Alternatives to Windows Live OneCare

Robert Vamosi, Senior Editor July 27, 2006

According to representatives of Microsoft, Windows Live OneCare represents the exact tools their customers wanted most to see in an all-in-one security product. Indeed, for many months, the expectation of what OneCare would--and would not--offer sent many traditional and nontraditional security vendors scrambling. Now that Windows Live OneCare is available for subscription, is it worth it, or should you wait? Relative-newcomer AOL and venerable security vendor McAfee have both announced betas for their own an all-in-one service packages, which will be finalized in the fall. The beta AOL package will include home wireless management, something OneCare doesn't address), while McAfee has previewed a package that includes an option for online backups and a file shredder, two more items that OneCare doesn't address. And if you're willing to wait, why not stick around for a first look at Symantec's Norton 360, also expected in beta soon, with a final release later in 2006.