Windows Live OneCare 2.0, 3 User License (PC) (CD-ROM)

Takes the effort out of protecting your PC This is a really handy little program to have installed on your PC, in my opinion. Once you have installed it (which was pretty straightforward) and configured what you want it to do when, it pretty much runs in the background and does all the hard work for you. It does an automatic virus check, checks websites for any harmful content, tunes up your PC (ie. file cleanup, defragment hard drive). It can also be scheduled to back up your data if you have another drive to back it up to (eg. external hard drive) I have found it to be useful in taking the work out of protecting my PC. It hasn't hindered performance, but my PC is really quick. My dad said that when he used it on his PC it seemed to take A LOT longer to boot up - whether this was a coincidence or not I don't know, but he said after the day he installed it it took longer (but bear in mind his PC is now about 7 years old). For the average user with the average PC, it's probably ok. I personally will probably not repurchase after my year's subscription is up because I know free programs that will perform the same actions. However, for the slightly less PC-literate, this may be the perfect solution to protecting their PC.

fairly ok this windows virus/forewall protector is ok. It;s not in the league as other well known ones which perform to higher standard and have less problems. This can emss up your pc and make everything run pretty slow, but it does the job I guess, but wouldnt be in my top list of similar products.

FREE AT LAST! FREE AT LAST! Heavens to Betsy! We are free at last! I'm speaking of the tyranny of Norton of course - their products got worse as they bacame more expensive. I installed about a week ago and it's been great. Quick to load. Seems efficient. Simple to use. One tip: The defragger on the Tune Up is a bit weak willed and gives up on heaviy fragmented drives. Do a full defrag with the installed Windows defragger first and then it should run ok. All in all OneCare is so much less invasive than Norton that it is liberating. If we have to have antivirus programs then this is the one for me. And you really can't argue with the free 90 day trial availabe on-line....

Not bad at all OK - I have had this product a month now. I have used a 3rd party firewall for something like 3 years or so now and was pretty happy with it except the PC lagging badly whenever it decided to activate an update or utility during a game - my PC would often freeze for a good while. I already pay to use extended service MSN hotmail so i already have a billing account with them - this product requires you to register with them via a Windows live account - in my experience they give plenty of notice when your subscrition is up so you can cancel easily should you wish to. Good bits You don't need to be too PC literate to use this software - you get big buttons for 'tune up' and such like. I works well not to cause too much lag in the OS - and so it should being from the same manufacturer. It will check your PC periodically and advise you what admin tasks you should be doing - you can do them by a click and following the prompts. Bad Bits The system does a complete validation check and software update of all MS components without really asking. It assumes you will use this software to perform admin the way MSN recommend. If you wish to deviate you get to live with pop ups every time you start up, recommending certain actions. If you don't perform some actions the software gives you an amber status light and 'fair' status, to get green & good you need to follow the recommended action - some people may get intimidated into doing it all the 'MSN way' On balance it works well and is easy to use, i can live with amber and do my backups my way.

Peace Of Mind I'm a bit of a technophobe but found this easy to install. I've previously been using a free antivirus software but thought this might offer better protection. This is a firewall as well and it only allows you to access "safe" sites but will ask permission if it thinks you're trying to go to an unsafe site. It doesn't seem to have slowed my laptop down at all.