Windows OneCare Live Beta 2

Microsoft has opened testing of its all-in-one technical support service for Windows XP SP2, known as OneCare Live Beta 2, to the general public. At least, it has in the US: as for the rest of us, a Microsoft spokesperson says that the company plans to 'begin rolling out the service in beta for other countries beyond the US within the next year'.

The OneCare service includes Microsoft antivirus protection, a two-way firewall (Windows XP SP2 currently provides only one-way protection), anti-spyware protection and diagnostic care, such as performing defragmentation and file cleanup -- all available remotely. If you run a home business or want your home desktop to receive 24/7 technical support, OneCare may be the personal IT department option for you. But Microsoft is not alone: Symantec plans to offer a similar service -- code-named Genesys -- by the autumn of 2006.

To sign up for Microsoft OneCare, currently available for free, you must be running Windows XP SP2. When the product becomes available in June 2006 (in the US), it will cost $49.95 (~£29) for one year of service, covering up to three PCs. Beta testers who sign up by April 2006 will be eligible to purchase the first year of coverage for just $19.95 (~£11) as a thank-you for testing the service. OneCare will be offered in English only, with plans to include other languages later.

Microsoft says the OneCare service will provide the following advantages:

Defence against malicious online threats: Microsoft is bundling together its new security tools -- antivirus, anti-spyware, and firewall -- with the release of OneCare. Microsoft antivirus will not be available separately from OneCare, although Windows Defender (formerly Windows AntiSpyware) will probably continue to be offered as a free download. Until Windows Defender is out of its own beta period, however, OneCare subscribers will have to install it separately and will not have their anti-spyware updates installed automatically but will be reminded to update manually when necessary.

Performance: Subscribers to OneCare will have periodic maintenance tasks, such as disk cleanup, hard drive defragmentation and file repair, performed automatically on their PCs.

Backup and restore capabilities: OneCare can automate the backup to CD or DVD of either all files or of only those that have changed since the last time the action was performed. This will aid in recovery should any files get lost or become corrupted in the future.

Simple, integrated support-service experience: Microsoft aims to provide a one-stop check of your PC's current health. Subscribers will be informed of Windows and Office updates when available, with reminders to install those updates as soon as possible. Technical support includes free telephone, chat, and email services.

OneCare is not, however, without controversy -- even in beta. Recently ZDNet sister site News.com reported that the two-way firewall active in Microsoft OneCare is preset to low protection levels, which can invite dangerous malware onto an otherwise protected system. Also, there is some question whether OneCare subscribers will receive priority Microsoft updates -- for example, they might receive updates in advance of the general public.

Check back for a hands-on evaluation of OneCare when the service becomes available in the UK.