| Windows OneCare and PC Maintenance |
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| Sunday, 04 December 2005 | |
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Microsoft released the Windows OneCare beta product (US only) and as before, the emails started arriving in our mailbox. The idea behind Windows OneCare Live is to make it easier for all users, particularly non-technical users, to protect and maintain their PC. That's not an easy task for anyone. It becomes considerably harder when you try to make a product that is easy and powerful enough for an entire user base with varying degrees of knowledge. Here's a quick look at the product and some items you should consider before installing. As with all products, there are trade offs.
To start, Windows OneCare Live is a beta product. In the past, I've cautioned people about beta products as they aren't considered done. As example, the product doesn't include a spyware tool yet. This isn't a statement about product quality, but more that the company may not have had an opportunity to test the program against PC configurations such as yours. In this case, the product is moving into a broader phase of testing called consumer beta. Microsoft started a managed beta with employees and select external users last May. Based on feedback from these users, the company added functionality and expanded the beta test to the public. Microsoft defines the product on the Windows OneCare website as the things you should have to help protect your PC, but probably don't because they're such a hassle stuff like virus scanning, firewall settings, tune-ups, and file backups all delivered to you in a friendly, easy-to-use package that runs quietly in the background. I could argue with the description since Windows Defender, their anti-spyware program, is not in this release. Instead, I'll give you the product highlights:
From the list above, you might not see much that is new. Except for anti-virus protection, much of this functionality exists in some capacity in Windows XP. The problem is many features are buried and overlooked by users. As example, the installer for Windows backup might be on another CD.Windows OneCare Live consolidates these items and provides a color-coded icon in the system tray that indicates if your computer is healthy or at risk. The color-coding is similar to a traffic light. Ideally, you want the system tray icon to be green and not a yellowish/orange one as below. Yes, you get instant feedback and a sense of security when you see the green icon.  Windows OneCare is a subscription product and is available for download by providing just your email address. During the beta phase, there is no charge for the subscription and future pricing hasn't been disclosed. Before clicking away, I would suggest you read the Windows OneCare Live installation requirements as they outline the following points: 1. The product only works with Windows XP and related flavors that have Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed. 2. Chances are you will have to uninstall your anti-virus and third party software firewall before using this product. Anti-virus and firewall applications tend to be fussy and often compete with similar programs causing problems. Just so we're clear, this doesn't mean you need to uninstall Windows firewall. If you have one of the programs known to have a conflict, the installation routine will provide an alert. 3. You need to be logged on as the administrator for your PC to install the program.  The three-step product installation was very easy, but needs an ActiveX control so you'll have to first access the site with Internet Explorer. Although my anti-virus package wasn't listed as posing a conflict, I took Microsoft's suggestion and uninstalled it. The same was true with my third party software firewall. The last thing I wanted was to lock up my notebook by having security tools compete against each other. My first reaction when I opened the program was, this is it! I didn't see any of the tabs or panels I've encountered with other security applications. After thinking about the problem, perhaps less is better given the broad audience. Certainly, a product like this will work for people who don't have protection. The automatic features will ensure their virus signature files are current and system is patched. Another group that might be served are users who know they need protection, but aren't comfortable using their current security package(s). I'm seeing more of this angst as newer security software packages arrive that try to do everything. The result is people don't use the product properly resulting in an unprotected system or they encounter a less than optimal viewing experience.  The product performed as expected and provided enough direction for the user. Besides automatic checks, you can also perform a Tune-Up. The Tune-up performs a series of tasks in one session ranging from a complete virus scan to verifying which files need to be backed up. By default, the Tune-up is performed every 2 weeks but you can change the schedule. My suggestion is to set the Tune-up to run at a time when you don't plan to use the PC for several hours. On my test machine, it took an hour just to run the virus scan, which is longer than any full scan I've done. Also, you should be aware that deleting unneeded files isn't on by default. Since I wanted to see which files it would delete, I enabled this feature and turned off the virus scanner feature. I then realized turning off the virus scanner, doesn't affect the Tune-up process. I would prefer a setting where I could choose which features to run during a Tune-up. Then again, I need to remind myself that adding features can add complexity.  I did run into problems when trying to remove unnecessary files. When I clicked the View Report button, I saw this feature wasn't turned on by default. Even after enabling the feature, the program informed me that it couldn't remove the files. Since this is a beta, I took advantage of contacting support. Shortly thereafter, I received an email with a case number and was told my issue needed technical assistance and someone would contact me in one business day. Sure enough, Friday night I received a follow up email with more information to resolve my problem. (Interestingly, I was able to remove files using the Clean Up tool on the Windows Live Safety Center.) As it turned out the technician needed more information about my machine. The collection process was again easy since the product includes an application that creates a zipped data file you can send to Microsoft. The zipped file contained two folders and many files, which I quickly scanned to see if there was anything I thought was private.  The backup feature is one that deserves some mention. The first panel you see allows you to backup by file types. There are many file types included, but I was dismayed to see .htm files excluded. I almost canceled the process, but decided to Select all just to test. I then learned after you click Next, you have an opportunity to add any folder or file.  The program can do automatic backups to external hard disks, but there are some requirements. The external hard drives must be USB or firewire with a capacity of 8 GB or more. You can't back up to Zip drives, flash drives, floppies, network drives or a different partition. For those users without external hard disks, you can use CDs and DVDs. The program will show how many CDs or DVDs you'll need. Although the program's scope is limited, there are some user settings. Under Other Tasks, there is a link for View or Change Settings. This opens a tabbed dialog where you can adjust options. For example, you would use this dialog to check the Hard Disk cleanup feature I previously mentioned.  The main question people have been asking is whether they need this product. I can't answer that, as I don't know your circumstances. I've been playing with the product for several days on a test notebook. I don't think this is an adequate amount of time to test, but sometimes you need to get feedback out early. My initial feeling is if you don't use programs that perform the functions above, the product is beneficial. Without any protection, you're simply asking for trouble. The product offers enough protection and features so that most anyone could set up the product and use it. For those people that have some protection, the question is harder to answer. Many people who have spent time tweaking their firewalls, spyware programs and virus scanners will be shocked at the simple interface. Some will probably drive themselves crazy looking for advanced features that don't exist. Others will be elated that they didn't have to configure settings they didn't understand in the first place. This is the trade off between ease of use and features. It's hard to build a product that addresses the needs of most of your users, but doesn't lose them in the details. In my case, it doesn't make sense to uninstall programs that I know are working on my main desktop and replace them with a beta product. Overall, I would say there is a need for this product even if it's not for me. My biggest issues are the omission of a spyware tool and speed. Based on the Windows OneCare press release, I think Microsoft will add in the spyware tool. The issue of speed is one we need to research further. It appeared we were getting slower download speeds from sites such as Movielink. Apart from these issues, the product covers the basics. There are few areas where a user could get into trouble or dismiss a warning. As example, our test machine has had a problem installing an Office 2003 service pack. The problem preceded our installing Windows OneCare. We haven't been too concerned since it's not our primary machine and we rarely use Outlook 2003 on that machine. Until I get the update properly installed, Windows OneCare reminds me via the color-coded icon that the notebook isn't healthy. Rather than deferring the problem, I decided to act on the error and now have another Microsoft case number. And who knows, maybe it's these reminders that cause us to act and maintain our PCs. Till then, I'm interested to see how long it takes me to see the green icon. Update: March 15, 2007. It seems Microsoft is having some issues with OneCare. Specifically, the program has failed some analysis by AV-Comparitives. In addition, there have been reports of deleted Outlook and Outlook Express files caused by the program. Additional Information
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 16 March 2007 ) |
