Microsoft Launches WindowsLive OneCare PC Care Solution for Home and Small Business Networks

There are four computers in my home. I have a business laptop for work. My wife has a laptop for school. We have one desktop that we keep general stuff on that runs as a server. And then there is the laptop my two-year old daughter has for her to tap on until she is old enough to play games on. In my home network, each computer has its own security and backup processes which makes securing the network a cumbersome activity. In fact, because of my lack of security attention I became a victim of identity theft and never would have known it unless Brian Krebs who works for the Washington Post had emailed me and told me he had met the hacker who tapped into my less than secure network.

Based on Microsoft's announcement on Wednesday they have heard my cries or pains as they have launched a new initiative under the OneCare application umbrella to offer network security for homes and small businesses. The goal of the OneCare application is to provide a comprehensive PC care solution. With Windows Live OneCare users will be able to update, backup, manage and secure computers across a secure network. Over the last two years, Microsoft has been beta-testing the WindowsLive OneCare application and I was an early adopter, downloading the program in its first three months of availability. Initially the application was for a standalone system. But with the launch of the broader application, the options for security and performance upgrades are enormous.

The two most strident benefits of using the OneCare solution have always been anti-virus and phishing capabilities. As opposed to having a Norton application for anti-virus protection and another solution for phishing OneCare offers a complete solution. And as someone who likes simplicity and continuity I much prefer using Microsoft's total package than the one offered by Norton or Symantec.

As of today each subscription is good for three machines so I will have to acquire two subscriptions for my home but for most families, three computers is about normal if not more than enough. In fact, most computer analysts believe that most homes today average 2.5 machines so the three subscriptions is a fair assessment for Microsoft. In general most homes use computers for different needs. In my house my Dell Latitude notebook is exclusively what I use for my business activities. It is where I keep client files, articles I write, and content I write for websites or other publications. My wife is finishing up one degree and preparing to go to graduate school so she uses her Acer laptop for schoolwork. Our primary desktop is where we keep pictures, handle family business and run the other accessories including printers, scanners and our Internet hardware through. With the other Dell laptop, it is basically used to play DVDs and that is it. It is the one machine that does not connect to the Internet so safety for it is less a big deal though I do have to connect every once and a while for updates.

As a Microsoft family we run Windows operating systems and productivity applications on all the machines. And so caring for our machines and making sure they are up to date is important for us. But because of scheduling and usage my machine may update while I am sitting in a coffee shop while my wife may update while she is using the university network at school. But because I am the more tech fluent member of my family I need a better method of administering those updates across the network and the OneCare solution offers that capability.

Microsoft's WindowsLive OneCare solves this problem through the OneCare Circle solution that uses your existing wireless network to provide connectivity and performance monitoring. To Microsoft's credit they have built new security centers in Australia and Europe and are exceeding the universal standards for security with the OneCare solution.

As we move to more service-oriented application programming, OneCare sets itself up to be the service of choice for homes like mine who use multiple computers.