Tonight I’m working on installing Windows 7 on my wife’s laptop. I’d originally thought that I’d have to do a completely clean install. Although I was willing to do that, I didn’t want to take the time to find all of her files and settings and back those up on an external drive so they wouldn’t be lost.

First I downloaded the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor just so I’d be aware of anything that might be important before I started. No real major issues to report. A warning about RAM size. RAM available was listed at just under 2GB, Microsoft recommends …read more

I’ve written regularly about my selection of Windows Live OneCare as my anti-virus and anti-malware software application of choice. At the time of needing my own new application, I was able to purchase the software for use on three machines. At the time, I believe they were the only company to provide this purchase option. Many followed afterwards.

Microsoft has now released their Microsoft Security Essentails application that will be completely replacing Windows Live OneCare as their security application of choice.
The big change between the two application is that Microsoft Security Essentials will be offered as a free download. Compared …read more

If you’ve been reading my blog for very long you’ll probably know that I’m quite the fan of Windows Live OneCare. It’s done everything I’ve needed and asked it today and has protected me with no problems whatsoever.
I’ve installed the application on every machine I have immediate control over as well as recommending it to numerous friends, relatives and clients. Everyone that I’ve recommended it to has had no problems that I’m aware of either. Since I serve as their computer support and IT department, I’m sure I would have heard about it if they did have problems.
I guess …read more

I recently renewed my subscription to Windows Live OneCare for another year. I continue to be pleased with the functionality and service I get from this suite of products and use it faithfully to help maintain my computer.
The extended benefit which is no longer new to most anti-virus applications is that one subscription covers up to three machines with a full install.
I’ve yet to have any virus outbreaks on my machine or the numerous other machines I have installed Windows Live OneCare on from family machines to other client machines.
Who else is using Windows Live OneCare, what are your …read more

I just accepted an invitation to participate in a new BETA program. As the name would generally imply, it’s a sort of maintenance and error checking program that continuously runs in the background of Windows.
Here’s Microsoft’s own words about the program:
Windows Advisor is an easy-to-use self-help tool that notifies users about problems on their PCs and helps fix them. Windows Advisor scans users’ PCs continuously, notifies them about important issues, and, when possible, suggests easy fix solutions. The program also provides users with self-help solutions, such as including a 1-click checkup function that enables them to check their PCs …read more

I’ve been a very happy user of Windows Live OneCare. I was involved with the product during it’s beta testing and limited release and have been pleased with it as much or more so than I have with any other anti-virus program. The benefit for me though is that it’s anti-spyware, anti-virus, firewall and back-up all rolled into one. I like that, I guess other’s don’t.
I’ve read the reviews about it not catching some things the other programs did, but I can tell you I haven’t had any problems with viruses or spyware since I’ve installed it.
I know the key …read more

A recent article in PC Magazine shares the research that Microsoft’s OneCare product finished dead-last in side-by-side comparisons to other anti-virus software.
“We recently learned that AV Comparatives conducted tests on Windows Live OneCare and the service did not pass their testing criteria,” a Microsoft spokesman said. “We are looking closely at the methodology and results of the test to ensure that Windows Live OneCare performs better in future tests. We will also determine whether any learnings from these tests can be used to improve our services as part of our ongoing work to continually enhance Windows Live OneCare to ensure …read more

I’ve been getting a virus alert message from Windows Live OneCare about a new virus being detected: BAT/BWG.A
Looks like I’m not the only one. If you’re experiencing this problem you can go to this site and get some details on what others are experiencing and what they’re doing to remove the infection.
It seems to occur everytime you visit the Gmail site. Many people are tagging it to IE7, but I don’t think that’s the issue because it happens to me in Firefox as well.
The consensus seems to be to close all programs and allow your virus scanning software to do …read more