By Jin Nan Goto

Microsoft announced today that it will discontinue the sale of it’s Windows Live OneCare suite on June 30, 2009.  Live OneCare is a commercial all-in-one anti-malware/security/backup/network management/kitchen sink application, and it will be replaced by a free downloadable anti-virus application code-named “Morro”.

Code-named “Morro,” this streamlined solution will be available in the second half of 2009 and will provide comprehensive protection from malware including viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans. This new solution, to be offered at no charge to consumers, will be architected for a smaller footprint that will use fewer computing resources, making it ideal for low-bandwidth scenarios or less powerful PCs. As part of Microsoft’s move to focus on this simplified offering, the company also announced today that it will discontinue retail sales of its Windows Live OneCare subscription service effective June 30, 2009.

Morro essentially branches off the anti-virus and anti-spyware portions of OneCare into a separate but free product.  From the press release it’s not clear what the future relationship Morro will have with Microsoft’s other anti-malware program, Windows Defender.  Will they ship as two separate applications or will the be combined. Also OneCare had other features other than Anti-malware and it’s not clear how those features will be replaced. While Microsoft hasn’t said so publicly, there is another Microsoft product that is also expected in the second half of 2009.  That product is Windows 7.  Coincidence? 

This move seems to fit with Microsoft’s plans to move a lot of bundled applications off Windows 7 and into the Windows Live Suite.  Bloggers have for years pointed to Windows Movie Maker as evidence of how bloated Windows had become. In Windows 7 Movie Maker will no longer be bundled with Windows and will be offered as a free downloadable program. Offering Morro as a free download rather than bundling it with Windows also has the advantage that it makes it much less likely that Microsoft will face the same kind of legal issues from the US Justice Department and the EU than it faced with its bundling of Internet Explorer and Window Media Player.

Links:

Microsoft Press Release
http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2008/nov08/11-18NoCostSecurityPR.mspx

OneCare Blog Entry
http://windowsonecare.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!C29701F38A601141!10418.entry