Killing OneCare and Calling It a Success
We've covered (and lamented) OneCare quite a bit. For one, we were concerned
that
OneCare
competed directly with McAfee, Symantec, Sophos and Sunbelt. These companies
all built anti-virus/anti-malware software that saved Windows from a viral meltdown.
Their reward? Having Microsoft compete with them directly, and even denigrate
partners that chose to work with non-Redmond-sourced security software.
We also said that OneCare didn't seem to work very well. It wasn't my opinion
-- it was yours! You told me of all its problems. I never used the thing.
Now Microsoft doesn't care one lick about OneCare and is killing it off next
June. One Microsoft exec explains that putting OneCare on death row doesn't
mean it's guilty of failure. The problem is that poor people need protection
too and can't afford the $50 yearly price tag. (Hmm...I've argued many times
that anti-malware should be built right into the OS, just like brakes and turn
signals and seat belts are built right into the car.)
Microsoft may be turning in this direction with Morro, a free tool that will
replace OneCare. If Morro can stand up to other top-end anti-malware tools,
I'll be a happy computing camper and take back all the bad things I ever said
about OneCare.
Posted by Doug Barney on December 02, 2008