Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

stevvie reviewed v2.5.2900.28 on Aug 27, 2009

OMG, What a long winded and UN-intuitive piece of software. This TOTALLY hosed my network up. I had to do a system restore to get it back. Also is Microsoft in partnership with the Memory manufacturers ? This thing eats memory like it's going out of fashion.

shallot reviewed v2.5.2900.28 on Aug 27, 2009

Been using it for a month now and works pretty well. By far the best firewall I have seen..I wish MS enables this firewall in the OS by default.

This uses the same engine as "Morro" and this is as good as any of the big names...

sn0wflake reviewed v2.5.2900.28 on Aug 27, 2009

Timeout on a product that should be free of cost. Imagine buying a car and have to buy seatbelts, airbags, good brakes, etc. later on :P

dougau reviewed v2.5.2900.24 on Mar 25, 2009

Things that make you go "Humm"

roberttucker reviewed v2.5.2900.24 on Mar 25, 2009

april 30 this will be discontinued

paulm84 reviewed v2.5.2900.24 on Mar 25, 2009

it's being discontinued in a few months. so don't even bother using it

reidyn reviewed v2.5.2900.22 on Mar 17, 2009

Why is this still being marketed? The product has been scheduled for discontinuation and the antivirus portion is to be made available for free. Who would buy this now? I don't get it.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v2.5.2900.20 Beta on Nov 12, 2008

slow... buggy...

TomA102210 reviewed v2.5.2900.20 Beta on Nov 10, 2008

This time around I put the evaluations in the hands of the Windows Secrets staff and they gave OneCare a positive review. That was good enough for me. Maybe it's not stellar, but their review this last time around gave it a lot of positive strokes.

eclipsingdivinity reviewed v2.5.2900.15 on Oct 8, 2008

Fantastic piece of software that is both stable and easy to use. I run it both my Mom's and Sister's PC as well as mine. I'm able to monitor their security status. They both enjoy the program, certainly worth the money...best of all it's light and doesn't conflict with other programs, possibly because it's Microsoft made.

The downside is that it doesn't include kitchen sink features, and it only monitors IE7. However the kitchen sink method always creates slowdown and the basic features in Onecare are more than enough for average user. The monitoring of IE7 is also a good thing, because even if you don't use IE7, a lot of programs including spyware do.

jocampbelljr reviewed v2.5.2900.15 on Sep 11, 2008

It has done all I ask of it using with other programs none of which should be used alone. I have the subscrip for windows onecare which runs out in Feb. for its ease of use and it works well with Advanced WindowsCare Personal Edition
of which i am beta on 3 beta 3.0.0

Paradise-FH- reviewed v2.5.2900.15 on Sep 10, 2008

routinely underperforms in terms of protection, is not highly customizable, uses a subpar defragmentater and the list just goes on and on and on.

bbfc reviewed v2.5.2900.3 Beta on Jul 1, 2008

Fantastic piece of software.

Doesn't hog resources, runs quietly in the background without interrupting you.

speedwaystar reviewed v2.5.2900.3 Beta on Jul 1, 2008

When tested against other antivirus software, this routinely comes out bottom of the barrel for detection rates, leak tests, you name it. What more can I say?

Claude Renaud reviewed v2.5.2744.0 on Apr 4, 2008

Does someone know where to find the changelog of tis new release ?

brusco reviewed v2.5.2744.0 on Apr 3, 2008

I'm giving this a minimum because of 2 important reasons:

1. Microsoft making money from anti-virus/anti-malware software hardly gives them motivation to release a safe and secure OS in the first place now does it? It's like a car manufacturer selling you a car with no locks on the doors then after you've purchased they say you can also purchase locks at 30% of the price you already paid for the car. Ever get the feeling the salesman is laughing at you? Well here he is.

2. When tested against other anti-virus packages it routinely comes out as the worst.

Avoid this garbage.

Zee333 reviewed v2.5.2744.0 on Apr 3, 2008

So you give it a 1 because it is free? stupid person.
I've been using this for a couple months now, always kept my PC clean from Spyware & Virus, and the firewall is good, it is also pre-config'd with Xbox Live so you don't need to config the firewall to play movies or music on your Xbox 360.
Also this version appears to have a 224 day timeout, instead of 90 days.

mancubs reviewed v2.5.2744.0 on Apr 3, 2008

hAVE YOU READ THE SMALL PRINT (CONTRACT IS IT FREE

Terry6v reviewed v2.5.2744.0 on Apr 2, 2008

Well it now supports vista64. installed cleanly. says it will expire in 224 days. that's a pretty long evaluation period . quick scanned fine. firewall works ok so far.cpu and memory usage not bad so far either.

TomA102210 reviewed v2.5.2744.0 on Apr 2, 2008

photonboy said:
To top all of this off, Microsoft's next Operating System is going to be rewritten from the core. It will be interesting to see how many security holes there are when it is released. I think Microsoft has a great short-term plan for increasing stock prices but I think they're shooting themselves in the foot in the long-term.
---------------------------------------------
Aren't you amazed at how Microsoft can take your feedback with a grain of salt, that their profits keep going up, that their software is increasingly more popular and that their stock prices are at the very least stable or rising? Aren't you?

mjm01010101 reviewed v2.5.2744.0 on Apr 2, 2008

The firewall issue that is on their foums is not overblown. It hit a significant number of people I recommended this product to, and the support process for fixing it was broken as well.

When you use products like these, the support is as if not more important than the features.

I no longer recommend this product which has a few flaws: because the support isn't there. The support MUST be there for us to have confidence in the product.

photonboy reviewed v2.0.2500.22 Beta on Jan 29, 2008

Not impressed.

For one thing, the taskbar icon turns RED if you have no firewall enabled. There's no option to "convince" the program to ignore this. Many (perhaps most) people have Gateways/hubs that use a hardware firewall. Software firewalls are NOT even recommended. Come on, Microsoft, get with the times. (you can Google for pages to test your hardware's effectiveness. Read your manual for more.)

Another issue now is that Microsoft has a business plan to make money from Security software. How will this affect their decision to improve security in Windows? Once Linux improves I think the non-gaming community will start flocking to Linux distros such as Ubuntu which are getting very, very close to replacing Windows. I'll be switching in 2009 or 2010 and using Windows only for games. Heck, I'm so disappointed in Vista if I even buy it it will be a 2nd OS to XP and used just for DX10 games.

To top all of this off, Microsoft's next Operating System is going to be rewritten from the core. It will be interesting to see how many security holes there are when it is released. I think Microsoft has a great short-term plan for increasing stock prices but I think they're shooting themselves in the foot in the long-term.

Summary:
OneCare is an ambitious software that falls short,; plus, the very need for improved security questions Microsoft's commitment to security in Windows.

mwclark4453 reviewed v2.0.2500.14 Beta on Dec 18, 2007

When I first took my laptop to Vista, there were only a few AV programs out there. I choose this one. I've since gone back to XP because several programs I use in business where not compatible with Vista yet. I kept my OneCare going. For the most part, it works reasonably well. Only issue I've had is when it attempts to do tune-ups during the day while I'm working on the laptop. I have to make sure I leave the laptop on at least once a month overnight so the tune-up will complete. Also, it will slow down occasionally because Windows Defender (MsMpEng.exe) starts scanning, especially when the network changes. I added a REG_DWORD to the following registry key and it seemed to control the run-away aspect of the scan:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\OneCare Protection\Exclusions\Processes\"MsMpEng.exe" REG_DWORD (0)]
I've been digging around on Google search to find the original poster that issued this fix and I can't find it. Wanted to make sure that was the fix I implemented and not something already there in the registry.

Briantist reviewed v2.0.2500.14 Beta on Dec 18, 2007

I can't say the OneCare has ever let a virus though, but it does block Microsoft ActiveSync by default and also the backup system forgets my network location each day.

alex_sporik reviewed v2.0.2500.14 Beta on Dec 18, 2007

Very slow and cannot reach anywhere close to ZoneAlarm or at least LavaSoft's AdAware 2007.

Firewall function looks nice but totally corrupt default Vista firewall's settings. Many programs such as Torrent, download manager cannot work with OneCare installed.

Anyway this program has potential and with some extra effort can be good addon for windows. But guys make it free!

JeremyGNJ reviewed v2.0.2500.14 Beta on Dec 17, 2007

I just recently bought OneCare due to a good deal and a nice rebate, that let me buy it for like $10.

I didnt actually expect much from it. After all, there's the whole thing about Microsoft and "security".

Now I can't talk to "how effective the virus detection is".....I've seen reports that make each vendor look better or worse than another. I you ask me they're all crap these days, just a necessity for "just in case", but you still need additional apps to make sure you're safe.

HOWEVER, I have to say that I kinda of like OneCare!!!

The improvements to the Windows Firewall are nicely executed (though it should just be included in windows in the first place!), the backup is simple and "flexible enough", to make sure your important stuff gets backed up. The settings are all logically defined and easy to understand. The ability to manage multiple PC's OneCare settings from a single machine is quite nice (but I wish they just made it an MMC snap in!)

It's kind of an odd choice to add "easy printer sharing" to this product, but I can see how that would be a nice little "extra" for less technical users.

All in all, I might go back to another product when my one year is up, however I would DEFINITELY recommend this for all the less-tech-savvy people in my life!

TomA102210 reviewed v2.0.2500.12 Beta on Dec 5, 2007

Reviewer: CyberDoc999 says:
Version: 2.0.2500.12 Beta

"Very Bloated!"
---------------------------------------------
Essential, yes. Bloated, no.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v2.0.2500.12 Beta on Dec 5, 2007

Very Bloated!

The MAZZTer reviewed v2.0.2500.12 Beta on Dec 5, 2007

The best part about updating is that you have to reboot 2 times total in order to complete an upgrade, since you have to uninstall, reboot, then install the new version and reboot AGAIN. Plenty of other programs don't even require ONE reboot.

There's no auto update feature either. Probably because Microsoft has realized that people prefer a working computer to a constantly rebooting "secure" one.

But enough about that; this suite of tools is OK. The only faults are that the subscription model for software sucks (always has and always will) and the "background" virus scanner likes to suck up 30% CPU at the worst times while running at normal priority. If you know how to knock processes down to idle priority it's easy enough to fix.

Dwiebelhaus reviewed v2.0.2500.10 on Nov 19, 2007

lol, craptasticly blows chunks.

www.ubuntu.com

crashoverride reviewed v2.0.2500.10 Beta on Nov 17, 2007

Unsupported operating system

To Install Windows Live OneCare, your computer must be running Windows Vista or Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (32-bit versions only). If you are running Windows XP but have not installed Service Pack 2, click "Get help" to learn more about installing WinXP SP2.

Error ID: 0003-800402CD

sftwre reviewed v2.0.2500.10 Beta on Nov 11, 2007

Confirmed this does *not* install on XP64

Terry6v: the 2.0 branch does support 64-bit windows vista and xp. stop spreading misinformation.

Apparently you haven't tested this or you would know. I have XP64 and I just tried to install it. "Unsupported Operating System."

Stop spreading misinformation.

wrosensteel reviewed v2.0.2500.10 Beta on Nov 9, 2007

Terry6v: the 2.0 branch does support 64-bit windows vista and xp. stop spreading misinformation.

Apparently you haven't tested this or you would know. I have XP64 and I just tried to install it. "Unsupported Operating System."

Stop spreading misinformation.

Paradise-FH- reviewed v2.0.2500.10 Beta on Nov 9, 2007

Terry6v: the 2.0 branch does support 64-bit windows vista and xp. stop spreading misinformation.

wrosensteel: i'm running it right now on 64-bit Vista a******. Using the installation provided above you can install to 64-bit systems. using the 1.5x branch you can not.

OneCare running on 64-bit Vista

brusco reviewed v2.0.2500.10 Beta on Nov 9, 2007

This product bothers me. The more insecure they make their OS, the more money they make from this Live OneCare software.

Hardly a compelling reason for them to make a decent OS now is it? Introduce a vulnerability one day, and cash in on the cure the next. Very shady.

And also this Live OneCare software is pretty poor. Google for independent reviews.

TomA102210 reviewed v2.0.2500.10 Beta on Nov 8, 2007

Reviewer: gnovak1 Oct 24, 2007
Version: 2.0.2392.4 Beta

Micro$oft's firewall and antivirus are not worthy not even to call them like that.
The firewall didn't pass even the basic leak tests and with Vista it's the same.
An antivirus doesn't detect almost anything.
You cannot put them into the same range with NOD32,Kaspersky,Comodo or ZoneAlarm.They are light years ahead of any Microsoft "security" app.
The other Live OneCare's features are good if you need them.
Anyway,if you don't believe me,make some firewall's on-line tests,download a couple of harmless malware files as a part of antivirus test and you'll see what I'm talking about.
A bunch of independent reviews say all.
Microsoft security apps suck!
And that's a fact.
----------------------------------------------
I've said this before and I'll say it again; anyone who says something sucks has little or no credibility. My own experience with MS OneCare has been excellent. The program measures up very well in all respects.

Terry6v reviewed v2.0.2392.4 Beta on Oct 24, 2007

Still no support for their own 64 bit systems. neither xp or vista.

KSzostek reviewed v2.0.2392.4 Beta on Oct 24, 2007

I really like this program. Does what it says and is very easy to use.

mjm01010101 reviewed v2.0.2392.4 Beta on Oct 24, 2007

I feel strange saying this, because of all the negative things I've read about this product. I set this up for my father-in-law before the whole "deleting e-mail" fiasco, and it has been the best AV product for his needs. We used to install Symantec and had all sorts of issues with transferring licenses, security vulnerabilities, liveupdate, performance. This has worked on his system, and his wife's, just great. I haven't had a single complaint. So while I don't use it myself, any product that keeps me out of my in-laws house gets five stars...

gnovak1 reviewed v2.0.2392.4 Beta on Oct 24, 2007

Micro$oft's firewall and antivirus are not worthy not even to call them like that.
The firewall didn't pass even the basic leak tests and with Vista it's the same.
An antivirus doesn't detect almost anything.
You cannot put them into the same range with NOD32,Kaspersky,Comodo or ZoneAlarm.They are light years ahead of any Microsoft "security" app.
The other Live OneCare's features are good if you need them.
Anyway,if you don't believe me,make some firewall's on-line tests,download a couple of harmless malware files as a part of antivirus test and you'll see what I'm talking about.
A bunch of independent reviews say all.
Microsoft security apps suck!
And that's a fact!

athome reviewed v2.0.2392.4 Beta on Oct 24, 2007

I have been using this product from its first beta and have to say that it does exactly what it claims to do – and you can put it on 3 PCs, which now seems to be the industry standard. I have also used it on every version of XP and Vista without any hitches. Following all guidelines and recommendations provided by Microsoft can benefit both security and performance.

From setup to running your first instance is basically clicking a few prompts – everything is handled well. Minor tweaking for those that are considered ‘expert users’ is easily achieved by clicking one link. A child can find their way.

As stated above, if you follow the recommendations provided, there is no performance degradation and can be configured to scan at alternate times if so desired – which
“Paradise-FH” seems not to be doing. Again, updating is vital and a component that should be hard or not possible to disable. Every antivirus/spyware/adware program has an update feature, and we all understand that every product is only as good as its definitions at the time of scan or infection. Therefore, turning off this feature seems to be a bit irresponsible; and second, if there are other products on in which do the same thing, one could ask, “Are you giving this product the attention it deserves?” Possibly, those comments are towards MS rather than a true evaluation of the product.

I also scan the computer with additional products to make sure nothing will find its way in. To this day, nothing has. OneCare has taken care of every threat attempt and cleaned any instance of stupidity that I have thrown at it. I have a laptop in which it is installed and often go 3-4 weeks before connecting it to the Internet, but it flawlessly will update when I do connect. Often, these instances are coupled with a reboot.

I have used all the other programs (i.e. McAfee, Symantec, AVG, AVAST, Kaspersky, NOD32…) and feel this product does do what it says. I leave my machines on 24/7 and am confident that it is protected, because of OneCare.

I make it a point to suggest this product to my home-customers that are looking for protection. After the 90day trial, not one has gone back to their previous program, and I am told that it is truly an all-in-one product. No need to update several programs or learn individual ones as well. The wizards are straight forward and easy to understand – as well as automatic. If you do miss something, you are notified.

If you haven’t tried it, the 90day trial is well worth your time to see if it works in your situation. If it doesn’t, then communicate those points to others that may have similar considerations. I wish to know those, so I may make suggestions to customers as well. I give it at least a 4.9

Paradise-FH- reviewed v2.0.2392.4 Beta on Oct 23, 2007

i'm giving this a one until they give you the ability to turn off scheduled tune-ups.

tune-ups are worthless for anyone who's got other programs to do the same thing albeit better. that and they bog the system down while they're running for 1-2 hours every four weeks.

the devs know we want it yet they're being a******s about it. it should have been in there a long time ago and i'll be back to write the same review over and over until it gets in there.

bbfc reviewed v2.0.2392.4 Beta on Oct 23, 2007

Used the 90-day trial and was so impressed I shelled out £35 for it!

Works like a charm, looks good and doesn't slow my system dow - what more could you ask for??

As it says on the box - 'The Perfect Companion for Windows Vista'

tigreseis reviewed v2.0.2392.4 Beta on Oct 23, 2007

Dude, this is the bomb! Man, Microsoft rocks your world with this update.Fast, low profile, intuitive, better than a woman after a dating drought.

Been virus free, spyware free, and date free since I used this. Smokin man!

inman123 reviewed v2.0.2392.4 Beta on Oct 23, 2007

been using this for awhile now, have had no problems, takes a long time to do the virus scan, and also the tune up but the back up goes pretty smooth. I back up to an external hard drive. it is pretty user freindly. have not had any computer problems so I guess it is doing its job.

bogey9000 reviewed v2.0.2350.10 on Sep 15, 2007

Don't believe the hype! Fairly decent program for someone like me that wants to use my computer not fix and maintain it. Similar performance hit as comparable products, less of a performance hit than Nortons but that's not saying much.

Overall works well, the scheduled backup and defrag are nice for Vista Home/Media version.Worth the price for 3 pc license.

Avoiding viruses is more about safe surfing than software. Don't be fooled, any and all software programs can be hacked. Be smart and you'll have nothing to worry about.

Tao2005 reviewed v2.0.2350.10 on Sep 14, 2007

I heard bad things bout MS one care. Sorry I'm not impressed.

Budgie29 reviewed v2.0.2318.12 on Aug 16, 2007

echo head try looing at the top 10 for AV's

i think you will find that nod came 10 and samantic
7 AVG did for fair very well at all

use KAV

smarterthanyou reviewed v2.0.2318.12 on Aug 16, 2007

I thought Avast was bad because of its slow scanning speeds, but a program that has both slow scanning speeds AND about 82% accuracy? You can't get any worse than that. If Microsoft want to continue to offer this product without fixing its accuracy they should give it away for free instead of ripping people off.

Galifray reviewed v2.0.2318.12 on Aug 16, 2007

My experience with OneCare's Beta Two has left me quite disguntled. It added three minutes to the time from powering on to ready to use on my laptop. And the last thing to activate was the "improved" firewall. leaving my computer defenseless for two plus minutes after the wireless connection is active.

Then there were the constant error messages in the log file from the firewall about how it failed to activate this or that component or shut down and restarted.

Finally, when the anti-virus or anti-spyware features would run their tests everything else slowed down.
There is one nice thing I can say about this product, it uninstalled almost completely restoring everything to its pre-One Care state. It did leave behind the event viewer log. It is really strange to have a log file for a non-existent program that can not be deleted.

Stingray57 reviewed v2.0.2318.12 on Aug 16, 2007

The lowest rating I can give this is a one. There's not a selection for burn, grind up and trash this one.

I wouldn't touch the software with a 10 foot pole. Microsoft walked onto the dance floor with its pants down with this product. I read the comments from these naive little twerps the don't have a clue as to what they're saying. They're probably the ones that are still trying to figure out how to use the scroll bar.

Microsoft wants you to use this product, but it doesn't protect you. There are companies that have been in this field for years, perfecting the process of protecting PCs from viruses. Specializing in their respective fields

Microsoft thinks that it can purchase this company and that company and merge the two products and say 'it's Microsoft you're covered'. Absolutely not.it's a ridiculous concept

There virus scanner scores so low it's not even rated on some comparison lists, but here's one who rated dead last. http://www.pcworld.com/a...,antivirus/article.html

Do you really want to install antivirus software on your system that rates the dead last? not me.

Microsoft wants you to buy this product; it sucks. And there's plenty of products out there that are free that do the same thing- only better.

Do yourself a favor, Google: free antivirus software, free spyware scanner, etc...

understand that you have choices and just because it has Microsoft name on it doesn't mean it's a good product.

Point in case, Vista.

rcadams reviewed v2.0.2318.12 on Aug 16, 2007

echohead, your taking about version 1.0 Please take sometime and see that microsoft is on version2 already. And don't attack other people when you have no idea what your talking about.

One Care is definitly one of the better all-in-one products available. Yes the definitions need to be improved on, but that will happen in time.

echohead reviewed v2.0.2284.28 on Jul 27, 2007

TomA102210 has been giving good reviews to AOL products, and now OneCare...are you trying to ruin peoples computers?

onecare used to delete the emails of MS outlook users. who knows what its doing now. onecare is sloooooow and has a terrible detection rate.

for a good AV, try NOD32 or Symantec Corporate. as for onecare, its much worse than even most freeware AV scanners.

TomA102210 reviewed v2.0.2284.28 on Jul 26, 2007

runningfool says:

STAY AWAY from onecare.
-----------------------------------------------
No, no, no. Try OneCare. I like this program and it works fine for nearly all who test it.

runningfool reviewed v2.0.2284.28 on Jul 26, 2007

hmm lets see...

1)an AV with a detection rate barely in the 70% range.
2) based on your computer settings, onecare will have a green shield (all systems go), yellow shield (hey, pay attention and fix something) and red (HOLY S**T, you dont have WGA installed?!)...isnt this the same thing as xp/vista's security center?
3) bad RAM usage, and a pitiful attempt by microsoft at an in-house antivirus.

STAY AWAY from onecare

rcadams reviewed v2.0.2284.28 on Jul 26, 2007

Way better then 1.x
Way to go Microsoft, keep up the good work.

rcadams reviewed v2.0.2284.22 on Jul 12, 2007

Ok, so I'm going to accually review this new product, and not use what other people are saying.

Installation was very slow, probably due to the massive load on the servers with everyone wanting to try the latest greatest OneCare.

Once installed, I found that the UI is clean/sleak and better function.

Ability to backup to hub is huge. Works great.
I would love to see a feature to be able to install to other computers from the hub. Rather then to install manually each copy.

Very happy. Now all they need to do, is have better virus/malware detection and we have a huge Winner!

mickrussom reviewed v2.0.2284.22 on Jul 12, 2007

Crap. Want proof?

http://www.av-comparativ.../ergebnisse_2007_02.php

http://www.av-comparativ...ergebnisse/report13.pdf

daver18qc reviewed v2.0.2284.22 on Jul 11, 2007

Don't even think bout installing this if you've got a 56k connection... it'll suck your bandwidth to the last drop whenever you connect to the internet and pages like Google will take 2-3min to load ! (uninstalled on a friend's computer for this reason...)

Dsfargeg reviewed v1.6.2111.12 on Jul 6, 2007

This is pretty much the biggest crap ever in terms of AV/security solutions.

In a recent test by AV Comparatives, it fared so abysmally bad that it landed on the *last* place!
http://www.av-comparativ...ergebnisse/report13.pdf

You really need your head examined if you waste any money on this garbage.

tuneslover reviewed v1.6.2111.12 on Jul 5, 2007

Poor Internet Security Software. It cant remove viruses quickly. Poor Antivirus. Take long time to install. Because it has web based installation only. Slower.

teranova52 reviewed v1.6.2111.10 on May 26, 2007

Yes i am also angry with Microsoft , no i did not test the software , and i will say that Microsoft pulled things too far .

The software it self called as BETA , so what should we do ,my plan is not to become a beta tester of the largest blood sucking corp .

I payed for a legal XP Pro OS,and i need activation for life.

If they pay me i will test their beta software but not for free..

DatabaseBen reviewed v1.6.2111.10 on May 25, 2007

I'm impressed with one care and i think it should be included as a standard component for windows.

It functions perfectly on my machine. however i have always maintained my systems finely tuned up.

I read the negative comments herein and i cannot dispute or dismiss the issues the users have encountered with adding One Care and compounding whatever their pc is suffering from.

Unfortunately, there are some Microsoft MVP's who are disrespectful and bash Microsoft's One Care and my recommendations for it's use on the Microsoft Help Newsgroups.

However, i believe that if the user or their pc is not benefitting by One Care it may be a result of issue(s) yet to be discovered on the problematic computer and not within the functionality of One Care to resolve.

It's easier to condemn and to bash rather than to scrutinize the difficulties and "resolve" them.

As a user the One Care program, I recommend the utlitiy whenever possible since my experience with it has been beneficial and positive.

photonboy reviewed v1.6.2111.10 on May 25, 2007

As previously mentioned, this product is very, very poor.

As someone who knows a fair bit about computers I have been almost disgusted by Microsoft. I hardly know where to start.

I'm sticking with XP and likely won't ever buy Vista. I'm also using a lot of free, non-Microsoft applications that do a great job.

I'm angry about how Microsoft is trying to force people to buy Vista by making many things NOT work without it. Yes, they do need to make money, and yes I do even agree with paying for DX10 as I don't expect them to write code for XP and support this. However, they just announced that Halo 2 will only be available on Vista despite the fact that the game will support DX9 as well as DX10. This may not be the best example, but I started noticing many other things that SHOULD work fine with XP but won't just so people will buy Vista.

Microsoft has spent a lot of time writing code for things I don't feel necessary yet many parts of Vista are so useless that free software is by far more usable. Have you tried Vista's CD/DVD burning application? In fact, for someone familiar with the "guts" of XP, I found things actually HARDER to do with Vista even when Microsoft was apparently "dumbing it down" to make easier.

Since we're talking about SECURITY, something Vista should have done was use CRC technology throughout. For example, in an e-mail each little segment sent through the Internet has a small CODE at the end which is then compared to the content to look for errors incurred in transmission.

IF Windows Vista used CRC-based Security then:
1) Windows could analyze itself for errors and even self-repair itself
2) ANY modification to the code (even one changed bit) is an error so Viruses, Mal-ware etc. are stopped DEAD (it's kind of like repairing your own DNA to cure Cancer)
3) Since ANY error would be rapidly detected, failing hardware can be identified much more rapidly!
4) Programs could update ONLY the parts necessary.
5) There would be little need to purchase Security software since a freeware program (or heaven forbid a good Microsoft one) could easily pick up any slack that CRC-based Security doesn't cover.
6) In conjunction with this, either by software or software AND hardware, much of the coding could be OFF LIMITS without the proper security code
7) User data could have CRC codes auto-generated; this combined with the option to have automatic backups spread across physically separate devices would mean that data loss due to hardware failure or corrupted software would be nearly impossible.
8) This system also goes hand-in-hand with the idea of Encoding all data on new Hard Drives or SSD's.
9) A "footprint" of your system could be more easily generated.

Microsoft has basically suggested "just trust our Security to us and get Live OneCare."

Does Microsoft think the average person doesn't know any better? Maybe.

It's worth your time to learn a little bit about Security. You can Google or type a few key words into Wikipedia to get started. A little known Firefox plugin is called "NoScript" (know it; learn it; love it).

If you know what you are doing, you can put together the right combo of Antivirus, Firewall, script-blocking, ad-ware software for FREE that will challenge even the #1 programs.

It's also useful to know that many Routers have hardware firewalls and the documentation actually tells you NOT to run a software firewall. And you just know there are millions of people paying for a Firewall they don't need and shouldn't even have.

If you consider that OEM Vista can be had for as low as $130 and it should last a solid 5 years you can easily pay much more than that for Security Software.

Personally, I'm spending the next THREE years with XP (and a Linux distro to learn) then likely going Linux and never looking back. See ya, Microsoft. It's been said before but by the time the replacement for Vista comes I think we'll all be ready for software that actually stays up to date.

Isn't it almost IRONIC that, when you PAY for software the company needs to hold back to encourage you to upgrade, and when it's FREE the support is constant and even innovative!

Terry6v reviewed v1.6.2111.10 on May 24, 2007

From Microsoft for Windows. But it doesn't support all Windows systems. Not compatible with 64bit Vista.

Dsfargeg reviewed v1.6.2111.10 on May 24, 2007

No one should waste their time with this bloated garbage.

In a recent test by AV Comparatives, it failed so badly it landed on the last place!

Look here: http://www.av-comparatives.org/
Downloadable report: http://www.av-comparativ...ergebnisse/report13.pdf

IanT3cs reviewed v1.5.1890.34 on Apr 13, 2007

I decided to try before I commented.
Powerful PC slowed down. Heavy system utilisation as mentioned by others.
This is the same Anti virus software that repeatedly failed the VB100 anti virus tests.
Are Micro$oft trying to lock out other vendors I wonder?
Save yourself the hassle of uninstalling it. Don't bother downloading it in the first place.
AVG 7.5 has a far superior detection rate and it's FREE.
If you really want the best, and don't mind paying, try Nod32.
Well done M$ for producing another bag of crap. We've come to expect it now. A little like Vista I guess!

TomA102210 reviewed v1.5.1890.34 on Apr 13, 2007

"If you need your Outlook pst trashed, this is an excellent tool"
--------------------------------------------------
No problems here.

ghammer reviewed v1.5.1890.34 on Apr 13, 2007

If you need your Outlook pst trashed, this is an excellent tool.

If you are looking for malware protection and a backup solution, look elsewhere.

CyberDoc999 reviewed v1.5.1890.34 on Apr 13, 2007

This made my 3 ghz computer very slow!

girts reviewed v1.5.1890.34 on Apr 13, 2007

Soory, but it is baddest security product which I have seen!
Bad and very bad!

I will give it Rating:1

doctorsmith reviewed v1.5.1890.34 on Apr 13, 2007

@ caronn, you could get a job as a writer for some comedy series on TV, funniest thing I've read in ages......
......."Windows LiveOne Care is the best antivirus because it uses very small amount of resources and is fully compatible with Windows Vista"

- yeah! who cares if it's completely useless for actually finding and killing viruses.

alphatrigon reviewed v1.5.1890.34 on Apr 12, 2007

I give it a 3...I ORIGINALLY bought a license too...right out of the gate...but this thing is friggin beta...so I paid for a BETA!!! Dang! lol

I'm a fan of MS/Windows too, but this isn't too good. When it functions, it functions well. When it doesn't...you are kind of screwed. Sometimes Onecare gets blinded and does not know how to update itself. I think some info is on the msdn forums.

There is a cleanup fix to the clean up tool! lol Problem seems to arise because this is not made by the standard MS dev groups but by some "off shored" group? That is probably the main reason for failure, and hopefully MS does not repeat this.

I might let my paid subscription to this beta auto-renew but dang!!! It's a beta and it doesn't work a lot of times!!! I say dang again!!! really...hehe

bbfc reviewed v1.5.1890.34 on Apr 12, 2007

Microsoft has recently admitted that OneCare should not have been released, and that it is flawed. It did poorly in Virus Bulletin's and AV-Comparatives' tests.

Link?

I remember them saying that they are working to improve its detection rates as the vBulletin test results were very unsatisfactory, but never heard them say it should not of been released.

I've was using it for a while (thanks to the generous 90 day trial) and its very light on resources and doesn't bother me as much as other AV suites, though am currently testing Norton 360 to see what its like.

johnrc2 reviewed v1.5.1890.34 on Apr 12, 2007

Use this software at your peril. I bought a 3-machine license and installed it on 2 different XP machines (Media Center and Pro). While installed, I couldn't get an Internet connection. After I uninstalled it, I found my firewall to be completely trashed. I cannot start the traditional MS XP firewall, even though I get constant harrassing reminders to do so. I would, but I can't. I even ran the Live One Care cleanup tool (twice!), and still no firewall.

Also, I am so disgusted with recent MS "upgrades" trashing my machine, I turned them off and restored my machine to earlier, happier days when at least I could boot my machines.

Normally, I am a huge Microsoft supporter, but I am starting to waver.

bobad reviewed v1.5.1890.30 on Apr 8, 2007

Nice, but a big downgrade because it wouldn't even remove the "Drive Cleaner" spyware/trojan/popup thingie.

caronn reviewed v1.5.1890.30 on Apr 6, 2007

Windows LiveOne Care is the best antivirus because it uses very small amount of resources and is fully compatible with Windows Vista

colonelpwnage reviewed v1.5.1890.30 on Apr 5, 2007

Installed it on Vista Premium thinking this would be my all-in-one solution for Antivirus/Firewall, etc. I have an XP machine at home as well, and AVG Free 7.5 running on that machine which detected a backdoor virus and quarantined that virus immediately. I was puzzled why I didn't receive the same message on my Vista machine with OneCare which had the same infected file right on my desktop, I even right clicked it and scanned it with OneCare, newest defs, no infection detected. Uninstalled OneCrap and re-installed AVG Free 7.5, and it immediately detected the backdoor virus and quarantined it.

vcorvinus reviewed v1.5.1890.18 on Mar 18, 2007

It has a pretty face, so the clueless rave about it. The fact that Microsoft produced it should be your first clue that it cannot be relied upon to provide security.

Microsoft has recently admitted that OneCare should not have been released, and that it is flawed. It did poorly in Virus Bulletin's and AV-Comparatives' tests.

It's crap.

As Eugene Kaspersky said the other day regarding the OneCare debacle, "Welcome to our business, Microsoft."

guti reviewed v1.5.1890.18 on Jan 30, 2007

Too bad it does not support Windows XP x64 nor Windows Vista x64.

mjm01010101 reviewed v1.5.1890.18 on Jan 30, 2007

"This new service is in beta testing."

It's been out of beta for a while. Change the description.

GoodThings2Life reviewed v1.5.1890.16 on Jan 27, 2007

Great product... doesn't bog down my systems' performance, doesn't nag me to death with needless prompts and warnings... it just DOES what it needs to do and does it well. Good job Microsoft... now go forth and clone the OneCare team members and replace your Windows development team with the clones.

Canuckistani reviewed v1.5.1890.16 on Jan 26, 2007

On thed positive side: this software does what it says it does and there have been few reports of people having issues with it. Good for Microsoft. On the negative side: this is essentially a service that runs in the background to patch a hopelessly flawed operating system and they have the gall to charge end users for it. This software wouldn't be needed at all if Microsoft had reasonably secured their operating system when Windows NT 5.0 (Windows 2000) was released. Taking another dig into end users pockets for a "fix" is unforgiveable.

statm1 reviewed v1.5.1890.16 on Jan 25, 2007

I love WL Onecare.. Ive been using it since the first beta began..

And to clarify. There isnt a 64bit version and wont be for the 1.5 release. But, you can install it on a 64bit computer it will just run in the 32bit space.

The MAZZTer reviewed v1.5.1890.16 on Jan 25, 2007

ben: OneCare Live is currently only for 32-bit OSs.... I think?

This is a very good tool, however I despise subscription models... I was able to get a free beta for a bit over a year though, and it has been very nice.

Practice: It will run under XP 32-bit and Vista 32-bit. It includes built-in support for Vista UAC. Because of ben's problems I assume it is only 32-bit at this point.

benyahuda reviewed v1.5.1890.16 on Jan 25, 2007

I loved this when I was using the standard XP Pro SP 2. But it does not work under XP Pro 64. Unsupported Operating System error.

mjm01010101 reviewed v1.5.1890.16 on Jan 25, 2007

Welcome addition. I have been removing symantec and mcrapee from machines for some home users...

FmlyRnn reviewed v1.5.1785.18 Beta on Oct 11, 2006

I love this Program. It does what it says. Only low point is that it should have been "Freeware".
I have since moved to "Advanced Windows Care". However, if Microsoft would bring out a Free version I would go back.

Practice reviewed v1.5.1785.18 Beta on Oct 11, 2006

What are the system requirements? Will this run on XP x86, x64 and Vista x86, x64?

oubeaver reviewed v1.5.1785.18 Beta on Oct 11, 2006

It is a very nice and simple solution. Did you ranters know that you get 3 licenses when you buy this? And it only costs $50. This is a place to review software not bash the company that makes it. You're all just jealous of Microsoft. Also, don't start bashing Bill either. That guy is a freakin saint.

NXprime reviewed v1.5.1785.18 Beta on Oct 11, 2006

Way too annoying! Pop-ups everyday telling me it's up to date. Guess what? I don't care!! After the fiftieth day of trying to click the little 'X' on the message to go away and instead open the damn program I just uninstalled it for good.

Also not good for games. I need to quickly exit out of OneCare COMPLETELY when I play Half Life 2 because of the horrible sound stutter problem. Does not come with one so disabling AV, AS, and Firewall just to play a single player game is very time consuming. NO GAME THAT I KNOW OF RECOMMENDS THAT YOU LEAVE YOUR ANTIVIRUS ON WHEN PLAYING IT.

Why doesn't anyone else ever complain about these issues? Any solution to shut up those balloon message pop-ups? :/

n8 reviewed v1.5.1785.18 Beta on Oct 10, 2006

It's a nice program, and simple to use. I replaced Norton A/V with OneCare, and now my system is a little more zippy. I like the defrag and disk cleanup scheduling for my wife's machine. My BIG complaint is the fact that the backup utility won't include external drives in the backup. Otherwise cool - and cheap for multi-computer households.

fudgetunnel, did you actually use this or are you just bashing MS?

fudgetunnel reviewed v1.5.1785.18 Beta on Oct 10, 2006

Microsoft has a nerve charging for a market that's only been created due to their own sloppy programming.

You should not need a virus scanner. You should not need a firewall.

A mature operating system such as Windows should aim to make itself bullet-proof.

It's like a car manufacturer charging you extra for wheelnuts that shouldn't hopefully come off when you go over 100 Kph - as long as you read the instructions carefully, oh and you don't mind them slowing your car down.

mjm01010101 reviewed v1.5.1785.18 Beta on Oct 10, 2006

This product will improve other security products, if not cheapen them.

I recommend it (for home users I consult to) because it really pushes the end user to backup to a removable drive, which for home users is probably the best bang/buck for backup. Performance is much better than norton. Norton also is rediculously insecure itself and requires far too many updates that require reboots and buggy. I refuse to use it anymore.

As for the poster above me: YOu don't need a virus scanner. RUn as a user day to day, keep up to date on patches, and use common sense. I've been doing this for over a decade and no infections. It's users you have to worry about.

DACWILSOL reviewed v1.5.1785.18 Beta on Oct 10, 2006

Replaced my free AT&T security suite for this product. I tried it for sometime before I made the actual switch. The program is smart and intuitive. The firewall plus is a great alternative to Zone Alarm is far more informative and easier to use. Microsoft is actually understanding what consumers want in aspect of a powerful, easy to use program that keeps your pc operating safely.

rcadams reviewed v1.5.1785.18 Beta on Oct 10, 2006

Installation went perfectly. You get 3 months free trial, at which time you have the option to subscribe. $49.95 for a year and that covers three pc's. Can't beat the price considering it covers antivirus, firewall, PC maintenance, and file backup and restore!

The MAZZTer reviewed v1.5.1785.18 Beta on Oct 10, 2006

Winters: #1 This is an online installer. You NEED to be connected to the internet. Previous betas actually had an ActiveX-based installer than took place entirely in Internet Explorer. This is much more preferable.

#2 You are NEVER supposed to use two antivirus products in tandem. EX: Using AVG and Live OneCare will cause random filesystem related BSoDs.

Live OneCare is an excellent product. I would rate it higher if not for the greedy subscription style model Microsoft chose. When my free time using the beta runs out, I'm switching back to AVG.

Current perpetual beta users should note that there doesn't seem to be an automatic update... and this version is newer. Also your existing Live ID/.NET Passport used to register for the perpetual beta will work to activate this beta.

C.Borrego-Winters reviewed vBeta on Aug 16, 2006

Installing this program is great unless you have to access the internet or use Norton antivirus. I do not recommend this program until the developers make it compatible with existing programs running on the computer. Fantastic idea, need alot of work.

osric reviewed vBeta on Feb 4, 2006

What is this out of beta or what?? Just yesterday i was facing a problem that oncare was saying it is out of date. this totally freaked me out because 3rd jan was supposed to be the day when the MyWife virus is to strike. i almost thought of uninstalling it and installing some other antivirus, but decided against doing so to avoid the trouble of running updates. today i got a message that it needs to be restarted because of an updgrade. i did that and found the startup time significantly improved. the status was once again green. when i opened it i found a little bit of difference. the splash screen didnt show the word "beta" which made me wonder "is this out of beta or what". but one the application opened it showed the same sign "BETA".

well thats the risk and at the same time the excitement and benefit of using beta software.

Neoprimal reviewed vBeta on Jan 18, 2006

As one of the first beta testers before public release, I can't tell you how great the experience has been. I came from a program which had bugs here and there, problems with the firewall and functionality that was lacking, to this - which let me tell you, the developers certainly don't joke. You ask for it, they put it in - as simple as that. They're trying to make an all in one solution for everyone, not just the exert/intermediate user and I think they've been so far, successful. Every update fixes a bug, and the major patches have changed the functionality. Please, please answer the surveys, because they really do matter. The AV is good. It like most others keeps monitoring for viruses....there's no email scanner or im scanner, but once something funky comes onto the hard drive, it finds it, no matter what (tested with eicar)....I'm aware that there are some, more difficult to detect viruses, but I have no doubt that OneCare will find it. You have 3 options, it runs as a scheduled task with the tuneup - you can initiate it on your own and have it scan and you can scan files and folders manually. The firewall is of limited functionality, but should work well for any general use. It monitors all outgoing activity.
The backup again, good but not the best - good enough for general use.
It's a jack of all trades, but master of none - as are most suites. It works, and it works well and doesn't weigh down your system a la Norton tools.

Drich reviewed vBeta on Jan 18, 2006

Very nice. I like the fact that you can just install it and forget about it. It runs in the background and you dont even know its there unless you need to know. Thats the way it should be. The screen is simple, almost to the point where your thinking there must be more. But more isnt needed in this case. This was designed to be user friendly and that it is. The GUI is straight forward easy to understand and in just minute or two the complete novice can feel pretty comfortable with it. Doesnt slow down my computer at all. Havent had any errors. The downside is the backup function. There is no option as of yet for an internal drive or network backup. Only external and CD/DVD. It has been spoke of in the forums and my idea is that with the final release it will be available.

ecvogel reviewed vBeta on Dec 2, 2005

It is a great product. To the person who said it is LAME! This is for people who do not want to deal with this stuff or are novices. If you do not want to leave AU on, download and install w/o prompt, it to use the so-so win defrag (I use PerfectDisk I get a bit more speed. but if I wanna stay green WOC wil defrag every 5 weeks.)

JonathanDoe reviewed vBeta on Dec 1, 2005

That's why your here, right Cris3?

As for OneCare,
The Windows OneCare Beta as far as I can tell with my few hours of use so far, is excellent. The GUI is nice to the eyes, the virus scanning is a tad slow, but it's good. The Tune-up feature is cool, they just need to add a registry scanner/cleaner. Ah and I can't forget the 2 way firewall, which in my opinion, is not only easy as can be and so far works wonderful. So far I believe the only sad thing is, is that this product will have to be paid for. It would have went well for them to offer it for free like they've done with Microsoft Antispyware(Windows Defender).

lettsbs@yahoo.com reviewed vBeta on Dec 1, 2005

Smmoth startup under Windows XP Pro including smooth uninstall of Symantec Internet Security, AntiVirus and Spam Remover.

Cris3 reviewed vBeta on Dec 1, 2005

It works, but anyone who visits this site or reads these reviews don't need it. It's software for the lame.

Crono` reviewed vBeta on Dec 1, 2005

perhaps: can't you read? This is a BETA and only for u.s. residents.

DigitalSin reviewed vBeta on Dec 1, 2005

Works fantastically. Finally a one stop solution from a respected vendor

asellus reviewed vBeta on Dec 1, 2005

It works fine on my system. Although whether it is better than avast still remain to be seen.

It doesn't work with non-English XP because the beta is for U.S. residents only.

perhaps reviewed vBeta on Dec 1, 2005

Just works under english's Windows OS version. All others anti-virus and anti-apyware programms works in all different languages of this OS. Microsoft once again desappointed me.

arunjeevi reviewed vBeta on Dec 1, 2005

it doesnt works in my pc :(

markus10018 reviewed vBeta on Dec 1, 2005

Rating: dunno, since it doesn't work with a non-english Windows XP.

MartyMcr reviewed vBeta on Dec 1, 2005

Very hard to test - it won't work with IE7 Beta 1 - how annoying is that!!

wvbigdave reviewed vBeta on Dec 1, 2005

I gave it a 4 since some of the features are buggy. I had been using it since it had begun and it is a great idea. Maybe once they get back to me on my bug report post from last month to see what they will be doing with it, I will give it that 5. Great progrom overall though.

terminalx reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

A fantastic program...it didnt find anything wrong but its a nice all in one package that doesnt destroy pc performance nor does it have a million processes running and a very clean interface.

EDIT: At this time, participation in the Windows OneCare Live beta is open to U.S. residents only.
I guess its assumed if you live in the US you should be able to speak English...

bakura reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

It works pretty well for a fire and forget security program. But if you have x64 then you are out of luck. Microsoft does not have a 64-bit version available yet.

eric467 reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

I tested this when it was first put into Beta and honestly it didn't get my attention. I've always either used Norton or Zone Alarm so I've been used to being able to configure to my heart's content. That simply was not the case with OneCare. The build I tried gave me barely any options for configuring modules, substituting modules, or anything else for that matter. It was basically asking me to trust that it's doing the right things, which I in no way did.

That said, this will probably do well with the average Joe American computer user, seeing as it's relatively easy to use, but for advanced users, stick with a suite that's a little more up to the task.

mjm01010101 reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

Decent for an MS beta. No issues, it didn't find all the ports I had open, which is strange, as it numbers beyond 40 separate ports.

crashoverride reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

Well normally i would be cutting MS down but I must say this is actually a decent attempt. giving it a 3 simply because it is a beta and it will soon be a subscription service. I'll be staying with Avast AV, zonealarm, adaware, and spybot for now though. I may just be paranoid but I don't feel this thing is far enough along to trust it.

bourgeoisdude reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

Decent product...Beta 2 will really give a better representation hopefully. Catches most viruses I throw at it, though some "borderline" trojan/spyware components that even Windows Antispyware Beta picks up it misses. Well maybe thats on purpose :)

styxrtp reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

To Blackhole: OMG, you honestly think that your computer will run stable with two antivirus programs? I DON'T THINK SO!!! It's a security measure so you don't end up crashing your system, believe me, it happens.
Secondly, this is a fairly good program, I rate it a 4 because of the fact that it will soon be a pay-for service when it gets out of beta testing. I was a private beta tester for this program through MS's betaplace before it was released public, to be honest, this is a good program. For now though, I will stick to symantec AV and firewall that I get for free.

sn1p34 reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

Why do people complain about Betas so much, They expect them to work just like the final product. Microsoft has said it only supports english but yet people still come here and complain about it... I think this is a nice security suit very user freindly any body can learn how to use it.

GoodThings2Life reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

The Windows OneCare beta is really decent, and with Antispyware integration on the way, it will be even better.

To the individual who complained about uninstalling other products, obviously you haven't tried using Symantec products with alternative products on the same system. Dell and some system vendors include McAfee and Norton trials, but just try running both, lol. The products conflict with each other, because they each try to take control of TCP/IP stacks and filter traffic. That's a bad thing for you, in case you're not aware. If you're a tech user, you can probably get around that, but... man, I'd hate to see your system performance.

As for the IE requirement, presently the installer is based on an ActiveX installer component. Not exactly the best solution, I agree. Once it's installed, it does NOT require IE be used, however.

elchanman reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

It does what it's supposed to do. I wish it had an option to set different security settings for different networks. E.g. automatically disable file sharing when connected to public networks.

Blackhole8746 reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

WTF? I have to uninstall Norton Internet Secuirty to install this? What non-sense

yohimbe9 reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

I've been using it for a couple of months and really like it. I think for home users this will be a great a-in-one tool. Hopefully they'll merge MS AntiSpyware into it, too.

WebWarp, MS often betas in English only. Afterwards they add additional languages.

WebWarp reviewed vBeta on Nov 30, 2005

This doesn't work unless you use IE, and use english OS and english keyboard setup! useless