Windows Live One Care Beta Goes Live Next-Generation Windows Health Tool Available for Download Sean Michael Kerner
Generally speaking, it's not a good idea to run an unprotected Windows PC. But it hasn't always been as easy as it should be. Windows OneCare Live is an effort to make it easier.
After six months of non-public beta testing, Microsoft (Quote, Chart) has opened up its Windows OneCare Live as a widely available public beta.
Windows OneCare Live will be a subscription-based service that provides automated performance tuning, maintenance, anti-spyware, and anti-virus protection. It was first announced in May.
Yoav Schwartz, a lead program manager at Microsoft, explained on the OneCare blog that Windows OneCare Live as been in what Microsoft calls a "managed beta" since this summer.
A major refresh of the service was launched at the end of October. The new
features include the ability to back up to external hard drives, receive Microsoft updates, and automatic scanning of file received via IM. The product also now includes "automated assistance in uninstalling products that conflict with Windows OneCare."
Samantha McManus, business strategy manager for communications for Microsoft, explained that in the earlier phases of the beta testing for the OneCare service, Microsoft worked with several thousand beta testers to get feedback. That feedback has been incorporated into the current beta.
"Our goal with this phase of the beta is to begin to solicit more input from a broader set of consumers," McManus said.
Microsoft is billing the OneCare service as a PC health service, a single stop for fixing all that ails a PC that is fundamentally different from other currently available services. Other vendors like Symantec, McAfee, and Trend Micro, however, all offer various forms of anti-virus, anti-spyware, and PC
maintenance applications as well.
"Windows Live is all about keeping the user at the center of the experience and adapting to the consumer's changing demands," McManus explained. "We are constantly integrating user feedback to improve the Windows OneCare Live experience. Ultimately, final product availability will be determined by this consumer feedback, but we are targeting sometime next year."
