9 December 2006

Windows Live OneCare

It's finally here for UK users and other countries except the US only!
Check out the Blog here: OneCare team blog or visit the homepage here: http://onecare.live.com/
I have now installed Windows OneCare Live on both my Dell and laptop. Why? I'll tell you:
OneCare makes things much easier to manage. It really makes everything simple to use. Other Internet security programs like Norton and ZoneAlarm have loads of advanced features. One of the current problems with ZA is that it won't let display pictures, emotions or games be displayed in Windows Live Messenger. This problem has been running for some time since the release of ZA ISS 6.5. So I've changed to OneCare.
Like I said, OneCare does all the security for you. Antivirus, Antispyware, on-access (real time scanning), a Firewall (inbound and outbound) and a new Backup wizard. If you have Windows Defender installed then you don't need it anymore because OneCare manages all the security automatically. The only thing OC doesn't have is a startup program manager :( Although there are a lot of advanced features missing, it ensures all the security that is needed is there.
OneCare v1.5 (see http://ideas.live.com) is easy to setup - there is no need for Windows Genuine Advantage, either for the download or installation, or Validation either. OneCare also updates its definitions and program version automatically (some restarts are needed occasionally) and it also does all the Windows Updates for you too. By default it also has scheduled scans for scanning and tune-up. Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) is also much easier to manage as well.
When you've downloaded OneCare and installed it for the first time, you have a 180 day (it was only 60 days on my laptop for some reason) trial in which to activate the product. Simply request an email be sent to you with a free licence key and as soon as you activate it, you get 1 free year of the whole program!
If you want to make sure your computer is fully protected from hackers, visit this online Security Checker on Symantec and run the Security scan.