Microsoft has recently announced their plan to stop selling the Live OneCare security suite by June 30 2009 and the intention to replace it with a free security kit called Morro.
Morro will be a PC security solution but will be also have a smaller footprint tailored for “smaller PC form factors” such as netbooks, and will be “ideal for low-bandwidth scenarios or less powerful PCs”. It will offer protection against viruses, spyware, trojans and rootkits. Morro will use the same engine as Live OneCare does.
Morro is announced for the second half of 2009 just in time for Windows 7 and Vista SP2. Morro won’t be integrated into Windows, but it will be offered as a separate download, perhaps in order to avoid another antitrust suit. It will offer basic malware protection for Windows XP SP3, Vista and future Windows 7. Morro will be free.
Microsoft has also announced that it will discontinue the Live OneCare subscription by June 30 2009. Beside security protection, Live OneCare currently offers printer sharing, data backup and PC tune-up, features that will not be made available in Morro. Live OneCare costs $50 for 3 PCs for one year and counts for 2% of the market, while Live OneCare for Server is a dead product which might explain the move.
