Microsoft OneCares about us (and a *frequent* flier)

In today's IT Blogwatch, we look at Windows OneCare. Not to mention the man who bought a $7,000 "unlimited flights for 60 days" ticket, which netted him vouchers for $70,000 worth of business-class flights ...

Microsoft's anti-virus, backup, and maintenance thingy, OneCare, is now in open beta. Peter Sayer explains: "...intended to protect PCs running Windows XP from viruses and hackers, and to keep important documents backed up. The software client which runs the service will automatically download updates to handle new Internet threats ... The beta version of the software is free, but Microsoft will charge for the finished service, including access to software updates ... The beta software can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site."

» Yoav, from Microsoft's OneCare team writes, "The average Windows OneCare Live customer really only needs to care about one thing: get green and stay green ... our goal has always been to ensure all users can keep their machine in a good state ... many of you have been asking about service expiration and pricing.   For now, we're continuing to improve the service and you can use it at no cost.   When the final version of the service is ready to go, we’ll let you know by sharing the final pricing details and giving you the opportunity to be some of our first subscribers."

» Sramana Mitra muses, "[OneCare is] in direct competition with Symantec and McAfee, both of which are in tight spots now. Security is a must-have category, and a huge, growing market ... The next 2-3 years would be interesting to watch, and see how Microsoft executes on its promise. In the process, certain companies could, likely, be rendered irrelevant. How does Symantec / McAfee maneuver now? Calls for some phenomenal leadership at those camps."

» John Paczkowski at GMSV quips, "Symantec and McAfee execs are likely slugging back the Pepto-Bismol today ... When it finally arrives at market it will put Microsoft into direct competition with the established security players, which have built entire businesses based on Windows' weaknesses." The comments make amusing reading, including this gem from Ed, or "DJ Surge" as he sometimes likes to be known:

"I'm not going to mince words: If MS provides this service for free, all's well. If MS charges one cent for this service, I'm sorry, but I'll be the first to say NO WAY and will support any action to stop it ... MS can't possibly think we're dumb enough to pay for something that is necessitated by MS itself! I can easily see lawsuits on the horizon and I'm sure more than a few will stick."

» Ars's Anders Bylund has taken a closer look: "The app is clearly targeted at Joe Sixpack, who knows he should protect his computer but doesn't quite know how ... The installation will only work through IE because of a reliance on ActiveX, and of course there is a reboot involved. It just wouldn't be cricket otherwise ... it more or less forces you to enable Automatic Updates, as OneCare will show a scary red status light in the system tray if this is not on ... You also get a console from which you can launch various services and bask in the warm, green glow of your system status indicator ... lets you start a full tune-up or perform various individual maintenance tasks on their own ... the only function most users will ever use is the System Tune-up. With one click, you set off a hard drive cleanup and defrag, full virus scan, a backup check and a system update ... Just one click, and you can go put on a pot of coffee  ... there are a few flaws ... no spyware removal or protection, and it's yet another service running in the background ... more sophisticated users might prefer the control and flexibility of running separate firewalls, virus scanners, and so on ... This is certainly not meant to replace corporate security suites, but it's a different story for home users. With Microsoft's marketing reach and the very high probability that Vista will ship with some version of OneCare preinstalled and begging you to buy the full version, I'd say there's a new kid on the block, and he may be a bit of a bully."

» Jupiter's Joe Wilcox wonders about Vista bundling: "Windows OneCare will not be compatible with the Windows Vista ... OneCare incompatibility is tough to rationalize ... One explanation makes sense: That Microsoft will bundle similar capabilities found in Windows OneCare, including antivirus, into Windows Vista ... I now contend [bundling] is likely an inevitability unless Microsoft makes a major Windows Vista security strategy shift over the coming months ... [But it] isn't such a good idea ... Microsoft will unnecessarily compete with loyal partners ... Microsoft's security priorities are not all in the right place ... Microsoft's monopoly position and business objectives could create conflicts of interest that threaten customer security."

Buffer overflow:

• Techdirt: Who Gets To Define What Spyware Is?
• Nick Carr: Web 2.0's collateral damage
• IT Toolbox: Telecommuting: It's About Value
• InformationWeek Weblog: Message to FCC: Stop Hurting VoIP
• IT Toolbox: SCA & SDO, will J2EE turn over?
• Martin McKeay: Attacking the VLAN
• Douglas Schweitzer: Redirecting flaw gives phishers a new avenue to use
• Robert L. Mitchell: Slaying the consumer electronics rebate dragon
• Shark Tank: You got me there

And finally... Man flies a millon miles on 60 day ticket, wins 10 more flights

Richi Jennings is an independent technology and marketing consultant, specializing in email, blogging, Linux, and computer security. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. Contact Richi at blogwatch@richi.co.uk. Judi's gone walkabout again today; strewth.