According to sources, following the official release of the final version of Windows Live OneCare 2.5, Microsoft sent out a flurry of e-mails to its testers. First off, the software giant reminded its testers that the 2.5 Beta will expire on July 31, 2008, after which OneCare will no longer keep itself up to date (both virus definitions and the actual software). Testers are urged to uninstall the beta and buy a full subscription, which is offered to them at a discounted $24.95 a year for up to three PCs, until July 31, 2008.

With the beta wrapping up, Microsoft quickly sent out another e-mail to certain testers asking if they wanted to continue to test new versions of the software. If the answer was yes, Microsoft responded with a confirmation and then the next day, e-mailed that tester the details of the Windows Live OneCare Perpetual Beta program, an invite-only group. Version 2.5 was all about under-the-hood improvements but based on what my source tells me about the Perpetual Beta, it seems that Microsoft is now satisfied with the program's performance and is focusing on new features and functionality.

View: Full Story at ArsTechnica


There are 6 additional comments
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(1 reply) Quote this comment Reply to this comment #1 Posted by +warwagon on 19 Jul 2008 - 05:27
hope they suck a little less this time around.
Quote this comment #1.1 Posted by vetEmil Protalinski on 19 Jul 2008 - 16:06
I personally don't use OneCare (as I don't bother with security software in general) but I have had heard many positive reports about it... surprisingly.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #2 Posted by mad_cow40 on 20 Jul 2008 - 12:43
mine just updated to 2.5 its not a cpu hog its like it isnt there even on a virus scan
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #3 Posted by rdmiller on 20 Jul 2008 - 14:15
Totally seemless - unless you use Vista Ultimate, where the higher security settings cause occasional false positive warning messages when you reboot all your computers at the same time. You get used to it.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #4 Posted by +statm1 on 20 Jul 2008 - 21:33
Even though this post might imply otherwise.. The perpetual beta has been going for a few years now. Since v1. Its not new.

And I would have to agree, OC is seamless. Its not a hog like some competitors.
Quote this comment Reply to this comment #5 Posted by Ledward on 21 Jul 2008 - 00:03
If you think OneCare is fast you should try Forefront, which is the corporate AV offered by MS. OneCare tends to lag large file reads.
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