Entered CNET Catalog: 05/30/2006
SKU: SERVMSWINDOWSLIVEONECARE
Manufacturer: Microsoft Corp.
Product summary
The good: Windows Live OneCare provides antivirus, antispyware, and firewall protection; defragments hard drives; offers local backup and recovery.
The bad: Windows Live OneCare relies too much on Windows components such as Internet Explorer and Windows Defender for its security; doesn't support Firefox or Opera browsers; doesn't offer online backup; many of the features are already available for free within Windows; overall, doesn't match the depth and breadth of unique security tools offered by Symantec Norton 360 or McAfee Total Protection.
The bottom line: Windows Live OneCare doesn't provide as many unique features and often repackages tools already available for free within the Windows operating system. For $30 more, it's well worth investing in the solutions from McAfee or Symantec, and we give the final nod to Norton 360 which ensures the best protection and performance tools for your money.
Editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 02/26/2007
Windows Live OneCare is Microsoft's entry into the lucrative consumer security marketplace, and it falls short of expectations. At $49.95 for one year of service on up to three different PCs, Windows Live OneCare's early sales appeared to rival its well-established competition. Now, with the release of Symantec Norton 360, the differences among these three super security suites are revealing. McAfee and Symantec offer many more unique features than Microsoft which is new to the consumer security arena. Overall, we found OneCare doesn't provide as many unique features and often repackages tools already available for free within the Windows operating system, windows Defender, or within Internet Explorer 7. And Windows Live OneCare fails the latest independent antivirus testing. For $30 more, it's well worth investing in the solutions from McAfee or Symantec, and we give the final nod to Norton 360 which ensures the best protection and performance tools for your money.
Setup and Interface
We downloaded and installed Windows Live OneCare without a problem. Windows Live OneCare requires a whopping 600MB of hard drive space, nearly twice that of Norton 360 and nearly three times that of McAfee Total Protection. Like the others, Windows Live OneCare requires 256MB of RAM. Windows Live OneCare works with Windows XP and Windows Vista. Only McAfee works on Windows 2000 through Windows Vista; Norton 360 works on Windows XP and Windows Vista. Like the other super security suites, the price for Windows Live OneCare includes installation on up to three different PCs (for example, two desktops and a laptop).
The Windows Live OneCare interface lacks icons, graphics, and sophistication. A toolbar across the top displays current system status and alerts, such as a reminder to activate your service if you are still in trial mode. The left-hand navigation offers to start a scan for viruses and spyware, start a backup, restore from a backup, configure options, and seek help. The main section includes modules reporting on PC Security, Transaction Security, Backup and Recovery, and PC Tuneup. Each of these modules displays a color-coded status and a brief explanation with an option for more details.
Should you want to remove Windows Live OneCare, we couldn't find an uninstall icon and so we used the Add or Remove Programs tool within the Windows Control Panel. Upon reboot we found no registry entries and no system folders for OneCare.
Features
Windows Live OneCare contains a handful of new security and performance tools for Windows XP users; the rest of the features within OneCare are free within any Windows XP system. Unique to Windows XP users are Microsoft's own antivirus engine, two-way firewall protection, and backup and recover. Within Windows Vista, only the antivirus engine is unique; the two-way firewall and the backup and restore are features built into Windows Vista.
The Microsoft antivirus engine is based on GeCAD technology, a Romanian security company that the software giant bought several years ago. Unlike the antivirus applicationss from McAfee and Symantec, Microsoft's antivirus protection is basic and only allows you to configure what drives to scan, how to scan them, and how to handle infections (if any). There are no options for heuristics, antirootkit protection, or any of the bells and whistles we've come to expect from more mature antivirus products on the market today. For antispyware protection, Microsoft includes its Windows Defender technology, which anyone can download for free. For antiphishing, antirootkit, and behavior monitoring, OneCare uses Internet Explorer 7, which is also available for free.
Windows Live OneCare brings two-way firewall protection to Windows XP, however, we could find very little direct evidence. We found no specific configuration settings for inbound versus outbound filtering, although we did find a setting to configure individual program control for Internet browsers and other applications that need to connect to the Internet.
Windows Live OneCare includes performance tools, however, these are features already included within Windows XP. For example, OneCare will defragment your hard drive (see All Programs > Accessories > SystemTools > Defragment) and clean out temporary Internet files (see Internet Explorer > Tools > Internet Options > Browsing History) We do like the fact there's a one-button option to run these features automatically, but that's hardly enough to justify the cost of OneCare. The performance feature is nowhere near as thorough as that provided with McAfee Total Protection, which also includes a data file shredder to permanently remove deleted files.
Windows Live OneCare includes a basic backup and recovery tool. Like Norton and McAfee, OneCare allows you to back up onto your HD, CD, DVD, or USB drives. Unlike Norton, OneCare does not provide online storage. Further, when using a local device, Windows Live OneCare does not recommend backing up your data to a FAT32 device. Should you have a second partition that's FAT32, Windows Live OneCare provides instructions for converting your hard drive from a FAT32 system to an NTFS system, but this hardly a task that the average computer user will want to perform. We think Microsoft could have created a more user-friendly backup solution for OneCare.
Parental Controls (included within Windows Vista) is provided within an additional download of Windows Live OneCare Family Safety (beta), which is currently available for free.
What's missing within Windows Live OneCare are many security and performance features we hoped that an all-in-one security suite might provide. For example, there are no tools specifically targeted for wireless home networks. Aside from help setting up wireless networks, we'd also like to see tools that help users encrypt the signals with WEP, WPA or WPA2, or at least monitor whether someone uninvited joins your home wireless network. Of the three super security suites, only McAfee Total Protection includes wireless security tools.
And Windows Live OneCare is only optimized for Internet Explorer, not Firefox or Opera; same with Norton 360. Of the three super suites we reviewed, only McAfee supports IE and Firefox; none support Opera.
Performance
We experienced a few system lockups after loading Windows Live OneCare. One lockup occured while attempting to backup our system, surprising given that Windows Live OneCare is supposed to be a desktop IT department for the average home user.
To determine how well a product will protect your PC, we defer to test results from two leading independent antivirus testing organizations. The latest test results from AV-Comparatives.org show Windows Live OneCare catching on 82 percent of all viruses, placing it in last place behind all the other antivirus products tested. Windows Live OneCare has not yet been tested by CheckVir.com. One independent source not used by CNET, Virus Bulletin, recently denied its VB100% certification to Windows Live OneCare.
Support
Windows Live OneCare offers technical support with a one-year subscription. By clicking either the Help icon in the upper-right corner or the Get Help with Windows Live OneCare option in the left-hand navigation area, you are taken to a Microsoft-maintained Web page. Launch Instant Support, a button central on the page, takes you to an FAQ page with the option to search for additional information. Along the left-hand navigation, the choices were less specific. Service Overview was basically an advertisement for OneCare, listing its features. Get It Now was an option to buy (given that we had a purchased copy, that made no sense). Help Center takes you back to the Launch Instant Support page. And Safety Scan takes you to the free online scan tools provided by Microsoft.
Using the Instant Support option, we clicked through several FAQs before declaring that none addressed our problem. We were then taken to a support page, which took us to another support page. Ultimately there are online forums, online chat, and live telephone support, but the effort is hardly satisfactory, and the experience will leave most users frustrated and angry. McAfee and Symantec both include detailed in-program help, online chats, free e-mail support, and an option to pay for telephone support, all within a few clicks.
Conclusion
When considering an all-in-one security solution, you should look beyond the price. The features offered by Windows Live OneCare scarcely rise above those offered by more traditional Internet Security suites from ZoneAlarm, McAfee, Symantec, Trend Micro, or CA. Many of the features within OneCare are free within Windows itself, and the few value-added features, such as antivirus protection, are not justification for the pricing and are less robust than solutions offered elsewhere.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89out of 89 user reviews
Smoothest Running Anti-Virus Type Software I Have Used
Pros: You could set all your settings one time and go on with your life. I liked auto scanning, update, clean-up, back-up, mop-up and the whole bit. This program did a lot for the money. I put it in all my clients computers as well and THEY were happy too.
Cons: I used One Care for Several years and have NEVER had a REAL problem; but only one thing, I did have to keep my eye on the windows fire wall to make sure it was on all the time, because sometimes after re-boot it would NOT be on after re-start.
I currently use Vista Ultimate 64 bit, and I did have one care installed an on some XP machines too; and I will say I believe it ran much better on my vista computer, plus maybe the 8-gig of ram helps that part too.
out of 89 user reviews
Frustrating to load in new computer
Pros: Right now there are no PROS
Cons: I have b/ups I need to restore but can't 'cause onecare won't let me w/o 3 diff codes 4 scrns @ once, plus chat and impossible instructions Free is better and easier--You have to be a GEEK to REINSTALL & work w/this product.
out of 89 user reviews
I believe it It has rescued me from a Virus.
Pros: Win Live OneCare Backup = great. Virus prevented use of Cobian backup. I like the auto scheduled Tune Up. It worked in spite of virus on my PC; it defragmented my HDD. When I connected to OneCare online, it auto converted my external HDD to NTFS.
Cons: THE C-NET REVIEW IS OUT OF DATE, to wit: AS OF SEP 2009, ONE CARE AUTO CONVERTS EXTERNAL HDD to NTFS. SO FAR IN THE 90-DAY FREE TRIAL, I'VE PAID ZIP TO MICROSOFT, my data is backed up, my HDD is regularly defraged, automatically. Can't beat that.
out of 89 user reviews
This is the BEST! Windows Live OneCare is a must!
Pros: The reason I like this security system is the ease of use. It does not slow your computer down. When something is a threat to your system it stops it completly! Not like Norton or McAffee wich will let the virus/trojan run through your system.
Cons: No CONS! Buy it and try it for yourself and if you don't try and get McAfee or Norton to fix the problem....
out of 89 user reviews
Does the job with no hassles
Pros: Non-intrusive and catches all the stuff my 14 year gets sucked into. I had previously run AVG and McAfee and OnecAre found 5 viruses on one mahcine that previously no other software had found - they were in archived email atttachments.
Cons: Adding a new firewall doesn't make things intuitive. Doesn't work with WIndows 7.
out of 89 user reviews
Vista + Windows One Care,pefect match!
Pros: Works on it's own without requiring the operator to learn the system like McAffee,Noton,etc which I've owned them all.
This the best I've ever had.
Cons: Perfect with Vista
out of 89 user reviews
My live onecare works seamlessly with XP & Vista!
Pros: Make your settings for backup, tune-ups and updates then relax.
Truly made for the person who does not want to monitor every operation on your home/office network.It updates itself entirely automatically.
Cons: To Easy. If you catch it on sale it does not cost $50.
Live onecare catches and removes viruses quickly with my knowledge.
out of 89 user reviews
Great Product -- Exceeds Everything Else on the Market
Pros: I have installed this on my computers, and it has protected me from Viruses, Maleware, and keeps my three machines running perfectly.
Cons: Wish you have more than three machines protected and on the backup.
My relatives with whom we exchange files and e-mail have all had incidents of Maleware and Viruses, while our computers run perfectly.
out of 89 user reviews
The worst most frustrating experience I've ever had
Pros: I personally like the packaging. Everything is on one place. The program discovers printers automatically.
Cons: The program prevents access to files on my computer from other computers on the network. I worked with Microsoft support via email for over a month before I blew up at them. 3 days after the committed support date, they finally made a call back time.
out of 89 user reviews
OneCare* is very well-rounded in its feature set.
Pros: I've used several security suite applications and OneCare* is one of the easiest and most well-rounded packages available. And the least intrusive. I am able to manage my own computer and review the security on my daughters' systems. Very useful.
Cons: The backup concentrates on Microsoft data files and is not as flexible as I'd hoped.
out of 89 user reviews
Scanner never detects any threats. .
Pros: Easy to use
Cons: Have scanned about 10 times over last 3 months and Windows Live OneCare never detects any threats, whereas free av sw will pick up numerous threats including a trojan missed by OneCare. Pop-up action reminders are annoying. Slows down PC
out of 89 user reviews
stoped my cpu cold.....................
Pros: cannot tell anything about this program as when i went to load and install it partway into the instal and removal of McAffee it asked me to reboot... idid so and now the system refuses to boot up
Cons: I had to do a system restore and spend severad days rebuilding my system
out of 89 user reviews
This Beta needs correction. See below
Pros: Really gets the viruses out that NAV can't
Cons: Once installed I could not use my Outlook Express email. I had to remove it till MS gets it right.
Updated on Jan 15, 2009No update to my review at this time
out of 89 user reviews
Customer service is totally inadequate.
Pros: I was seduced because it is a Microsoft product. They should be ashamed of this program and its lack of support.
Cons: I can't say there is anything I like about it. I was seduced because it was a Microsoft program. I expected better from that venerable name.
As well, when you must talk to a tech don't expect to be able to converse in English. Communication was extremely difficult and I had to constantly ask the tech to repeat what he had just said.
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT.
out of 89 user reviews
Effective, Reliable, Simple
Pros: Extremely easy to install and use, uses few system resources, effective at locating all kinds of malware, under-$50/year price point
Cons: Not as many administrative options as other anti-virus solutions, scan seems to take forever
After uninstalling Symantec Anti-Virus (10.2, I believe) from my computer, I installed OneCare's trial version and ran it immediately; the computer's recent slowness had been suspect. OneCare found (after several hours) a few miscellaneous items which had been causing the problem that SAV10 had completely missed. I ran the trial for the full 90-days afterward and the software blocked 6 or 7 serious attacks in that time. I bought it once the trial expired.
The interface is quite elegant (the icon rests in the taskbar and will turn red or orange if something is wrong); however, you won't see all the options you'd be familiar with from other anti-virus software. It's very, very, very simple. As I understand it, OneCare is completely integrated with Windows (I'm running Vista) and uses several of the pre-existing Windows security components your OS came with. The firewall was of particular note: I had no idea all of the little games I play connect to the internet without asking me. OneCare was pretty clear about that as it provided a pop-up box to let me know that something was trying to get online without my permission. Very slick.
If you have a large-ish hard drive (I have about a half-TB of space), expect a full scan to take somewhere in the neighborhood of 3-4 hours. I will say, though, that if it's on there, OneCare will most likely find it and kill it.
Here's one happy Microsoft customer (and former Mac user). :)
Updated on Dec 2, 2008As an aside, the OneCare Safety Scanner (available from more or less the same place you'd download the trial version of OneCare) has an amazing registry cleaner and is completely free to use (whether or not you are a OneCare subscriber). I'd recommend it just to give your computer a once-over.
out of 89 user reviews
Great Product for the Money
Pros: Easy to Use interface, Low memory and cpu usage, allows system to perform at peak performance, and great maintenance extras.
Cons: Could be more automatically intuitive when encountering a small Trojan virus. However, it recognized it and was able to manually remove it.
out of 89 user reviews
not very satisfied
Pros: Cost less money that other brands.
Cons: relies too much on access to the internet for fixes. Program is "needy", frequent pop ups, stops working for unknown reasons and I think it requires more IT knowhow than the average home computer user. Same problems re-occur.
out of 89 user reviews
Excellent integration with Vista does not hog resources
Pros: Uses almost no system resources, integration with Vista is very tight, works
Cons: No firefox support, $50 a year is pricy.
One thing I knew I wanted was something that does not hog resources. AVG only used about 40MB of ram while idle and very little processor. I know Norton and MacAfee are total hogs, using ~200MB and loads of processor even while idle. My search by having Windows show me my option in the security center led me to Live OneCare from MS.
With a 90 free trial I figure I'll take it for a spin and check out what it does. What I found was very pleasing. Upon checking when it is idle it uses 3MB of RAM and ZERO processor! Wow, I was shocked. I was also surprised to see that it disables, windows defender, update, firewall and uses its own for each of those. This has freed up even more useable RAM on my system. I used to be using ~1900MB of RAM with firefox, itunes, mirc, and a few things open when I had AVG. With OneCare up and running I am using 1300MB now with all those things and have more resources than ever.
I don't know what more you need from a program other than anti-virus, spyware, firewall and all that but that is all I need. I backup my stuff myself to my external HDD and don't care about all that other jive. I just want something that works and doesn't hog all my system resources. Windows Live OneCare has so far fit that bill perfectly.
out of 89 user reviews
Works reliably without being a CPU Hog
Pros: It works! Reliable. Low CPU utilization.
Cons: Price. Especially for renewal.
I like that it works seamlessly with Windows and it is not a CPU hog like the Symantec or McAfee products. I have noticed no system crash so far from OneCare as opposed to the other products.
As for the price, shop around. There are many large stores that regularly has OneCare on sale at a reasonable price.
It is like a Honda Civic. It is nothing fancy, but it is reliable and gets the job done, day in and day out. Sure, you could have more features in it, but would anyone BUT an "enthusiast" know what every buttons does or even care?
out of 89 user reviews
Horrible, slows computer down and customer service is poor, typical of Microsoft.
Pros: None that I noticed.
Cons: Bad Customer Service, slows computer, causes programs to not open or open slowly. Uses way too much memory for it's usefulness.
I cannot say that I found any of the auxiliary parts of the program to be of any use. Changing many of the parameters of the utilities were not explained well, and if I needed help, Microsoft's typical help section did not explain the settings well enough to know how to change them to meet my needs.
Make sure you uncheck the automatic renewal box, or Microsoft will renew the program and not credit you back when you find out how dogged your system will be when this program is running. When you cancel your subscription, they will tell you basically that they don't have to. Good luck!
out of 89 user reviews
An adequate tool for the average home computer
Pros: Easier for average home computer (non-tech type) to use.
Cons: Packages tools many of which are available freely. Does not provide tools for the control freak.
out of 89 user reviews
Great secuirty suite from Microsoft
Pros: Easy to use, fast, and cheap.
Cons: Not included in windows.
out of 89 user reviews
Very Good Performance wise
Pros: Doesn't cripple your PC's performance
Cons: Lacks some features other's have.
out of 89 user reviews
Mediocore software
Pros: Nice to have all components in one
Cons: I can't rely on this software
out of 89 user reviews
OneCare 2.0 Beta Works Great
Pros: Non-intrusive, great for non-techies, nice interface
Cons: Should be standard with Vista especially Ultimate edition
out of 89 user reviews
Sucks Whale feces from the Marianas Trench
Pros: couldn't find any
Cons: Costs too much & doesn't work
I now use AVAST anti virus , Zone Alarm firewall, Spyware Blaster, Spyware Guard, ADaware and Spybot search & destroy. I haven't had a problem since!
out of 89 user reviews
Useless in comparison to Norton
Pros: Can not find removed before that
Cons: Too Basic Backup/Kills internet conenction automatically
out of 89 user reviews
Vista? Not much of a choice
Pros: Works seamlessly with vista, does not hog resources like other suites do.
Cons: Just a concern: Does microsoft really know security?
out of 89 user reviews
Good Things Do Come In Small Packages!!!!!!
Pros: Fixed all my pc error problems!!!!!!!!
Cons: ABSOLUTELY NONE!!!!
I have a (newer Christmas 2006) dell laptop that was running Windows XP and everything was fine until I upgraded to Vista. After the upgrade everything was ccc.exe errors, accp.exe errors, Microsoft Visual C++ runtime errors, problematic shut downs and start ups, blue screen crashes and black screen safe mode was the only way to enter my computer. I searched the internet, Microsoft and Symantec (Norton) for answers. Nothing to be found. I downloaded Clean My Pc ($37.50) and it did help. But did not stop the errors. I uninstalled and re-installed my Norton antivirus dozens of times nothing helped. I system restored just as many times. I downloaded every patch and upgrade for the problematic error dlls and software that I could find nothing helped. I uninstalled Microsoft Visual C++. No help the error still came up even though Visual C++ was no longer in my system. I even tried to downgrade back to Windows XP but Vista just wouldn't allow that. (XP is not a compatible operating system with Vista already installed)Finally out of desperation I decided that I have tried to fix everything but my antivirus. And that my antivirus must be causing the problems. So my $79.00 plus tax Symantec Norton 360 had to get trashed. I uninstalled Norton 360 and went to their web sight and downloaded their Norton removal tool. Got rid of Symantec live update programs. (There are two of them go to your control panel / programs / uninstall programs. when everything loads you should see them) Then went to www.onecare.live.com and downloaded Windows new all in one antivirus protection. I did read the reviews on OneCare Live before trying it but decided if it was made by the same people that made the software that was erroring it must work. AND IT DOES!!!! NO MORE ERRORS, NO MORE PROBLEMS!!!!!! My laptop is running fast and smooth no problems at all. I kept my Clean My PC software I like it. Norton antivirus was the problem. And your antivirus may be your problem. Look at it this way. If Vista is not compatible with a lot of software Microsoft has been changing there software to favor Vista. So check out your antivirus as being the culprit. Even if you system is running any other version of Windows. So if you’re as frustrated as I was try it. I hope and pray that OneCare Live will take all your cares away as it has mine. They should pay me for the endorsement!!! Try OneCare Live you wont be disappointed!!! However I did re-install Windows Visual C++ before install Windows OneCare. OneCare Live is easy to use straight to the point and direct. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to use it. Basically it takes care of its self. And you just get to enjoy everything working properly. I can't find anything I don't like about it. Nor do I miss any options from any other antivirus software I have had in the past. Your gonna enjoy this software for real!!!!!!
out of 89 user reviews
it was poor
Pros: none that I know of
Cons: terrible anti-spyware; poor anti-virus
Microsoft's anti-spyware (Windows Defender) caught nothing in weekly scans for 50 weeks while Ad-Aware, Spyware Terminator, Spybot Search & Destroy (all free) caught tons
Microsoft's anti-virus failed to catch a Trojan horse that infected my computer even though I scanned 3 times (once on-line and twice with my copy), but free ewido (now part of Zone Alarm I think) did catch it
I did not renew and would not use One-Care even if it was free.
out of 89 user reviews
Terrible Choice for Dial Up, Notebooks, and Battery Power
Pros: It works fine for a few days after updating glitches are fixed.
Cons: Frequent reinstallations needed for remote and mobile users.
out of 89 user reviews
Best value paid for Internet security!
Pros: Easy install, easy to use, easy on resources & very powerful
Cons: Honestly can't fault it
My test machine is an old laptop that is used to try out software, test anti-virus and spy ware removers and emulate or create then fix problems.
Live Onecare is simple to install has a smaller footprint than most and needs virtually no setting up. Also unlike most these days, it does not slow low powered machines to a crawl.
More importantly the Anti-virus and Firewall work faultlessly. All the scanners showed the ports to be correctly stealthed or closed but did not close off my network.
The Anti-virus caught everything I could throw at it including some deliberate pre installed infections and spyware. All the free anti-virus software I have tried have been deactivated by an aggressive bit of software I use. However to my surprise the Live Onecare icon disappeared from the system tray for a few moments then reappeared all guns blazing!
To sum up a great simple package that you can install on 3 computers for very little money.
out of 89 user reviews
Do not buy!
Pros: Looks good
Cons: Changed settings that I had already configured. Could not run Antivirus.
out of 89 user reviews
Absolutely Horrible!
Pros: Can't think of any
Cons: Too many to mention
out of 89 user reviews
Anything Microsoft cannot be trusted
Pros: None at all, really.
Cons: Many problems because the product is Windows
1) A company that has no regard for the customer.
2) A company that has technical people who cannot spell "technical." They also have an alarming lack of technical skills and no ability to fix or repair technical problems.
3) A company that lies to the customer, does not take ownership of a problem, does not follow through, has no continuity of leadership, and refuses to help out even ONE Single Customer.
4) MSN will not reimburse me for the money I spent for Hotmail Plus even though it has never worked right. M$ is only ineterested in charging you for the sizzle and not the steak.
5) Why do you think they have no toll free number to call? MSN does not care.
FACTS:
On May 20, 2001, my Hotmail Plus account malfunctioned and has not worked right since.
After OVER FIVE YEARS, hundreds of hours writing emails, calling, getting help from MSN Premium, getting help from Verizon MSN, and Hotmail losing critical emails, and being promised the world, my Hotmail Account is still not working.
Can you imagine someone saying they will fix something and then having a manager step in and say that yes the problem needs more research and then nothing happens?
Hotmail has even refused to return my emails.
Imagine a group of people, Hotmail, who are so inept that they cannot fix a problem in OVER FIVE YEARS. Disgraceful. People still get paid for non-performance these days. If I were a Manager at Hotmail, I would have had the problems with my email account fixed within 48 hours.
Windows/MSN people do not care about the customer, are technically unable to address even simple email problems, and have shown me the very reasons why the rest of the world is kicking America's butt in the competitive arena.
I even told Hotmail how to fix the problems with my email and they still cannot fix them!
I do not trust nor favor any product or service that Windows/MSN offers. MSN and Windows are Incompetant and Obnoxious.
Windows and MSN should be embarassed and ashamed.
out of 89 user reviews
Onecare is worthless to me
Pros: None - nothing but trouble
Cons: Will not update. Support does not have a clue
out of 89 user reviews
Don't Use this Useless Software... Microsoft is Nuts!!!
Pros: Simple to install
Cons: Broke my flawless Vista Computer
Of all things, Installing Onecare broke IE7 so that I am unable to get on the Internet at all. It broke Outlook 2007 too. I am truly stunned. Did you think to test Onecare WITH YOUR OWN BROWSER???
Can't fix IE7. Can't install another browser. I'm going to have to reinstall Vista all over again. SHAME ON YOU MICROSOFT!!!
This is incompetence at its worst.
Please for your peace of mind don't install Onecare!!!
I would now give it a 7 but I can't change my score. It is unobtrusive and troble free but not great. Doesn't seem to do much.
I would now give it a 7 but I can't change my score. It is unobtrusive and troble free but not great. Doesn't seem to do much.
out of 89 user reviews
Easy, Effective and Efficient
Pros: Automatically takes care of many windows features (backup, defrag and windows updates), effortless to use, only need to configure if there is a problem. Fast, doesn't hog all CPU. Good value £30
Cons: No anti-spam, no advanced configuration as others, not as easy to configure.
out of 89 user reviews
Best protection without the slow down
Pros: Easy to install and use
Cons: Gives you a fair rating for not backing up your system
out of 89 user reviews
Good for average user
Pros: Onecare does not slow down computer and use up a lot of memory space, as was the case with McAfee. It is priced reasonable and easy to install and use, with all required protection offered in one.
Cons: Tech. support has been a little harder to reach. They did have live chat support, which currently is not available and must be done via phone, if self help is unsuccessful.
out of 89 user reviews
Simply very good!
Pros: Cover it all!
Cons: Very user friendly!
out of 89 user reviews
easy install, self management, light on the system
Pros: very easy to install, self managment and update, not resourses hungry
Cons: do not use the microsoft ready intalled protection in windows XP so we end up with double fire wall and double windows defender programs installed
out of 89 user reviews
WOW! This is the one.
Pros: Price, never fails
Cons: No cons at this point.
out of 89 user reviews
Excellent --- Does all I need.
Pros: Seemless Windows experience, does not over use resources
Cons: none at all
I love the way Windows OneCare just takes care of things.
out of 89 user reviews
This is good pc protection and back-up software.
Pros: Never has caused one tiny thing to foul-up on my pc, not one!
Cons: Tune-up requires a de-frag, no way to have tune-up w/o de-frag
out of 89 user reviews
Good for most home users
Pros: The only suite I found that doesn't drasticly change system registry, haven't had problem with it missing viruses that have gotten on my PC
Cons: No bells or whistles (con?), Pop up bubbles get annoying if you don't want your PC to update automatically
As with the concern with having a suite from Microsoft, they're mostly aimed at business users. Home users are heavily guarded and don't have many of the attacks that people are worried about. What home users have to worry about the most are the viruses that get on you PC when you install programs on you PC. And OneCare does do a great job at catching these viruses.
out of 89 user reviews
Prevents use of Non-Microsoft Products
Pros: Very Few! (Unless you like Microsoft CONTROLLING your system.
Cons: Prevents re-installation of ANY OTHER PROTECTIONS, even when Live OneCare is Uninstalled.
When you try to uninstall Live OneCare, and re-install non-Microsoft antivirus and antispyware, you will find that the Live OneCare uninstall has NOT RESTORED your Registry, but during install of Live OneCare, the Registry has been PERMANENTLY changed (Thank you, ActiveX!), so you will be UNABLE to instally any but Microsoft protections.
In order to re-install my ZoneAlarm and my Norton Antivirus, I had to RE-INSTALL my Windows XP Pro from the issue CD, and then RE-INSTALL all the updates and security fixes.
I suppose this is alright if you want to be PERMANENTLY FORCED to remain with the Microsoft protections, but I prefer more choice than that.
Moral: ALWAYS MAKE TOTAL BACKUPS of your System and Registry, or use GoBack BEFORE INSTALLING ANY new Microsoft product. That lockout is going to occur with more and more Microsoft products.
out of 89 user reviews
Giving WLOC a purchased try
Pros: easy install; quicker boot and ready desktop
Cons: Is it doing the job of security software?
http://reviews.cnet.com/Windows_Live_OneCare/4869-9239_7-31899024.html?messageSiteID=7&messageID=1976047&cval=1976047;2378620&ctype=msgid;cmsgid&commentMessageID=2378620
I then finished reading the reviews concentrating on the negative ones to find out why they did not like the program.
I can ignore the problems with install because users either installed using a downloaded trial or were upset they had to remove other security software prior to OC install. The one exception being the one person who had to uninstall some MS database software which is buggy in itself.
I can also ignore to a degree the complaints about a lack of specific control over the tools. As a former developer and now a user, I do not wish to spend 10% of each computer session dealing with the security program. While I might wish to see a log of activity showing detections, halts, quarantines and deletions, I really just want it to do its job. More on that later.
I do wish to be able to easily disable these elements of the suite however...
- launch on boot
- anti-virus
- ad/spyware
- firewall
Enabling and disabling these should be right clickable from the system tray icon. This is necessary for installing other software, troubleshooting, testing and just to see how quickly things work without the security ON.
Several of the reviewers complained about the lack of these disable/enable switches and I agree.
What is most troubling are the several tests conducted by persons who obviously had a test plan, computer resources and known infected files who were able to infect their machines while OC was running and who witnessed OC's disregard for these infections after a reboot!
This is UNACCEPTABLE. I found c/net's video review to be insufficient. I would like c/net to re-review this product with an emphasis upon detecting and eliminating viruses, adware, spyware and attempts at unauthorized access to the computer and unauthorized outgoing packets.
I installed this on our home desktop before leaving for a roadtrip. I had to rebuild the computer because of Norton IS and it's tendency to grind to a halt and display the ccApp.exe failure error. I'm sick of Norton's 'blue screen.' Since I like to own and hold the CD for my software, I purchased WLOC at WalMart and installed on our home machine.
The install was clean and quick. It's been running for over 1 week and my wife and son report the computer is running much faster than with Norton IS and GhostSurf handling the security chores. I know this is not a lot of time to evaluate a product. But before installing OC on my laptop, I decided to see what others were saying about it.
The only REAL concern I have at this point is that OC may not be DOING ITS JOB! The reviewers who tried to infect their machines with OC running did so, and THAT has me searching even this very day for an alternative to OC and Norton IS and GhostSurf.
I'll take one more minute to say that it's time the computer user community demand from its elected officials an all out war against those creating and intensionally spreading these security threats. This is costing billions of dollars of lost time and resources every year. It's time the computer community come up with a strategy and a design on how to track and ID the source of these criminal assaults upon our property.
I'm also tired of this spam email and its time we as a community design a legal mechanism to halt the spamming of our mail boxes with this crap.
I am a 100% supporter of an open, free and net neutral Internet. I am a 100% supporter of free speech. But this does not translate into allowing criminals to infect our machines, destroy or mangle our data, steal our identities and waste our time. Neither does my support for a free Internet and free speech translate into people clogging my email box with unsolicited crap. It's time we had a no-email law passed that allows users to sign-up saying we will not tollerate unsolicited commerce or porn email.
Hopefully, c/net can look into this political request as well as all users struggle with these viruses, ad/spyware and criminal attempts to gain entry into our computers over the net.
David
out of 89 user reviews
It seems to be working well. I installed Windows Live Care last October
Pros: I like the e-mail filters and the back-up program.
Cons: On line help has not been all that great.
out of 89 user reviews
good pc for designing
Pros: graphic designing
Cons: high speed personal pc
please sugest me for pc. which pc i purchase.
out of 89 user reviews
Annoying Piece of Nagware
Pros: Set and Forget
Cons: Lack of User Defined Settings
out of 89 user reviews
A Full Suite Of Sub-par Applications
Pros: Easy to purchase
Cons: Neutered Backup, System Resource Hog, Mystery Meat
Even though 1.5 could supposedly back up to network drives, we never got it to work with our Linksys NAS connecting a WD 160 USB 2.0 external hard disk on our network. Ironically, Windows XP backup had no problems with this configuration.
Options for backup and restore are also extremely limited. This is probably the best example of where this "neutered dog won't hunt."
The antivirus and anti-malware of Live OneCare are likely adequate for most people although, as mentioned previously, they do negatively impact system performance. To be fair, the industry leading antivirus programs/suites from McAfee and Symantec are also known as performance drags.
Don't let the $19.95 INTRODUCTORY price fool you. Microsoft is simply buying market share. In the case of OneCare, you may be getting just what you are paying for.
Until one of the major AV / System Maint. vendors produce a suite of applications that individually could be considered "Best-of-Breed(BOB, Ironic isn't it!)" and that dont' slow your system to a crawl, we will continue to recommend individual/complementary BOB solutions for AV, Anti-spyware and backup.
out of 89 user reviews
The best easy to use hassle free maintenance software out there.
Pros: Easy to use and understand, Quiet
Cons: Not the best malware detection system
Although its not the cheapest security suite out there, Windows live onecare is an excellent choice for an average web surfer. Its an all in one anti-virus, spyware, fishing software which runs quietly in background only notifying you of important issues. Only problem can be its less capable anti-virus. Norton seems to lead the way in detection but OneCare is much more faster. Personally i believe one care leads the way in firewall and speed but falls behind in virus detection compared to its rivals Mcafee and Norton. Just download your 90days trial and if u like it go ahead and buy it. one care also has tune-up and backup tools for your windows pc.
out of 89 user reviews
Simple nd sweeeet!!!
Pros: eats up less memory..,and the best part is "turn up" and its pretty fast in scannin too
Cons: i found none
out of 89 user reviews
nearly perfect..i an't beleive that microsoft could do this!
Pros: every feature that it has is perfectly..and fast startups
Cons: missing some key features in order to be a total security...but..it's there first time in the block!
i can proudly say that my computer is really fast..and has the latest game, security, software etc....
out of 89 user reviews
Best PC Security Available
Pros: Does a great job & does it well.
Cons: None that I can find
Ignore the moaners who object to paying & say there are "free" security suites available that are better.
If someone can find a better set of security tools, let me know.I am sure you will have a difficult job.
Well done, Microsoft.
out of 89 user reviews
Lacks professional features and user control
Pros: Offers basic protection to users who do not want control and Good Customer service for the most part
Cons: Lacks professional features and there is almost no user control
The user has almost no control over anything. You can flip services on or off but besides that you can not fine tune anything.
The program offers almost no feedback to the user when it is doing things. For example during a scan it basically tells you nothing of what is going on.
The customer experiance is generally good though. With the remote desktop control the Microsoft techs can do almost any repair on your computer including those that require several reboots since the service reconnects to the same tech after each reboot.
However, the program offers the user zero details on what virii, spyware, etc it is scanning for or which ones it is designed to scan for since the program basically tells you nothing at all.
Microsoft has out done themselves on removing any and all control from the user on this program. This is a typical "We know what is best for your computer and you need not have any control over what we are doing" M$ application.
Also, you would think this program would be free with Windows which costs an arm and leg and has so many security issues, performance problems and instabilities. Why pay the same people who make the volnerable OS to begin with?
My advice, go get a better AV suite.
out of 89 user reviews
Great Product
Pros: Works Great - as expected
Cons: None at this time
out of 89 user reviews
I expected better
Pros: Easy to use
Cons: Cannot scan in safemode or diagnotics modes, you lose a lot of control
Also I feel that it is Microsoft’s job to protect the operating systems. Perhaps they could spend more R&D on preventing intrusions, and leave the virus market to someone else. Or at least make it an optional part of the OS.
One final note, I thought Onecare took too many liberties with “controlling” my PC. The idea, that they will take care of it and all I need to do is say yes, just gives me the chills.
out of 89 user reviews
An All-in-one Protection Package
Pros: Automatically updates and maintains 3 PC's
Cons: None I can think of...
out of 89 user reviews
EXCELLENT! Try it, you'll like it!
Pros: Cheap, easy to use, effective, doesn't hog resources!
Cons: Haven't found one yet, but I hear support may be an issue.
out of 89 user reviews
If people really tested it properly
Pros: Has a nice interface
Cons: It lets you belive it is doing a good job
out of 89 user reviews
As good as anything else, and cheaper
Pros: cheap: sells for 20 bucks at Fries Electronics (up to 3 computers), firewall is less bothersome since it comes with a list of common safe apps to let through
Cons: could be smaller and nimbler, but it's not as bad at slowing down the system or crippling the OS as other anti-v though, since it's made by Microsoft
I have been a Beta tester for this program since it was first released to the public and I have had absolutely no problems with it. I have noticed no slowdown or any conflicts with other programs.
I find the backup portion very unuseful, but it is easily disabled so no problem there.
out of 89 user reviews
Onecare, so far so good.
Pros: Easy to use, and it doesnt run such a heavy load that is slows or stops the system.
Cons: I had got malware on my first trial experience, but never a problem since
out of 89 user reviews
Inflexible licencing
Pros: Good, worry free bundle
Cons: License difficult to manage with several computers
out of 89 user reviews
Good v1 all-in-one AV/Security App
Pros: All-in-one, backup included, keeps you informed without being obnoxious
Cons: Can't backup to network shares
out of 89 user reviews
Buy it Today Your Computer will be Safer Tomorrow
Pros: Ease of use, works flawlessly, total protection
Cons: I have yet to find a con!
Windows Live OneCare has worked without a flaw. It is like a dream come true. Finally something that works and I don't have to deal with any headaches.
Highly recommend.
out of 89 user reviews
Great First Release
Pros: Easy to use, Beta was slow to production product is much better. Has found and fixed most of my attacks
Cons: Needs to run as lower priority in the background. My PC is slower when tune up in occuring
out of 89 user reviews
Runs quietly in the Background
Pros: Low Maintenance
Cons: So quiet your not sure if it's doing anything :-)
Prior to this I've used both McAfee and Norton. Both of these products eventually caused problems on my PC where I would have to uninstall and reinstall the apps on a regular basis to get things back to normal. Very irritating so I was ready to try something new.
OneCare is so easy to use you just set it and forget it and it takes care of everything, including backup which you never really think about until you need it (I lost a hard drive and learned this the hard way).
The only thing that was hard to adjust to is the fact that the program very rarely sends any messages to the User. After using Norton and McAfee where you are constantly bombarded with messages about what they are doing this program takes some getting used to because it is so "quiet". You know it's working by the little green icon in your taskbar but that's about all you see on a regular basis.
I do recommend this program for it's ease of use.
out of 89 user reviews
only good for average user
Pros: easy to use and when you do clean up it automaticly defrags
Cons: havent found any except my roomies dont like me having a firewall lol
out of 89 user reviews
Not as good as many freeware programs.
Pros: average firewall but blocks many safe programs but can be configured to allow them after they get blocked.
Cons: poor virus and trojan protection, poor system backup, poor spyware protection.
I will have to say that I was very disappointed with its overall preformance.
First, the firewall blocks the connections to a program before it asks you if you want to allow it. You have to check allow next time. This is very aggravating, it should ask you before it blocks something that you want. It also allowed some open ports which Windows XP SP2 Firewall didn't allow. ZoneAlarm free version did much better and does ask you before it blocks anything.
The virus and trojan protection is poor. I tested this with many know viruses in the wild and it did not detect many of them. I could say how good it is at removing viruses and trojans since most of my tests were inactive virus and trojan samples. All of the freeware anti-virus softwares (Avast, AVG, and AntiVir) did detect these virus and trojan samples. So did Norton, Nod32, McAfee, TrendMicro Pc-cillin, Kaspersky and BitDefender.
System backup wasn't very good either. It is more easy to just right click a file or folder on your computer and send it to your write drive.
The spyware protection had many false positives. On my clean computer, it detected 16 false positives almost as many as PestPatrol. Free programs like Spybot S&D, Ad-Adware SE, SpywareBlaster, and SpywareGuard had better protection. For a full spyware protection Webroot SpySweeper and PC Tools SpywareDoctor do an excellent job but you have to buy them.
There are many better options to choose from whether you want freeware or want to buy.
out of 89 user reviews
Decent AV, nothing Great
Pros: Lots of Features, Up to 3 users, Can be found for $20
Cons: See Cons Below
1) Relavtively Cheap (Available for $20 online)
2) Lots of Features, AV+Firewall+Antispyware+Defragmenter+Backup
3) Can install on up to 3 computers
4) Nice looking interface
Cons continued
1) Not very customisable...haven't been able to select time/frequency of scans
2) Antispyware is Windows Defender (available to everyone for free)
3) Some what slow to load up. Scan Time > 1hr
4) Doesn't show date of last scan anywhere
5) Microsoft has no history/experience to rely on with Antivirus
To compare AV's go to http://www.av-comparatives.org/, its a great site.
Installation is a pain. Downloading from internet requires a Microsoft Passport account, and IE 6. So no Firefox or Opera
out of 89 user reviews
Below Basic software
Pros: installs ok
Cons: Not enough options or Logs
out of 89 user reviews
most difficult installation that i have had in 15 years
Pros: unable to install-had to go to another company's software
Cons: unable to install-to difficult-too many problems
out of 89 user reviews
One care , Will it do what it is advertised to do or not
Pros: Jury still out
Cons: Ran full system scan, it removed Micrsoft Greetings program that I had installed
out of 89 user reviews
A very good and easy to use program.
Pros: very user friendly
Cons: I have no cons on this program.
out of 89 user reviews
Absolutely Good Stuff!
Pros: Easy to Install, Faster than Norton
Cons: Won't back up to network storage (coming with Vista, I hear)
I've installed it on all the computers I end up maintaining for friends and family. Installation on all of them (6 of 'em) was error free. My donated maintenance time is down to zero.
out of 89 user reviews
Awful Program!!!!
Pros: There are absolutely no pros to this program
Cons: More bugs than a termite farm
out of 89 user reviews
Worst experience with a software, ever!
Pros: All in One, if you can make it work
Cons: 1. Terrible support. 2. Sometimes it takes too long to open.
my computer for four days now and it's all because of the same problem: Firewall doesn't turn on. But forget about the firewall and let's talk about my experience with support.
1. Not everytime you click on "Get help", you get the option to get chat support, it usually takes you to e-mail or automated support. First time I did, it took me to an automated support (meaning no one is helping you, is a list a methods to troubleshoot whatever problem you have). I followed the steps, it didn't work.
2. I tried a second time, again I was taken to automated support with four different methods; I followed each, step by step and none of them worked.
3. Third time, finally gave me the option to get chat support. When you click on it, it tells you that it might take up to 10 minutes before the chat session starts, I waited 20 minutes and nothing...
4. Fourth time I decided to call. They put me on hold for 10 minutes, a lady took my info. and then transferred me to technical support, waited another 6 minutes. When I finally get someone "LIVE (ONE CARE)" to help me, I spent 50 minutes (of my very limited cellphone plan)following all the steps, nothing worked. By the way, the tech. supp. guy was very
sarcastic and kind of rude, after I let him know that, I got better service from him.
5. I e-mailed the tech. supp. guy to let him know it didn't work. He e-mail me back with more instructions, and of course I followed, didn't work....
6. I decided to get chat support. I waited 30 minutes, not 10 as they say, to start a chat session. More steps to follow, didn't work...
7. Clicked on chat support again. I waited 35 minutes online, only to get a message that CHAT SUPPORT WAS NOT AVAILABLE with a sentence after that stating "Support 24/7".
8. Tired of dealing with that, I finally sent an e-mail requesting instructions to revert all the steps, commands they made me perform on my computer, so I can uninstall it and reinstall another product I had before, no one contacted me...
All this in three days, spending HOURS each day. This is my forth day, I decided to uninstall this software and reinstall the Symantec/Norton product I had before. Live One Care has been the worst experience I have had with a software so far, including their support, (Symantec has faster and more efficient chat support). I have had McAffee, all types of Norton products, AVG, Adware, etc. Don't waste your time and money like I did with Live One Care, if you really want this product, wait until it gets better, IF IT DOES....
There is a reason why it's more affordable ($49.99) compared to others: product is not properly developed+support is poor, very poor. I never write reviews but this time I decided to do it, so this doens't happen to you.
By the way, who wants e-mail support? We want support now!
out of 89 user reviews
Simple, Fast, and Inexpensive!
Pros: Integrates seamlessly into windows, easy to use, easy to install, fast!
Cons: Have to manage firewall from settings screen, downloads from the Internet even with CD.
For the price, OneCare is worth it.
out of 89 user reviews
Quick, intuitive and user-friendly
Pros: Protects 3 PC's, No fuss, very user-friendly
Cons: Haven't found any yet...
In my opinion ONLY Microsoft fully know the source code of Windows Products so by default should produce the best product!
This software is not resource hungry like other products are (namely Norton!)
out of 89 user reviews
Using on three PC's works very well on all
Pros: Easy to use, good interface, does not hog resources
Cons: Not free anymore
out of 89 user reviews
Not With Media Edition
Pros: Easy Install
Cons: Uninstall Leaves Trash
Long story short - I had to rebuild my system to eliminate the problems.
I liked it better than existing Norton counterparts but not enough to ever purchase the finished product.
out of 89 user reviews
Great self maintaining program
Pros: Low system resources, AV scans more indepth, self-maintaining
Cons: No network backup option, should be able to use own defrag or use a updated, better version than the one in Windows.
THe other products are of a user maintained with updates program. WLOC is a self-managing solution with little interaction from the user. The difference in price is with others, $50 is for 1 PC. WLOC $50 is for 3 PC's. A 3 pack of Norton Anti-Virus is ~$80. I would hate to see the price of Norton Internet Security 3 pack. Also other security suites (at lest Norton) do not offer phone support.
It is a light wieght product that gets the job done. Friends and readhing online people find their pc running faster. I love the product and have not looked back. I will consider giving it a 10 when Version 2 comes out.
out of 89 user reviews
Seamless performance for Windows XP
Pros: Trust that it was made to run well in Windows, easy to set up, can be run on 3 PCs
Cons: Not much different from Norton and McAfee products
I used one of my PC installs on my parents' PC for the reason of simplicity. Their PC runs the AV and Spyware updates, Windows Updates, and Defragmentation automatically. This is a definate plus for the average home user. Plus, Live OneCare gives you a daily status of the PC. Overall, I feel this product is just as good, if not slightly better than the competition from Norton and McAfee, and I will continue to use it and recommend it to others. 8 out of 10. Microsoft could afford to charge less for this product I think. $29.99 a year would be about right.
out of 89 user reviews
Too many problems for a delivered product...
Pros: Sure everything is managed in one spot
Cons: It is incumbent on the customer to make everything work
out of 89 user reviews
No Hassle. No Hitch. No Frustration.
Pros: Integrates as if a part of the Windows system. No Frustrations.
Cons: Not as many adminitrative features as competitors.
I do miss some of the special tweaks that I could do with Symantec, but I'm sure that MS will eventually get more robust with this application. The elimination of the pain and frustration is worth it---only one application to install. No more wierdness arising from Symantec executables locking up or no more constant reminders from multiple applications.
From experience, it is much worth the install time.
out of 89 user reviews
Works seamlessly without a glitch.
Pros: Simple install, great interface, no fuss to tweak.
Cons: None detected on three different computers.
out of 89 user reviews
Don't put all your eggs in one basket!
Pros: All-in one ease
Cons: All-in one holes
