Product Description

OneCare helps keep your PC safe and secure while making your life easier. From virus scanning, file backups, to automatic printing sharing of all the PCs in your household, OneCare helps manage it all for you. And it's delivered to you in a smooth, hassle-free package.
In one convenient package, Windows Live OneCare helps protect your computer, uses its optimization features to keep your PC running at its speediest, and even regularly backs up your important files: Protection Plus uses antivirus and antispyware scanners, a managed two-way firewall, and integrated anti-phishing technology to protect your computer from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, hackers, phishing, and other threats. It runs continuously, but you can scan individual files and folders for viruses on demand simply by right-clicking them. You can even scan attachments you receive via Windows Live Messenger or MSN Messenger.
Performance Plus regularly defragments your hard disk, removes any unnecessary files that may clog your computer, and helps ensure important security updates from Microsoft are installed efficiently and on time.
Backup and Restore regularly copies your important files and settings to CD, DVD, external hard disk, network drive, or other data-storage device. Instant Help provides online help anytime you need it, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #729 in Software
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: C7S-00135
• Released on: 2007-11-15
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows XP
• Format: DVD-ROM
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, .81 pounds

Features

• All-in-one security for up to 3 Users from Microsoft protects personal and financial documents from the latest viruses, worms, hackers, spyware, and online identity scams
• Automate "janitorial tasks," including disk cleaning and defragmentation, to help improve PC performance
• Easily back up your files to a CD, DVD, external hard drive, locally networked computers, or most USB-connected storage devices
• Protect your PC from outside security threats while keeping things on the inside running smoothly
• Works with Microsoft Update to help ensure that your computer is up-to-date with the latest security and critical updates

Amazon.com
Windows Live OneCare is the all-in-one PC security and performance service designed specifically for Windows XP and Windows Vista-based operating systems. It helps keep your PC's internal workings in order and protect it from outside security threats.

Protection for your files and information
Automatically helps protect personal and financial documents, music, photos, whatever you're saving--from the latest viruses, worms, hackers, spyware, and online identity scams.

Performance tune-ups
Automates "janitorial tasks," including disk cleaning and defragmentation, to help improve PC performance.

The all-in-one PC security and performance service designed specifically for Windows XP and Windows Vista-based operating systems.

Data back-up and restore
Makes it easy to back up your files to a CD, DVD, external hard drive, locally networked computers, or most USB-connected storage devices.

Your PC's Best Friend
OneCare helps protect your PC from outside security threats while keeping things on the inside running smoothly. OneCare includes:

• Antivirus and Antispyware
• Anti-Phishing
• Managed Firewall
• Data Backup and Restore
• Performance Tune-ups

All-in-One

All-in-one security service

• Virus and spyware protection helps shield your PC from contamination. Real-time scans identify and clean infected files and help protect your computer against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other potentially unwanted software.
• Phishing filter in Internet Explorer 7 is activated to help detect and block known sites for online ID scams and theft.
• Firewall helps keep hackers out and private information in.

Boosts PC performance

• Tune-ups keep your PC running smoothly.
• Automatic disk cleanup, defragging, file backup and recovery on your schedule.
• Scheduled backups to CD, DVD, external hard drive, locally networked computers, or most USB-connected storage devices.
• Restores specific or all backed-up files.

One subscription

• Helps protect and maintain one, two, or three computers for one price for one year.

Automatic

Automatic protection

• Runs continuously behind the scenes while you're using your PC.
• Helps counteract new virus threats and block new harmful applications.

Automated PC tune-ups and maintenance

• Helps keep your PC running quickly and efficiently.

Automatic updates

• New feature and version upgrades included for as long as you keep your service active.
• Works with Microsoft Update to help ensure that your computer is up-to-date with the latest security and critical updates from Microsoft.

Simple

Task Bar Icon

• Always shows your PC's health status

  Green means your PC status is Good.

  Yellow means your PC status is Fair.

  Red means your PC is At Risk.

• One-click resolutions make it easy to take the necessary action to get and stay green.

Helpful

The OneCare Advantage:

• Unlimited, free Windows Live OneCare phone, email, and chat support.
• Automatic version and feature upgrades for as long as you keep your subscription active.
• Continuous technology improvement to combat emerging threats.
• Each OneCare subscription helps protect and maintain up to three Windows XP or Windows Vista-based PCs for one year.

Customer Reviews

Exceeded My Expectations, and Those Were High
I have been using Microsoft's Live OneCare System for about a year-and-a-half, and I went to the 2.0 version about three months ago. I've got to tell you though, I wasn't too happy about using it at first because of two factors: 1) Microsoft seemed to be linking a lot of things to this "Live" concept, and 2) The program seemed like it was making a lot of promises it couldn't keep. On the first matter, I still have some concerns; on the second matter, it has lived-up to its promises.

After almost a year, Microsoft upgraded my product to 2.0, and then when I added another computer to my LAN, I used one of the three licenses that came with the new version of OneCare to extend my HUB's subscription. And it did so without a problem. You will notice on the picture I uploaded from my individual computer (see customer images), that my subscription will renew in three days.

I don't know about you, but at work I've seen what not keeping-up with your virus protection and firewall protection can do to someone's computer. Mine hasn't been hit, but other's have and we use Norton's and McAfee at work with each computer set for automatic updates. At home, since I have a LAN, too, I wanted to make sure I didn't have similar problems, so for the past three years I tested several products, namely Norton's System Works, Norton's 360, e-Trust (Computer Associates), and OneCare.

Having used Norton's for over 12 years, I have been disappointed that they are doing less with their products, and I really became disenchanted when they didn't offer their firewall protection with System Works. Then, it seemed I couldn't find System Works, and I had to use 360, which was a mere shadow of System Works. It grated me that I had to buy one product, then buy their Internet Security, too. I, also, didn't think they were on top of the virus situation as much as they used to be. Then, there was an issue about renewals that did not go into effect when they should, and hour long waits for tech support to help correct the problem.

So, I tried e-Trust, and I didn't have any qualms about it, at first. At first it sent out e-mails, often times several times a day to update the software virus protection. Then, it went to an automatic check whenever you booted-up. Then, came the renewal. I had it on two machines and was successful only on one when it came to renewing my subscription. Now, batting 500 is great in the major leagues, but not when it comes to protecting my computer.

OneCare, though, has lived-up to their promises. At first I had it on one computer, and it performed a massive back-up that took all night (200 GB's... this was with version 1.0). Subsequent back-ups went quicker for only the new, or changed, files were updated. Adding 2.0 to other computers produced a back-up on individual computers much faster, 1 to 2 hours, depending on the computer, with amounts in the 100 GB range. With 2.0, I've been able to have one centralized back-up on an exterior HP Drive. I, also, have back-ups performed on each computer with various other drives: Seagate's FreeAgent, and Simple-Tech.

In total, I have four computers set-up on OneCare. Two are on the hard-wire, and two are on a WiFi connected to the hard-wire, with my laptop's back-up on another computers external drive (I added the laptop the day after writing this review, which gives me the 4th computer on the network.) One benefit I've seen of using OneCare is that the new computer's version usually recognizes the printers on the network, and it asks me if I want this computer to have access to it. If it doesn't, and I am not a networking whiz, I have just loaded the drivers for a printer that is on the network, and it then easily finds that printer and finishes out connecting the printer with that computer.

Once I set my schedule of the tasks for OneCare, I've let it do it's job, and I've had only one issue, and that's not a OneCare problem... On the iMac, I have both Mac OS X and XP Pro running. With XP Pro, I have OneCare installed. When XP Pro updates itself, it cannot download and install all updates, so OneCare gives me a "yellow," or caution warning. After manually having XP Pro on the iMac finish its download, everything goes "green," which to me is a great place to stop this review.

OneCare has greatly simplified my life. Version 2.0 is better than 1.0., and you can have from one to three computers covered with one subscription. Also, when I extended my subscription, it added the year onto my current subscription several months in advance without my having to call tech support to straighten out a problem. Regarding subscriptions, you have to have a "live.com" ID activating your initial, up to, 3 subscriptions (for me this was a "hotmail.com" address). If you have more computers to cover than 3, you will need a second "live.com" ID. Renewals are around $49.00 for one year's protection for up to three computers. Unlike some virus programs, like Norton's, you cannot uninstall OneCare and then install a newly-purchased, unused copy of OneCare, unless you install it under a different "live.com" ID. (BTW, I learned this the hard way, yet the Microsoft folks were quick at straightening it out (866-ONECARE).)

As the say on TV sometimes, I"m a happy camper, and I'd recommend this product to anyone wanting to protect one computer or several on a LAN. Be sure to check-out the pictures I uploaded to give you a better idea of what type of information you will receive from OneCare because that generally will tell you more than what I did about its capabilities.

Computer security and backups are now background tasks.
First encountered Microsoft's Windows OneCare in 2005 as a Beta project that I participated in. Wouldn't have gotten involved except that I had found Symantec's Norton AntiVirus to have become a real resource hog, and the products from McAfee weren't any better, despite their claims. I had been a loyal user of Norton AntiVirus since those days that Peter Norton was still running his innovative company, one that pioneered anti-virus applications as we know them... but that was then, and this was now.

I dropped the Norton products after a series of problems that were well-documented in the 'computer geek' community, and began to install Grisoft's AVG Free anti-virus on some of my systems. About a year later Microsoft released it's Beta test of Windows OneCare, and that seemed to be a product with few bugs and a lot of promise. When the Beta test was over, however, I standardized my computers with AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition, and that continued until late last spring when I saw an associate's installation of Windows Live OneCare 2.0 and listened to his reasons as to why why he had switched from Symantec's products.

Initially I downloaded the trial version from Microsoft to test it out, but within two weeks had become convinced that this was not only a competitively priced product (other products have only recently caught up), but it's resource footprint was small. It didn't seem to interfere with normal operations or offer obnoxious reminders of how my computer was being protected.

Windows Live OneCare runs quietly in the background, doing its job well and quite unobtrusively. It's licensed to be used with up to three users, and right now is protecting my aging HP Pavilion a210n Desktop PC, my son's laptop computer and my notebook. It does a good job of protecting our PCs from outside security hazard while keeping things on the inside running smoothly, performing disk cleaning and file defragmentation in the background. Our files are backed up to a connected Seagate FreeAgent Desktop 250 GB External Hard Drive, and once set up properly has required no intervention whatsoever. All of its updates run quietly via Microsoft Update, and this has kept my systems up-to-date with the important security updates.

Pros:

* Very reasonable cost for what it does.
* Runs quietly and effectively in the background.
* Excellent monthly reports on activity.
* Has an excellent two-way firewall.
* Automated backups to external hard drive or USB storage devices

Cons:

* OneCare interface is different, may seem somewhat awkward.
* Other anti-virus and firewall programs need to be removed.


This product isn't perfect; no security application that I've encountered to date is. The occasional reboots for updates are irritating, but all applications of this type have them to work properly. The Windows Live OneCare interface is different, and may seem somewhat awkward until you get used to it, but it does function properly. Had laughed last spring when I read that OneCare had mistaken Skype (the Internet telephone application) for a piece of malware, but have see similar false reading from almost all of the anti-virus and security applications on the market over time.

The above remarks may sound picky, but they're really not; they're just a personal reflection of what I've found while I've used this product. But all things considered, and especially since it's so well-behaved as it runs quietly in the background, doing its job quite unobtrusively, Windows Live OneCare is a real 5-star application from my perspective.

Please note: I'll be posting helpful info about this product and possible updates in the Comment section below this review, so be sure to check there as well.

The good and the bad
Pros:
Easy to install- Very good about prompting users to scan and update- In the year of free beta and the year of a paid subscription, my PC has stayed Virus free. Seems to be integrated nicely with windows and less annoying than Norton. All in all, this has been a great experience.

Cons:
Canceling your subscription cannot be done online. You must call 866-663-2273 during normal business hours and cancel by phone.
This program is not compatible with an 64 bit Windows XP operating systems. Networking is an exercise in patience.
Nothing is straight forward when it comes to advanced problem solving and the program will nag the heck out of you if you work offline for days at a time.
Your subscription is tied to a passport ID. This became annoying a year after I made it trying to remember it.
Lastly...$50 is a lot of money per year. They really need to cut that price in half.