Microsoft close to releasing free Anti-Virus product

Once Microsoft saw that their OneCare Live security product flopped, they decided back in November 08 to produce a scaled down version that would be free. The new application, codenamed Morro, is basic anti-virus that combats viruses, spyware and trojans.

While MS says this is not intended to compete with likes of Symantec and McAfee, they obviously will on the low-end of the product lines, but not with the security suites that those companies offer.

For whatever reasons MS decided to do this, it’s a good thing for consumers. In fact, I’d like to see something like this bundled with the OS, preconfigured to auto-update, and difficult for end-users to disable. Computer security, particularly on consumer machines, is in a terrible state. Many users simply don’t know or understand the dangers well enough (or at all) and this is bad for them and the rest of the Net.

Morro will go into beta soon and will roll out later this year.