Microsoft says its free security suite does not threaten Symantec, McAfee
By Jonathan Schlaffer
After my colleague, John Lister, published a post about Microsoft’s new free security suite some questions were raised about what this means for Symantec and McAfee. The new software dubbed “Morro” by the company is replacing OneCare and will be free of charge.
Free software either supported by ads or simply released by companies for publicity has been increasing in popularity as of late. Windows Live provides almost every single functionality of Microsoft Office for home users. Cooperate users should probably stick to Office.
There are also fully functional Office clones such as OpenOffice which are offered for free. It seems this same concept is spreading to security software.
Morro would not be the first free security suite offering. AVG has been a mainstay for several years now and is still quite popular despite a recent update glitch. There is also Avast, AntiVir and Comodo Internet Security which combines a firewall and antivirus software. The effectiveness of these solutions remains to be seen but no antivirus/malware software (paid or free) can catch every single threat 100 percent of the time.
As a result of the Morro announcement, stocks of both Symantec and McAfee took a slight dive. Microsoft attempted to assure both companies that Morrow is not a direct competitor and is only to provide malware protection for those who can’t or won’t pay for software, according to Channel Web.
Morro will only provide malware protection and a firewall whereas Symantec and McAfee provide other features such as file encryption, parental controls and protection against data loss.
Coupled with Windows Live Family safety, Morro provide a firewall, antivirus and parental controls, all for free. Perhaps Microsoft would like to change its story just a bit.
It may not be a direct threat but free standalone software can provide the same features as a Symantec or McAfee suite. Not that the average consumer wants to manage 10 or 12 different programs if the backup, encryption and data loss solutions are taken into account.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Thursday, November 20th, 2008 at 10:40 am
under 
Print This Post
Read more entries by Jonathan Schlaffer.
Stumble It!
November 20th, 2008
I for one like to have free software. The hell with Symantic and McAfee. I wouldn’t use their software if it was free, well maybe McAfee but Never Norton. First thing I do when I get a new PC is remove Norton.
MS should provide free protection for their OS!
November 23rd, 2008
Do the FREE versions of AVG, Avast etc threaten Symantic or McAfee, or for that matter, fo they even threaten the paid for versions of AVG etc….?
Symantic and McAfee have been taking advantage of the situation of security flaws in Windows for years and if MS are unable to fully secure their software then the very least they can do is provide OneCare for free to it’s customers.