morro is a product designed especially for home users running various versions of the Windows client, including Windows 7, Windows Vista (with Service Pack 2) and Windows XP SP3. Under the Forefront brand, OneCare will continue to be available for business users.

“Unfortunately, [running an anti-malware software and keeping it up to date] is often not followed, because people do not want, or can not afford to pay for anti-malware protection. In order to increase trust in the Internet, something has to change to secure the ecosystem – therefore we offer core anti-malware solution at no cost in the future,” Halbheer explained.