AfterDawn: News

Microsoft to release free anti-virus program

Microsoft is set to release a free anti-virus program "soon", dubbed Morro, which promises to handle virus and malware threats as well as paid suites. The software will lack other utilities however, such as parental locks.

Morro is a sort-of second coming of the company's unsuccessful Windows Live OneCare service, and the latter will be discontinued when Morro is ready to go.



There is no timetable for the software but Microsoft says December 2009 is the absolute latest.

Janice Chaffin, Symantec's president of consumer products, says customers want more than just basic protection however, no matter the price. "A full internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected," she added.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Jun 2009 2:17

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• 30 comments

• OzMick

  Aww, Microsoft is sweating that they'll actually have to provide a warranty (!) that Windows isn't broken by design. Too little too late.
  http://www.h-online.com/open/Microsoft-a...e--/news/113327

  15.6.2009 03:38 #1

• scorpNZ

  Interesting! it's not just ms that it applies too,i bet game makers would be even more afraid

  15.6.2009 06:21 #2

• varnull

  Quote:Janice Chaffin, Symantec's president of consumer products, says customers want more than just basic protection however, no matter the price. "A full internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected,"total BS .. what people need is a secure OS where nothing runs without the knowledge and permission of the administrator.
  
  We have them.. and they are free XD

  15.6.2009 07:04 #3

• Mez

  Just one more gimmik to entise users away from the last stable M$ OS. As if they really give a hoot about their users, yhea right!
  
  Those nice people at M$ has Janice sweating bullets for good reason.

  15.6.2009 07:25 #4

• APropheto

  Quote:total BS .. what people need is a secure OS where nothing runs without the knowledge and permission of the administrator.
  
  We have them.. and they are free XDDoesn't UAC work on the same (or similar) principal? Considering how much that slows down tasks and how annoying it is I'm not seeing that as a realistic solution.
  
  
  With regards to Morro, I wouldn't be using it.

  15.6.2009 07:27 #5

• Ryoohki

  Quote:
  Doesn't UAC work on the same (or similar) principal? Considering how much that slows down tasks and how annoying it is I'm not seeing that as a realistic solution.
  
  
  With regards to Morro, I wouldn't be using it.Yes, that's exactly how UAC works. Every time a program tries to make any type of change or run you have to give permission. That was annoying as all hell. I tried having it active a few weeks and it almost drove me completely insane.

  15.6.2009 07:51 #6

• emugamer

  Well, this confirms that they are not in bed with Norton and McAfee. I always thought there may have been some kick-backs involved for providing an OS that was so much full of holes.

  15.6.2009 12:08 #7

• joe777

  Best anti-virus for windows is to run linux on a virtual machine from within windows:P
  he he he he he he he he he
  But seriously microsoft have been trying to break into the AV market for a while now. And I think that they should be pretty good at protecting their OWN system by now, but alas, other peeps / companies seem to know more about it than they do. So maybe they realise that there are so many free AV's out there that folks wont buy theirs. So offer it for free and possibily charge for support, or offer it for free as it will probably come bundelled with the OS anyway and folks will think they are fully covered from the onset. Either way if you use windows, then it would be best to back-up all your data as often as you can.Cause more than 90% of illicit code is aimed at windows, and its only a matter of time till your system is infected.

  15.6.2009 12:40 #8

• DXR88

  Quote:Janice Chaffin, Symantec's president of consumer products, says customers want more than just basic protection however, no matter the price. "A full internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected,Yeah sure we would want to use your system resource eating garbage called Norton.
  
  M$ offering a solution to viruses, is better than not providing the consumer with any.

  15.6.2009 13:26 #9

• ddp

  maybe ms should be running their own anti-virus program on their site as i lost 4 hours of work 1 time because their site was infected. taught me a lesson to always install & update the anti-virus i've installed before doing windows updates.

  15.6.2009 21:54 #10

• xnonsuchx

  Well, it couldn't be much worst than Windows Live OneCare, which in testing was in the bottom 20% of about 40+ anti-malware programs. You'd think someone who OWNED the OS would be able to protect it/clean it better.
  
  And regarding the Symantec quote, they kinda turned into bloatware after 2004, but at least it works far better than most of M$'s crap.

  16.6.2009 00:59 #11

• etkasoe

  Do not want

  16.6.2009 06:11 #12

• Mez

  Ddp, I bet they were! They are 'bush league' douche bags. Their management suffers from delusions they call 'visions'. They need to fire all those used car salesmen and get some serious technical persons in upper management if they ever expect to make a descent product.
  
  This is not new; "Windows Defender" was free for a year before they charged for it. Oh, and by the way there was no way to uninstall it and it kept screaming for a new version. The only way to shut it up was to re-format.

  16.6.2009 06:51 #13

• mystic

  Mez you can remove it just type msconfig in the run box and go to the tab marked start up windows xp wont uninstall an active program then go to control panel and add and remove program... if your running vista well sorry, but upgrade to the windows 7 rc its better... good luck and never take for granted "if its for me" it will cost you in the end... microsoft is answering the oldest complant now befor they are sued think of it this way if I sold you a car with no breaks would you be happy ? so a runaway os that has patches online before the release date shows a major issue and since this is the norm for them can we all say defective product... what would happen if we all took our old licences back and demanded our money back because its broken?

  16.6.2009 10:25 #14

• mystic

  Sorry got caught up in the moment should have typed " if its free it's for me"

  16.6.2009 10:28 #15

• atomicxl

  Originally posted by mystic: Sorry got caught up in the moment should have typed " if its free it's for me"Same here. I don't know why everyone seems to be so pissed off about free anti-virus software.

  16.6.2009 12:49 #16

• Mez

  mystic, windows defender was never part of the add/update list.
  
  I do not think there was one complaint about M$ giving away software. People were just venting their frustration from a decade of gross incompetence of such a prevasive force such as M$.

  16.6.2009 13:10 #17

• SProdigy

  Just get AntiVir and call it a day. It's free, better and less of a resource hog than most of the paid apps out there.

  16.6.2009 18:40 #18

• SamNz

  Quote:Originally posted by mystic: Sorry got caught up in the moment should have typed " if its free it's for me"Same here. I don't know why everyone seems to be so pissed off about free anti-virus software.its cause everyone seems to hate M$ dunno why, and people are afraid of somthing diffrent :p

  18.6.2009 06:22 #19

• wg1

  Quote:Quote:Janice Chaffin, Symantec's president of consumer products, says customers want more than just basic protection however, no matter the price. "A full internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected,Yeah sure we would want to use your system resource eating garbage called Norton.
  
  M$ offering a solution to viruses, is better than not providing the consumer with any.One of the first things I do with a new system (unless I build it myself) is uninstall Symantec and then run the removal tool to get rid of any of their junk left behind. Talk about a sweet deal... they have their crap bundled on almost all of the new laptops and desktop PCs you buy anymore... I doubt I'll be using Microsoft's offering either... I have enough problems with their OS without asking for more problems.

  18.6.2009 06:33 #20

• david94

  its made by microsoft,
  obviously its going to go wrong or not as good as it was meant to be

  18.6.2009 16:21 #21

• ddp

  didn't ms back in the dos 6 series have an anti-virus program as i kind of remember them having 1 & it didn't last long?

  18.6.2009 16:53 #22

• elliott

  I love anything that is free and will happily test this software before making any judgements. Who knows maybe when they make it free it will be even better than OneCare, now wouldn't that just figure. BTW I recently had an infection of spyware and you won't believe it the only antispyware program that actually got rid of it was Windows Defender, I was shocked.

  19.6.2009 00:22 #23

• DXR88

  i Personally use Mcafee Enterprise, Version 8.5. it works wonders for me.
  
  everybody needs some sort of protection these days, i repair computer systems and my biggest grip is 1) limewire and 2) that they have neither
  an Anti-Virus Software & a decent firewall.
  
  this will Help with repairs. Masses know limewire you'd be surprised how many customers actually say WTF is a torrent.

  19.6.2009 01:11 #24

• onewhite

  Is anyone using AVG? The free version works OK, for free. Does anyone use the paid for version? I do not believe anything from microsoft will not be broken down at short notice. There are so many people with nothing better to do then mess up what Microsoft puts out. Go Firefox

  19.6.2009 05:49 #25

• halremawa

  UAC works. I have not had any serious virus problems since I switched to Vista. Of course my laptop has 4 gig ram and I do know a little more about computers than the average person so I can understand why lots of people think Vista is garbage. Vista may be impractical as a whole, but I think it was a good effort and a valuable learning exercise for M$.
  A free antivirus, don't you think you should test it first before you thrash it?

  19.6.2009 09:48 #26

• alexeemo

  Quote:Quote:Quote:Janice Chaffin, Symantec's president of consumer products, says customers want more than just basic protection however, no matter the price. "A full internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected,Yeah sure we would want to use your system resource eating garbage called Norton.
  
  M$ offering a solution to viruses, is better than not providing the consumer with any.One of the first things I do with a new system (unless I build it myself) is uninstall Symantec and then run the removal tool to get rid of any of their junk left behind. Talk about a sweet deal... they have their crap bundled on almost all of the new laptops and desktop PCs you buy anymore... I doubt I'll be using Microsoft's offering either... I have enough problems with their OS without asking for more problems.
  I've had one virus in the last 8 years! It was my fault. I was surfing hacker sites for the key code to a free trial program. I downloaded and installed the app and wammo! Infected...my bad! Had to reformat to get rid of it. Nothing else worked, nothing, I tried free and paid programs. 4 years later I run both Zone Alarm and AVG free programs. I also run Startup Monitor.No problems whatsoever in the last 4 years. I don't click on email links from strangers, I watch what sites I surf, like I said, no problems.
  
  I've always thought that excellent antivirus protection should always be free. Large companies have a vested interest in preventing the spread of malware and viruses. Microsoft should offer av as well. As for OS? I haven't had a blue screen crash since Win98. I run a dual boot with 32 bit XP and 64 bit Vista. Love them both. Vista IS very different from XP, but I expected that. Ask anyone why they hate Vista and almost no one can be specific. Kudos to Apple for crushing Vista's perception.
  
  I'm almost certain I won't use it but the more free protection, the better.

  19.6.2009 15:48 #27

• alexeemo

  Quote:Quote:Quote:Quote:Janice Chaffin, Symantec's president of consumer products, says customers want more than just basic protection however, no matter the price. "A full internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected,Yeah sure we would want to use your system resource eating garbage called Norton.
  
  M$ offering a solution to viruses, is better than not providing the consumer with any.One of the first things I do with a new system (unless I build it myself) is uninstall Symantec and then run the removal tool to get rid of any of their junk left behind. Talk about a sweet deal... they have their crap bundled on almost all of the new laptops and desktop PCs you buy anymore... I doubt I'll be using Microsoft's offering either... I have enough problems with their OS without asking for more problems.My new Acer laptop came with Norton. What a hog of crap! Uninstalled it all and most of the other junk that came preinstalled. Couldn't stand Norton on any level so it's no surprise Symantec is worried.
  
  I've had one virus in the last 8 years! It was my fault. I was surfing hacker sites for the key code to a free trial program. I downloaded and installed the app and wammo! Infected...my bad! Had to reformat to get rid of it. Nothing else worked, nothing, I tried free and paid programs. 4 years later I run both Zone Alarm and AVG free programs. I also run Startup Monitor.No problems whatsoever in the last 4 years. I don't click on email links from strangers, I watch what sites I surf, like I said, no problems.
  
  I've always thought that excellent antivirus protection should always be free. Large companies have a vested interest in preventing the spread of malware and viruses. Microsoft should offer av as well. As for OS? I haven't had a blue screen crash since Win98. I run a dual boot with 32 bit XP and 64 bit Vista. Love them both. Vista IS very different from XP, but I expected that. Ask anyone why they hate Vista and almost no one can be specific. Kudos to Apple for crushing Vista's perception.
  
  I'm almost certain I won't use it but the more free protection, the better.

  19.6.2009 15:52 #28

• FrostRose

  Well I just might take the offer. I hate the pop-ups that AntiVir personal guard (free-edition) gives. But I guess they could give best protection to their own product? Meaning if they acknowledge their products problems (before 2+ million infects).

  22.6.2009 13:56 #29

• creaky

  Originally posted by onewhite: Is anyone using AVG? The free version works OK, for free. Does anyone use the paid for version? I do not believe anything from microsoft will not be broken down at short notice. There are so many people with nothing better to do then mess up what Microsoft puts out. Go Firefox Yeah i use the freebie version across all my machines. I wouldn't go near a Microsoft a/v program, free or paid.
  Didn't Microsoft themselves create such a thriving antivirus industry due to Windows being such a virus magnet :p

  22.6.2009 15:08 #30