Microsoft Giving Away Anti-Virus Software : Morro

According to sources, Microsoft is already in the trial stages of their own anti-virus software, with the beta on its way.  Microsoft is calling the software “Morro” and will be its second shot at security after the flop that was Windows Live OneCare.

According to Microsoft, the software will take on “viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans.”

For some, this is excellent news.  This is the type of thing your average “take it out of the box and go” person truly needs (I’m looking at you, entering college freshmen).  There are so many people, young and old, that are unaware of the risks that come with a computer and an internet connection.  This is one step forward (even if they don’t know it) to making people safer.  Kudos Microsoft!

Now, of course, there are the doubts.  Will this product actually work, or will it be a glorified Windows Defender?  Will it come shipped with Windows?  If so, can I uninstall it?

Personally, that last question is the biggest concern.  Say Morro ends up being a clunky piece of bloat-ware that can’t remove a tracking cookie (ok, that’s a bit harsh, but we’re speaking hypothetically).  I don’t want something like that on my system!  And, as any good computer user knows, you cannot have more than one anti-virus application actively running on your system at once.  That means I wouldn’t be able to use the software I want, and the security software industry would take such a hit that almost all would go out of business.

This would be an EU lawsuit that I could actually support.  This is unlike previous anti-trust claims regarding internet browsers and media players.  In both of those cases, the user could simply install an alternative piece of software and disregard what Microsoft shipped.  An integrated anti-virus application wouldn’t be so kind.  Even if it is removable, I guarantee the EU and possibly others will have a heyday with this.

Microsoft–I think what you are doing is great and noble, but heed warning: be very careful about how you go about this, and give us a product worthwhile.