Microsoft has announced plans for a subscription-based security service, dubbed Windows OneCare, said to provide antivirus, anti-spyware, firewall, scheduled backups, and a variety of other PC diagnostics.
According to Microsoft, Windows OneCare will also "span broader PC health issues: helping protect electronic assets such as digital photos, music, financial data and software; and guarding against performance degradation and system clutter that can result from heavy use."
This is not Microsoft's first attempt to manage users' data. Their 2001 HailStorm project was quickly panned by PlanetCrap as "All your personal information are belong to us" - a spinoff of the phrase "All your base are belong to us" which appeared in a poorly translated English version of the Japanese game Zero Wing.
In April 2003, Microsoft quietly recruited beta testers for “PC Satisfaction” – a managed service offering targeting consumers and small business. Microsoft described the initiative as a “’Real People, Real Data’ customer research program.” According to some of the beta testers, the 'PC Satisfaction' beta included antivirus, firewall, scheduled backups, and PC diagnostics - all features reportedly now included in Windows OneCare.
Shortly after the PC Satisfaction beta began, Microsoft announced their acquisition of GeCAD’s RAV – a Romanian-based antivirus company. Less publicly, Microsoft had also acquired the Israeli start-up Pelican Security, a company possessing technology to tag and monitor Internet-borne executables and Office documents. And in December 2004 Microsoft announced their acquisition of Giant Software – an announcement quickly followed by a public beta of Microsoft AntiSpyware.
Reaction to the Microsoft security initiative has been mixed, with some applauding Microsoft’s decision with the caveat that the protection be free. Others argue that providing free security software constitutes unfair competition. Still others view the initiative as a public admission of a lack of faith in their ability to build a more secure OS.
Some even contend that Microsoft's security initiative is merely a smokescreen Microsoft is using to record and analyze a user's every move - criticism based in part on an otherwise favorable review of the upcoming Windows Longhorn, in which the author, Paul Thurrott, states, "Palladium will tell you who you're dealing with online, and what they're doing. It will uniquely identify you to your PC and can limit what arrives (and runs on) that computer. Information that comes in from the Internet will be verified before you can access it."
According to Microsoft, initial trials of Windows OneCare will begin internally among their own employees before being released to public beta later this year.
