When was the last time you updated your antivirus? Do you have a firewall installed on your PC? When was the last time you scanned your PC for spyware?
If you don't have answers to all these questions, then Microsof is ready to help you.

Considering that 70% of the PC users don't concern themselves with PC maintenance (or at least that's what a study carried out by Microsoft says), the company from Redmond has decided to launch Windows OneCare, a service that updates the antivirus, applies security patches, maintains your hard disk and can help users periodically back-up their files.

Windows OneCare will even offer the possibility of backing up files on Microsoft's servers, another step towards Apple which is already offering this feature.

In other words, Microsoft will compete with Norton System Works from Symantec and with similar solutions from McAfee and Computer Associates.

The anti-virus and anti-spyware technologies included by Windows OneCare are derived from the RAV product bought by Microsoft from GeCAD Romania in 2003.

Windows OneCare will also offer 24h/24h phone or online technical support.

And since nothing is free, Windows OneCare will also have a price, but Microsoft didn't specify it. Similar solutions offered by other companies can be purchased for sums ranging between 60 and 90 dollars, so it's likely that Windows OneCare's price will be in that range.

Currently, Windows OneCare is being tested by Microsoft employees and it's estimated that during summer, the application will be tried by 25,000 persons. Microsoft wants to release the service, which is intended only for Windows XP Service Pack 2, in January 2006.