Microsoft ready to launch beta of its free Morro antivirus offering
Summary: Finally! Microsoft seems ready to offer an external beta of its free Morro antivirus/anti-malware product after pre-announcing it last November. The supposed ship date for the final version remains Q2/Q3 2009.
Last fall, Microsoft announced its intentions to deliver a free replacement for its OneCare antivirus/anti-malware product for Windows PC consumers. Since then, company officials repeatedly have refused to provide any more info on Morro's status (beyond the promised Q2/Q3 2009 launch date).
It would stand to reason that date must be close, since Microsoft has been removing OneCare from the channel for the past couple of months. And, as one of my readers noted today:
"I thought OneCare was supposed to die in June, and working for a small business, I'm trying to figure out if we can play wait-and-see on it or if we really need to plunk down $1k for antivirus licenses for everybody. (Right now we're not running anything! Eek!)"
Yes, reader, OneCare is only available at retail through June 30, 2009. But I haven't been able to get Microsoft to provide any guidelines on when and whether the company planned to launch a public or private external test build of Morro. (I ask periodically, to no avail.)
However, Reuters seemed to have more luck:
"A Microsoft spokesman said on Wednesday (June 10) 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."
Morro is being marketed by the Windows Client team, but is being developed by Microsoft's Forefront security team and is based on the Forefront antivirus/anti-malware engine. Microsoft's reasoning for going from a paid subscription service to a free Morro client: By getting Morro on all consumer PCs, especially those whose users may not have the money or interest to run antivirus/anti-malware software, that it will be able to better secure the entire Windows ecosystem,
It sounds as though Microsoft may have told some bloggers/press about its rollout plans for Morro under non-disclosure. So I wouldn't be surprised to see the Softies deliver the Morro beta in the coming days...
What are you hoping/expecting to see in Morro?
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Talkback
Simplicity
Really, all I would like to see is something like how Windows Defender is today--remarkably silent, integrated, and deployable via Group Policy. AVG and Antivir and the other freebies don't really fit those requirements.
For people who want the integrated suites like backup, anti-spyware, central quarantine locations, etc., that's how McAfee and Trend Micro plan on staying in business, I reckon.
Thanks for the update!
Symantec Multi-Tier
However, small business and home users will probably eat this up. I have no doubt it will be better than AVG or Avast.
Simplicity plus easily and completely replaceable
Uh.. I like this but... won't this just cause more antitrust lawsuits?
No
No, it shouldn't.
Privacy
Yeah. Microsoft can Really Be Trusted.
It is he same as trusting Google
Besides, do you honesltly know that Morro is going to send information to Microsoft, please confirm that first before spreading FUD.
And BTW all your precious files are stored in Windows which is from Microsoft, you dont have a problem with that??
Wrong analogy.
Use brain. Next.
But do you really
According to your logic you should not install any anti-virus since they all have access to your confidential files, and potentially could send the inforamtion to their respective companies, right?
And again, all your confidential files are in Windows which is from Microsoft. If Microsoft was really interested in your confidential files then they would have collected them already, why wait for Morro.
My issue is with people spreading FUD without knowing the facts.
I'm hoping to see
RE: Microsoft ready to launch beta of its free Morro antivirus offering
OneCare Was Awesome.. Hopefully Morro Is To
I have very few compalints about onecare and hope that Morro will be the same or better. Microsoft delivered a very good product and I hate to see it go downhill just because it will be free.
Rock On.
RE: Microsoft ready to launch beta of its free Morro antivirus offering
Customizability
more customizable = more bloatware!
Not necessarily
RE: Microsoft ready to launch beta of its free Morro antivirus offering
performance Anti-virus only (Windows Defender is, I find,
more than adequate for anti spyware) that can run on
demand and background scans without being intrusive (no
hijacking the cpu!). Most importantly, it's free - even part of the
OS. Symantec et al. would complain, so make sure it is
optional.
RE: Microsoft ready to launch beta of its free Morro antivirus offering
There was some overlap between what OneCare did and what Vista did ... and I gather that MS has removed that overlap by making Morro only provide what Win7 doesn't already.
I'm fine with that strategy when it comes to backup and even tune-up, but I think OneCare added something in Firewalling that Vista/Win7 doesn't offer: the ability to enable prompts for internet access on an application basis (yes, you can still add application rules via Windows Firewall manually, but this isn't the same).
I think they did this because those prompts result in lots of UAC prompts in the first day or week of usage, but I really really really like this feature. In Onecare, the default was this feature turned off, and I think there's nothing wrong with a user receiving those prompts if he/she really wants them and has a legitimate need for them (which I do). This is only one example of how OneCare simplified the built-in Windows Firewall to be more consumer friendly, and I think it's a mistake to gut these types of features in Morro.
RE: Microsoft ready to launch beta of its free Morro antivirus offering