News

Next Version of Live OneCare in Beta Testing

The next version of Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft's home and small-business security product, has been released for a live public beta.

The biggest upgrade from Live OneCare 1.0 is that it works on more than one computer. "Microsoft internal research has shown that most homes now have at least two computers," Gina Narkunas, lead product manager for Windows Live OneCare, stated in a press release.

OneCare 2.0 addresses those environments, with its virus, malware and spyware protection available across the network now. In addition, OneCare 2.0 supports centralized backup and network management from a single console. This is, of course, a significant boon for small businesses with just a few networked computers who are using Live OneCare 1.0.

Live OneCare 2.0 will also help in spotting potential troublespots before they turn into big problems.. "A new 'proactive fixes and recommendations' feature will look at the specific configuration of the user's system and make proactive fixes and recommendations to improve the computing experience," Narkunas said in the release.

Live OneCare, once officially released, is expected to be a free upgrade for users of the previous version. The download page is available here.

About the Author

Keith Ward is the editor in chief of Virtualization & Cloud Review. Follow him on Twitter @VirtReviewKeith.