Last modified: August 29, 2006 10:23 AM PDT
Chart: Comparing PC care packages
PC care packages side by side
A comparison of the features in Microsoft's Windows Live OneCare and in upcoming products from Symantec and McAfee.
| Windows Live OneCare | Norton 360 | McAfee PC Protection Plus* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antivirus | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anti-spyware | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Firewall | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Backup | Yes, to CDs, DVDs and external hard drives | Yes, to CDs, DVDs, external hard drives and an online backup service. Has not provided details on networked drive support | Yes, to CDs, DVDs, external hard drives, and networked hard drives. McAfee is testing an online backup service |
| PC health and tune-up | Yes, hard-drive defrag. Deletes unnecessary files and checks on security updates | Yes, but no feature details available yet | Yes, hard-drive defrag. Deletes unnecessary files |
| Antiphishing | No | Yes | No |
| Spam filtering | No | No | No |
| ID theft protection | No | Yes | No |
| Safe Web searching | No | No | Yes, McAfee has integrated SiteAdvisor |
| Automatic updates | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Support | Offers e-mail, chat and phone support at no extra cost | Offers at least e-mail and online chat support | Offers e-mail and online chat support, charges for phone support |
| Availability | Now in the U.S., other markets in the coming 12 months | Worldwide by end of March 2007 | Worldwide, released in August |
| Pricing | $49.95 for up to three PCs per year | Not yet announced | Per year: $49.99 (one PC) $69.99 (three PCs) |
* McAfee PC Protection Plus is the version of McAfee's "Falcon"-based products that it says competes with OneCare. Two more comprehensive versions are available, as well as one more basic version.
Source: CNET News.com research
