Windows OneCare

Hello everyone, I normaly just hang out in the Dell Forum here, and got a few private messages on this particular topic so I figured I just dedicate a post to the topic and share my impression here with everyone, not just the Dell folks. I'm just going to paste in the last PM I sent out on this, I think it covers my thoughts well on the subject...

I don't know about any benchmarks on it, but do have a very old computer here I still use as a print server only any more. It's like a 400MHz AMD processor in it and 128Mb of memory with a graphics card that will only work with very old 14" CRT monitor. I can tell you this much, I do have XP Pro on it just to make communication across my local network easier, all settings highly optimized so it doesn't lock up just booting Windows.

I put Norton Antivirus 2002 on it once, and it ground the thing to a dead halt. I mean, click my computer and I could go watch TV in the other room and come back later to see if My Computer had opened yet. The only way it was usuable was if I did everything from the command line and that's with most of Nortons features turned off.

Norton 2002 needless to say got uninstalled from it. Recently I landed a copy of Norton 2006, not wanting to install it on any of my regular systems I thought what the hey, it's newer, maybe they've since found a way to get AV software to run better, tossed it on that old print server and it just wasn't happening, made it even slower than the 2002 version did, insanely slow.

I figure that's a good bench mark enough when I run something on that computer I can get a real feel of what the app is doing to the system resources without even having to actually check the task manager. Norton 2006 got removed from there.

I normaly do not run any antivirus software though on my local computers, leave it up to a high dollar hardware firewall I have for all that. When I ran across the Windows one care though for some reason I felt compelled to try it. Guess where I tried it first? Yep, that old sacraficial print server of mine (oh the abuse I've given that poor computer in all the years I've had it, poor thing, I should put it to rest here soon).

The Windows one care didn't even phase it when running full bore all options turned on and all available options through one care installed. I thought the same thing, this stuff can not be working. Ther was absolutely NO noticeable slow down what so ever with it. So I put it to the real test and tossed that computer out into the DMZ on the other side of my hardware firewall with my cable internet connection. It's been setting out there completely unprotected on an always on connection for 2 weeks now and noting has gotten in.

I also have a pretty sizeable library making up my virus collection, yes I'm weird like that, I like collecting inactive computer viruses when and where ever I can find them. Just for fun, I purposely attempted to infect that same computer with every virus in my collection and none of them made it by.

It has a lot of great features, even my expensive hardware firewall don't have, like automatic updates for Microsoft, anti spyware, antvirus. Automation of boring system maintance tasks like removing temp and unused files from your system and running defrag on a regular schedule as well as back up automation. All from a very simple to download and install package that uses up next to no system resources while doing all this.

The built in firewall is great as well, it instantly notifies you if an attempt is being made to run a program on your computer, even basic programs like Media Player and you have a simple option to allow or deny. It also stops attempts by programs on your system from phoneing home by an easy to see pop up that warns of the attempt and gives you the option to either allow or deny the attempt without having to go through acres of firewall logs to find it. Great for installing new software, you can instantly be allerted if it's atttempted to do anything.

I've liked it so much that I went ahead and paid for a years subscrition last night for it and went ahead and installed it on all my other computers running Windows just because of the additional protection and other great features all packaged together and costing me no noticeable system resource issues, even on an old already pushed to it's limits and then some computer.

It's currently free and in it's final beta stages. I went ahead and paid the $19.95 for a full years subscription though. For $19.95 you are licensed to install and use it on up to 3 computers for that single price. After April 30 2006 (2 days from this writting) the price is going to be raised to $49.95 a year, still a good deal, but for $19.95 I couldn't pass it up, and trust me, I'm normaly not a big fan at all of anti virus, and software firewalls, mainly just because I hate the way they slow everything down.

You can still download and try the beta for free right now. Uninstall all that old system resource robbing stuff you had on there before first though, once you try it, even if your like me and not typicaly fond of these kinds of programs, you'll be hooked and loving it.

No this was not a paid endorsement by Microsoft, just a user to user review of finaly finding some software that does everything this type of software is supposed to do, without slowing you down and doing more damage than the threats these types of programs are supposed to be protecting you from in the first place. Yes, I've always felt running all the other anti programs out there did more damage than what they were supposed to be protecting you from in the first place. FINALLY, there's one out there now that isn't one of those and lands in a class of it's own where the others out there can't be compaired to it.

https://www.windowsonecare.com/members/default.aspx