# Microsoft will soon unveil free anti-virus software



## win2kpro (Jul 19, 2005)

Microsoft will soon unveil free anti-virus software 
By Jim Finkle - Wed Jun 10, 2009 4:43PM EDT

BOSTON (Reuters) Microsoft Corp is getting ready to unveil a long-anticipated free anti-virus service for personal computers that will compete with products sold by Symantec Corp and McAfee Inc.

A Microsoft spokesman said on Wednesday that the world's biggest software maker is testing an early version of the product with its own employees. Microsoft would "soon" make a trial version, or product beta, available via its website, he added, but declined to provide a specific date.

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090610/tc_nm/us_microsoft_security

This should be interesting. MS can't build an operating system that doesn't need continuous patches. I Wonder how often their anti-virus will need updates.


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## Rollin_Again (Sep 4, 2003)

That is great news since I've been looking for some new software that will make my computer slower and crash more often 

Regards,
Rollin


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Since many of the major AV makers already have excellent free packages, I don't see this as a huge attraction. I suspect they felt they had to have an entry in this field so that Windows can be shipped with some AV protection from the start.


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## lotuseclat79 (Sep 12, 2003)

Wait a minute, wasn't Windows Defender a free AV software?

-- Tom


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## AKAJohnDoe (Jun 6, 2007)

win2kpro said:


> MS can't build an operating system that doesn't need continuous patches


At least they patch it, unlike some other companies.

Anyway, the number of bugs in any code, regardless of author, may be expressed mathematically thusly:

*Total Number of Bugs = Total Number of Bugs Previously Found + 1*


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## AKAJohnDoe (Jun 6, 2007)

lotuseclat79 said:


> Wait a minute, wasn't Windows Defender a free AV software?
> 
> -- Tom


Windows Defender is AntiMalware.


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## TechGuy (Feb 12, 1999)

You're probably thinking of Windows OneCare -- which, I believe, was free during it's Beta period. I guess they're just giving up on it?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

They deep-sixed Window OneCare a while back. I guess they couldn't find any suckers.


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## RootbeaR (Dec 9, 2006)

JohnWill said:


> They deep-sixed Window OneCare a while back. I guess they couldn't find any suckers.


"But saying Morro will kill commercial antivirus products ignores the fact that OneCare, despite boasting a set of comprehensive tools, was considered a flop almost from the moment it debuted. Morro is expected to be nothing more than a stripped-down version of OneCare, *which means you'll soon be able to download for free a program that few people wanted in the first place*. Granted, free is a hard price to compete against, but will a no-money-down price tag convince you to give up on your current security software?"
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090611/tc_pcworld/microsoftreadiesfreeantivirusapp_1


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## AKAJohnDoe (Jun 6, 2007)

I think that if Microsoft pre-installs Windows Firewall, Windows Defender, and Windows AV that the overall state of the internet, at least infection-wise, will improve. There are a fair number of PCs out there that have nothing now.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

RootbeaR said:


> "But saying Morro will kill commercial antivirus products ignores the fact that OneCare, despite boasting a set of comprehensive tools, was considered a flop almost from the moment it debuted. Morro is expected to be nothing more than a stripped-down version of OneCare, *which means you'll soon be able to download for free a program that few people wanted in the first place*. Granted, free is a hard price to compete against, but will a no-money-down price tag convince you to give up on your current security software?"
> http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/20090611/tc_pcworld/microsoftreadiesfreeantivirusapp_1


As I mentioned earlier, many free alternatives that are well proven already exist.


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## Jason08 (Oct 13, 2008)

This will be interesting how many people will use the new anti-virus. I guess this would be MS' first shot at doing this!


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## RootbeaR (Dec 9, 2006)

Jason08 said:


> This will be interesting how many people will use the new anti-virus. I guess this would be MS' first shot at doing this!


Free? Yes it is their first time.

Not sure why they tried selling a version. I wouldn't buy an air pump from Goodyear to inflate their constantly leaking tires, if that were the case.


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