OneCare.... Confused?

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Hopefully someone can help clarify some things for me. One of the 'selling
points' of Vista is it has improved built-in security features (ie. windows
firewall, defender) as well as improved maintenance features (backup
features, diagnostic & tuning features). One of the features not
incorporated in to Vista is an antivirus program. The store I purchased my
computer from included a copy of Live OneCare with the purchase so that's
what I'm using for antivirus. But, I'm confused about why there seems to be
so much overlapping functionality between Vista's built-in features and the
services provided in OneCare. More importantly, I don't understand the
differences between some of these things & which one I should be using.

1. Both onecare & vista have a firewall. When I install Onecare does it
turn off the vista firewall or are they both running? If so, is it ok to
have 2 firewalls running?
2. Similar question with regards to spyware. Is the antispyware with
onecare improved over Windows Defender? Do they run together, or does one
over ride the other?
3. What about maintenance & backup scheduling? Should I schedule my
backups, disk defrags, cleanups, etc through onecare or through Vistas
built-in utilites.

Thanks in advance
 
Bonnie,

Your question and genuine concern is not only very valid; within your
questions, you provided the answer. As you shared, regarding the “accurateâ€
selling points of Vista; the inherent security within Vista solo is near
unbelievable. As end users add third party programs to Vista, progressively,
(user induced) troubles and conflicts develop while using Vista. While
browsing these Forums, almost without exception, the majority of complaints
are from users that have added third party programs, including OneCare.

Suggestion, research Microsoft Sites for learning why Vista solo provides
state-of-the art security. The below URLs will better respond to you
questions and guide you to additional new understandings.
http://www.microsoft.com/security/windowsvista/allchin.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/features/details/accessibility.mspx

Additionally, Vista end users that *never* add third party programs rarely
ever visit theses Forums unless their only purpose is for sharing the joy and
user friendly functionalities while using Vista.

Apologize that my response is intentionally somewhat indistinct and
clandestine. Simply, the Vista selling points have not changed.
 
OneCare is a good product for someone who does not have a lot of computer
knowledge. Think of it as the "Microsoft Bob" of computer safety and
security. (If you need to Google Bob, just do so and do not tell me about
it. I already know I'm that old. :-) ) Also do remember that OneCare
predates Vista, so many of its features are more squarely aimed at the XP
crowd that don't have the Vista enhancements.

If you are a reasonably knowledgeable computer user you can leverage the
tools in Vista to provide as much, if not more protection, than OneCare
provides. Add one antivirus to your Vista package and you have what you
need. But if you prefer the "One Big Control Panel" paradigm you may well
find that OneCare suits you better.

OneCare will integrate with the similar features in Vista, not replace them.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Shell/User] (e-mail address removed)
* NEW! Catch my blog ... http://msmvps.com/blogs/rgharper/
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* The Website - http://rgharper.mvps.org/
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
 
Bonnie. said:
Hopefully someone can help clarify some things for me. One of the 'selling
points' of Vista is it has improved built-in security features (ie. windows
firewall, defender) as well as improved maintenance features (backup
features, diagnostic & tuning features). One of the features not
incorporated in to Vista is an antivirus program. The store I purchased my
computer from included a copy of Live OneCare with the purchase so that's
what I'm using for antivirus. But, I'm confused about why there seems to be
so much overlapping functionality between Vista's built-in features and the
services provided in OneCare. More importantly, I don't understand the
differences between some of these things & which one I should be using.

1. Both onecare & vista have a firewall. When I install Onecare does it
turn off the vista firewall or are they both running? If so, is it ok to
have 2 firewalls running?
2. Similar question with regards to spyware. Is the antispyware with
onecare improved over Windows Defender? Do they run together, or does one
over ride the other?
3. What about maintenance & backup scheduling? Should I schedule my
backups, disk defrags, cleanups, etc through onecare or through Vistas
built-in utilites.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
You've gotten some good answers already. Let me try to clarify.
When you install Windows Live OneCare on Vista, it will disable the Vista
firewall and you will only have the OneCare firewall.
The same goes for Defender. It will be disabled by OneCare upon install as
OneCare has the antispyware functionality included.
As for backup, that will be a personal choice. Some people prefer the backup in
OneCare and others prefer the backup in Vista. Yet others (myself included)
prefer a 3rd party backup solution. You can disable the OneCare backup
monitoring and notifications.
If you choose to uninstall OneCare, Windows Defender and the Vista firewall will
both be enabled once again.
-steve
 
Thanks for the responses & information. I have never been a fan of 3rd party
internet security software (ie. Norton Internet Security, etc). I have
always prefered to use the windows built in features and 3rd party antivirus
software. Is implied in one of the responses, I find the 3rd party security
software 'complicates' things too much & it ends up bogging down my system &
making it instable. At any rate, the retailer I purchased my new computer
from gave me a free copy of OneCare & since it is an acutal Microsoft product
I thought it might integrate a bit better with Vista. I did not realize
OneCare came out before Vista - the sales person told me it was launched at
the same time, but if it did supercede Vista I now understand why it may be
better to utilize some of Vista's features vs. OneCare.

So, this leads me to another question. If I uninstall OneCare & go back to
Vista's default firewall & defender, etc and then reinstall OneCare, but
select the 'advanced/custom' install option, will it give me the option to
install only certain components (ie. I would only install the antivirus
functionality)? Is there any reason why I would not want to do this?

Thanks again
 
"Vista end users that *never* add third party programs rarely ever visit
theses Forums"
Really?
Can you back this claim with facts?
Or perhaps they know so little they can not install anything else of locate
places such as this for solutions to problems.

Are you saying you "*never* add third party programs" to your computer?
That is possible, but unlikely.
For one, there is to much 3rd party software that I use.
Define "third party programs"
That covers just about everything from any source outside Microsoft.
I do not know about you, but I use programs from sources outside Microsoft
(3rd party programs).

Please point to a Microsoft source that says an anti virus product is not
needed for Vista.
I am certain you do not need help finding a source that shows the need for
an Antivirus in Vista, you have certainly seen at least one.

Suggestions such as not needing an anti virus are dangerous at best.
 
OneCare has no install options. It's pretty much all
or nothing.

Gary VanderMolen
 
Bonnie. said:
So, this leads me to another question. If I uninstall OneCare & go back to
Vista's default firewall & defender, etc and then reinstall OneCare, but
select the 'advanced/custom' install option, will it give me the option to
install only certain components (ie. I would only install the antivirus
functionality)? Is there any reason why I would not want to do this?
Click to expand...
No, OneCare is exactly that - an all in one solution. You cannot use the Vista
firewall instead of the OneCare firewall or Windows Defender instead of OneCare
for spyware protection or the OneCare status will be at risk. You can disable
backups within OneCare with no effect on your protection status in OneCare.
Do note that the spyware scanner and the firewall are built on the Vista
technology.
Finally, version 1.5 of OneCare, the current version, was released on 1/30/07
with the launch of Vista. Version 1.0 of OneCare was released on 2006 and only
worked on XP.
-steve
 
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