InternetNews.com – Microsoft announced today that it will release Morro, a lightweight security package, free starting mid-2009, instead of Windows Live OneCare.
“We were committed to getting more consumers protected around the world and we don’t want to confuse folks,” a Microsoft spokesperson told InternetNews.com. “We think that, with the features and functionalities being adopted by other products, offering these core security functionalities with OneCare would be repetitive.”
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), noted for its competitive tenacity, is suggesting consumers turn to antivirus vendors if they want a security software suite. “We want to do what’s best for the customer,” the spokesperson explained.
When Microsoft introduced Windows Live OneCare in May of 2006, it said that users found it too difficult to use existing products in the marketplace and directly targeted established security software vendors such as McAfee and Symantec.
However, Windows Live OneCare, offered at $49.95 a year, never really caught on, and got hammered in evaluations of antivirus programs. Also, it didn’t match the technological advances being made by products from established security software vendors.
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