morro

The successor to Microsoft Live OneCare, Security Essentials (full review here) takes a different approach to securing your computer. The program is free with core security features intact, but abandons the additional heft of a firewall, performance tuning, and backup and restore options. Under a clean and uncluttered interface, Security Essentials wraps antivirus and antispyware engines, rootkit protection, and real-time detection courtesy of Microsoft SpyNet, the unfortunately named cloud-based service that compares file behavior across computers.

There are four tabs, each with a concise, understandable label: Home, Update, History, and Settings. From Home you can run a Quick Scan, Full … Read more

Microsoft plans to release the final version of its free antivirus software soon, according to a note sent to testers late Sunday.

"The final version of Microsoft Security Essentials will be released to the public in the coming weeks," Microsoft said in the note.

Microsoft first announced its plans for the product, then code-named Morro, last November, at the same time the company said it was scrapping its paid Windows Live OneCare product.

Public beta testing of Security Essentials started in June, with Microsoft reaching its goal of 75,000 testers just one day after it issued a call … Read more

The public beta for Microsoft Security Essentials, the free replacement for Live OneCare, is now closed, but that doesn't mean you've missed your chance to see what it's like.

In this First Look video, we look at the new interface, the new features, and the new limitations of the latest free antivirus to enter the market. Should AVG and Avira be scared? Watch and find out.

Well, that didn't take long.

A day after making available a free beta of its Microsoft Security Essentials software, Microsoft has stopped offering new downloads, saying it has reached the number of participants it was looking for, at least here in the U.S. The software maker had said it was only looking to initially have about 75,000 downloads of the product, formerly code-named Morro.

"Thank you for your interest in joining the Microsoft Security Essentials Beta. We are not accepting additional participants at this time," Microsoft said in a posting on its Web site. "… Read more

Updated June 25 at 12:50 p.m. PDT: Several commenters pointed out a secondary scanning process that runs while a scan is running. While Microsoft Security Essentials uses little memory when not scanning, during a second round of tests it used 60MB to 70MB of RAM, while consuming around 200MB of Virtual Memory.

Updated June 24 at 11:30 a.m. PDT: The 75,000 available slots for testing Security Essentials have been taken. There is no word at the moment whether Microsoft will allow more testers to download the public beta in the future.

Microsoft on Tuesday released … Read more

Updated Wednesday with Microsoft comment.

A Windows enthusiast blog on Tuesday posted what it says are leaked screenshots of Microsoft's upcoming free security software, code-named "Morro," which is due for public beta release soon.

The Neowin.net blog has three screenshots that it says it obtained from an anonymous source. The software is reportedly being tested internally at Microsoft.

Meanwhile, CNET News' sister site ZDNet is reporting that Morro will be almost entirely cloud-based.

"Instead of scanning every file or network packet as they arrive into the computer from the Web or an external device, it … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Microsoft's operating systems are still vulnerable to attacks, but more often than not it's older versions that are taking the big hits.

That was the message from Scott Charney, corporate vice president in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group, when he sat down with me on Tuesday. We chatted about the latest threats, including Conficker. The much-maligned Windows Vista, he noted, wasn't hit in the way that older versions of the operating system were.

"Some of those widespread exploits take advantage of older platforms," Charney said in an interview, following his keynote speech at the … Read more

Microsoft shocked the security industry on Tuesday by announcing that it will stop selling its consumer-focused Microsoft OneCare security software. Instead, Microsoft said that it will offer a new free alternative dubbed "Morro" in mid-2009. What does this sudden change in direction mean?

1. Microsoft is cutting its losses After two years of hawking OneCare, the company barely made a blip in consumer security market share and was probably bleeding red ink. It is cheaper to give away Morro than to package, distribute, and promote OneCare.

2. There's a reason to remain in the market So why … Read more

Updated at 1:15 p.m. PST Wednesday with comment from Symantec and at 11:45 a.m. PST Thursday with comments from McAfee and Kaspersky.

For some security companies, Microsoft's decision to offer a free anti-malware product, code-named Morro, won't result in a dramatic change in how they do business.

Morro will be available in the second half of 2009 and will protect against viruses, spyware, rootkits, and Trojans, according to Microsoft.

"With OneCare's market share of less than 2 percent, we understand Microsoft's decision to shift attention to their core business," Joris … Read more