Microsoft Enters the Desktop Anti-Virus Wars
by
Randy Mears
My corporate Windows PC laptop is well protected from the hostile world of the Internet. This is something that I take for granted because my company’s desktop support processes are automated, relatively unobtrusive and seem to be doing a good job taking care of those sorts of things.
My home computers are a different story. I have a couple of Apple Macs and a couple of Windows PCs, all are purely for my personal use. It was concern about viruses, spyware and the Internet that first lured me to the Mac, where I house my most important data. My PCs are primarily for net-surfing, running applications not available on the Mac and gaming.
I have never really felt comfortable with the kind of protection available for my Windows PCs. I have tried subscriptions from a number of vendors over the years but continued to have occasional suspicious “episodes.” As a result, I have re-installed the Windows Operating System and all of my software, more than once.
Microsoft is now offering something called Windows Live OneCare. This isn't a sales pitch. I don't know anything about it other than what I’ve read on Microsoft's Web site, but it does look interesting.
