Microsoft Tests Security System
Microsoft said Friday it will begin an in-house test of Windows OneCare, the firm’s PC security and maintenance subscription service.
The software giant said it will distribute the product, which offers automated antivirus updates and periodic PC tune-ups, to 60,000 of its employees.
The Redmond-based company plans to widen its circle of beta testers beyond its employees this summer, with an eye to extending to a complete testing by year’s end.
OneCare is a collection of services readily available from PC security firms such as Symantec, McAfee, and TrendMicro. It includes automatic antivirus and anti-spyware updates, along with two-way firewall protection, scheduled disk cleanup, disk defragmentation, and file backup and repair.
“Once a product or service offering hits the market, customers will be able to decide the best product to suit their needs,” Symantec said in a statement. “We are prepared to compete on a combination of technology and the back-end infrastructure required to support it (and) the strength of our relationships with our channel partners.”