Microsoft today released the latest version of its all-in-one security product, Windows Live OneCare. In beta since July, version 2.0 offers many enhancements of existing tools and offers several new tools, particularly in the area of networking and backup storage.
Installation from the Windows Live OneCare site requires signing with a Windows Live account. Microsoft says you can use your current Live ID or create a new one for OneCare and, if you wish, use one Live ID for Windows Live OneCare and another Live ID for Windows Live Messenger on the same machine. The Live ID you use with Windows Live OneCare will be good on two additional machines. When installing on the addition PCs in your home network, just use the Live ID; there is no need to re-enter the registration key.
We're still not crazy about the Windows Live OneCare interface. It's cold and not very intuitive; then again Microsoft doesn't win many design awards.
What's new? Wireless network security features, including the ability to monitor and tweak your router's settings. A new start-time optimizer, displaying infrequently used applications so you have option of removing them from the Start folder and thus speed up your boot time. You can now configure printer sharing, even install device drivers on network machines so you don't have to move the printer from room to room. And you can now centralize all your individual PC backups to one external drive or one central computer, and a new online photo storage service is offered. There is even a monthly report of all the actions that Windows Live OneCare performed recently.
We haven't yet seen the final code, so we don't have any performance information. Microsoft has come under fire recently for not performing well in several independent antivirus tests (in one, even falling to last place against Symantec and McAfee). It remains to be seen if the recent hires to the anti-malware team are enough to improve the product's ability to block malware. The antispyware protection is top-notch, going beyond the free Microsoft Windows Defender offering found on most Windows XP and Windows Vista machines today.
We expect Windows Live OneCare to be better than the previous versions. Check back to see a full CNET review early in the new year.
Seven months after releasing the final version of Windows Live OneCare 1.5, Microsoft is today offering a Windows Live OneCare 2.0 beta for public testing. The existing Windows Live OnceCare 1.5 release includes sections for Protection Plus (which handles threats and malware), Performance Plus, and Backup and Restore. The new release adds home networking tools to the mix.
Realizing that most home networks have an average of 2.5 computers, a typical OneCare license allows installation on three separate PCs. OneCare 2.0 adds the ability to monitor the security of two additional PCs from one network hub. In addition, OneCare 2.0 helps set up printer sharing among the connected OneCare protected PCs. Also new is network layer protection in the Windows Firewall, sensing settings appropriate for the home environment and then changing those settings when you take your laptop out to a public network. OneCare 2.0 includes a network wizard to help you set up and maintain security on a wireless home network. If your router is one supported by OneCare, you can enable encryption on any of your connected PCs through OneCare.
Enhancements to PC performance include the ability for OneCare to clear a jammed print job from the print queue, repair a compromised IE host file from outside changes, or enable System Restore if that feature has been disabled. There's also a Start Time Optimizer which looks at applications in your Start folder and determines which applications, based on usage, you can safely remove.
Enhancements to OneCare's backup include centralized backup to one of the networked computers in your home. Microsoft is currently testing online backup via its Live.com service. First up will be the ability to store online digital photos. Unlike Norton 360, Microsoft's service will not be free, and the exact storage volume available has not been set. Other changes in OneCare 2.0 include a monthly report of all OneCare activity and 64-bit compatibility.
Anyone interested in trying the new version of Windows Live OneCare can sign up here.
After finishing dead last in a comparative antivirus test,
That's until you look closer at the tests. AV-Comparatives performed two different tests, months apart, alternating between real-time detection and on-demand detection. The two tests are not the same. With real-time detection, a fully updated version of the antivirus product is exposed to a list of viruses (and their variants) currently in the wild. This is the test that OneCare failed back in February. On-demand tests use a smaller collection of viruses, usually viruses received since a predetermined freeze on signature file updates from the vendor. The idea here is to see if older signature files can detect newer malware. On this, the Microsoft AV product scored slightly higher in the latest (May 2007) results. We'll have to wait until the next real-time test to see if OneCare has improved or not. The FAQ section of the AV-compartives site provides more information on the testing process.
A blog on the McAfee site also goes into greater detail on this. Among the points made by McAfee researcher Joe Telafici is that results for proactive tests might vary because of distribution size (i.e. larger vendors will have to be more cautious with their heuristics than a smaller company in order to avoid false positives) and that with the on-demand test the signatures are frozen months beforehand, whereas a user who is only two days out of sync with the latest update will experience much better results. Telafici also includes several McAfee-authored essays on antivirus testing in his blog:
Comparing the comparatives
Counting spyware detections
Antivirus testing workshop in Reykjavik
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