Microsoft to Offer Paid Security Service

How much is a worm-free, uninfected operating system (OS) worth to you?  If it’s more than $50, and you use a Microsoft OS, you’re in luck.

A new paid security offering from Microsoft, called Windows OneCare Live, will protect your Windows OS from spyware, viruses and whatever else may get stuck when you’re out cruising the information superhighway, the Associated Press (AP) reports.

Windows OneCare Live is scheduled for released in early June, the AP said.  It will be subscription-based and will go for $49.95 a year. 

Though Microsoft has specified that it’s not looking to bump security big shots like Symantec and McAfee from their places in the market, Windows OneCare Live ought to give them a run for their money.

Ryan Hamlin, Microsoft’s Technology Care and Safety Group’s general manager, told the AP the company is less concerned with converting its competitors users than it is attracting users who may not already employ a security service.

“There’s plenty of room here, kind of, for all of us,” Hamlin told the AP.

The OneCare service was first announced more than a year ago, and Hamlin says more than 200,000 people are already testing it.

Any person who signs up for the test service prior to April 30 is eligible for a discount of more than half the $50 price tag.

That price of subscription includes service for as many as three personal computers.  Though it’s currently available in only English, there are plans to offer it in additional languages, the AP said.

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