OneCare v1.5 Beta (November 17, 2006)

Chat Topic: OneCare v1.5 Beta
Date: Friday, November 17, 2006

Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Thank you all very much for attending the chat.

*Start of Chat

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: At the moment there is no way to select which items are included in the tune up. I prefer to manually do a defrag at a time when I decide. Will the release version be updated to let me do this
A: Windows Live OneCare Tuneup can be scheduled to run at any time of day and during weekly, monthly, etc intervals.

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: If I leave Backup enabled, I'm constantly reminded to back up, whether I'm at a point for backing up or not. Will I ever have a way to postpone backup? Right now, I have to disable it, and I don't want to tell my senior clients to do that!
A: The Backup reminder is there to remind folks to perform a backup. Just because the backup action item has popped up a backup doesn't have to be done at that exact momnet, however, it will keep reminding you until a backup is performed.

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: I'd like to select what will be in the tuneup. I never get a full tuneup run - once it took more than 14 hours to defrag my disks and didn't finish. Selecting what will be in the tuneup (what to do and which disks to defrag) would make it better
A: Could you possibly be running another antivirus product on the same machine that you've installed WLOC?

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: Re #4 - I know that backup is still reminding me, but it's orange, and when it is in that mode, I don't know whether something else is wrong or not, so I have to check to be sure.
A: This is a tough one, if you turn yellow you do have to check the client to see the reason(s) for becoming yellow. However, if folks are able to postpone a backup and turn green they'll likely not perform a backup - and backing up is an important part of pc protection.

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: Does the firewall element check the validity of outgoing traffic from known and allowed programs to prevent spyware hijacking and spoofing of the allowed program exe
A: The Windows Live OneCare Firewall is a two way firewall, checking both inbound and outbound traffic.

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: At what price will onecare be released at in the UK and can you indicate the date of release
A: The global release date of Windows Live OneCare v1.5 is January 30th, pricing has not been announced at this time. For the full scoop please visit the November 8th posting on the Windows OneCare Blog.

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: so Evan when will the Roll out get to all of us
A: There are currently multiple beta groups, some groups are already on v1.5 beta. Other groups will receive the v1.5 beta bits when the time is right.

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: This may have already been asked, sry I'm late, is there an official way to upgrade to 1.5 for Vista but still remain on the perpetual beta?
A: Please check the Perpetual Beta site (or the Perpetual Beta newsgroup) later today for information on Vista upgrade scenario

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: Evan any chance those of us upgrading to Vista in the very near future (this weekend) can be added to a group that gets 1.5 sooner rather than later.
A: Check the Perpetual Beta newsgroup later today for the Weekly Scoop - there will be a 1.5 upgrade update.

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: I would really like Backup to offer a "snooze for x days". All my important data is stored on a server, I rarely need to backup my laptop, but I don't want to see the orange tray icon every day and wonder if something else is wrong.
A: Hi Marty, nice observation, however I would like to understand why don't you prefer to disable backup and do the backup on a need to basis by running the backup wizard when required, because it seems you don't need backup reminder and neither do you need backup status reflected in your PC healthcare status.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: When I boot my computer, WOC tells me I'm in restricted mode, then a moment or two later, it tells me I'm in automatic mode. This happens whether the signal is low, or whether it is good. It also happens when I've been on the computer for hours.
A: This is a bug in the product due to our integration with NLA (network location aware). To work around this, you can disable the notifications in our settings menu (we will fix it soon)

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: I have three differend options i would like to be adressed. 1: Be able to select which drive are included in tune-up defrag. 2: The AV should be excluded from the tune-up because that's always running. 3: the ability to vreate a back-up on a NAS without the force to have a password included.
A: Thanks for the feedback.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: I have three differend options i would like to be adressed. 1: Be able to select which drive are included in tune-up defrag. 2: The AV should be excluded from the tune-up because that's always running. 3: the ability to vreate a back-up on a NAS without the force to have a password included.
A: 1. Common request, but we feel too many configuration options can be confusing to users. 2. AV is always running for files that are read/written but the real-time doesn't scan files that aren't touched. The on-demand scan is the other critical part to keep your pc and data safe. 3. Coming soon. :)

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: Will it be possible to let another application do the backup? I'm currently using an online backup system that only works with his own application.
A: hi coolman, we've been working on expanding our offering on backup front by including support for more devices and working on bettering the usability, and would continue to do so in future. There are currently no plans of integrating third party backup tools with OneCare, however you always have the option to disable OneCare backup and use a third party backup tool - please note that your PC healthcare status in such a case won't reflect the state of data protection on your PC. Hope this answers your question :)

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Why is it so difficult to configure my firewall to work with my network printer? I had to configure it manuelly by adding the right UDP-ports that I found on the website of the manufacturer.
A: I'd like to hear more about this - you're right that it shouldn't be that difficult. Have you filed a bug on https://connect.microsoft.com/ with your support logs and a description of the issue?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Why does WLOC need so much time after boot to be fully functional. It even do tell sometimes it is disabled and after a minute it say's all ok and green button.
A: It shouldn't do this, and for most of our customers it doesn't. Do you happen to have another AV program running along with OneCare?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re schedule. there appears to be no way of exluding things from the schedule.
A: That's correct

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: Re#8 No, I'm running only WLOC, it seemed to stop at some places, but I didn't get much feedback from it, so I don't know what happened.
A: Please generate a support log and submit it via the OneCare Feedback Form at connnect.microsoft.com. Support log generation instructions are also on the Windows Live OneCare site at connect.microsoft.com

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: I would really like Backup to offer a "snooze for x days". All my important data is stored on a server, I rarely need to backup my laptop, but I don't want to see the orange tray icon every day and wonder if something else is wrong.
A: Thanks for the feedback. This may be a helpful feature for you but my worry is that the less knowledgable PC users wouldn't understand how to use this correctly.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: what will be the recommended requirements for the full retail version of onecare?
A: Same as the v1 system requirements (unless you're installing on Vista - Vista requirements are higher than ours e.g. 512MB ram)

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: How do I turn on the phishing warning? I don't want the phishing filter to be on and every time Vista boots it reminds me I need attention, but I don't want this warning
A: There is no way to disable the anti-phishing warning. Is there any reason you don't wan the phishing filter to be on? We consider this to be a key protection that every user needs.

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: I would really like Backup to offer a "snooze for x days". All my important data is stored on a server, I rarely need to backup my laptop, but I don't want to see the orange tray icon every day and wonder if something else is wrong.
A: Hi Marty, since you hardly have data to backup on your laptop you should choose to disable backup reminders from the backup settings and do the backup on a need to basis by running the wizard when required (by clicking on the "backup" link on the side panel).

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Will OneCare be sold in stores or do you need to download it yourself and buy it online with you credit card?
A: Yes. :) We will be available in stores or directly from our website with a credit card.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Why does OneCare disable Vista's Defender? Any chance this will change in the release version? knSky
A: We disable Defender because we now include antispyware protection natively in our program. If we didn't disable Defender you would get dual prompts if any spyware was found, and it would be very confusing for most folks,.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: I read somewhere that Vista will no longer need Defender with One Care running. Correct or not?
A: correct

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Just curious why WLOC has it's own backup on Vista, and doesn't just integrate with the built-in OS backup.
A: The Vista backup is a great program, and in fact was built by a sister team of the v1 OneCare backup team. However, we add additional functionality and full integration with the OneCare v1.5 backup

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: evan, 2 features i really want to see, ability to choose which hard drives to defrag in tune up, and the ability to do a spyware scan on its own and not at the same time as a virus scan, takes to long just to do a quick spyware scan. any chance?
A: The OneCare Team is continously improving the product - and it is your feedback that helps make the improvements. I encourage you to visit the OneCare Feedback Form on connect.microsoft.com and submit a suggestion for seperating spyware and virus scan. Using the Feedback Form is the best way to send us feedback, it also allows fellow testers to vote/validate submissions.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: I tried to help a friend install the beta of WOC, but she's on dialup, and it would take forever and three days to download. Will there ever be a way for me, the support person to download the app and install on her PC?
A: Once OneCare is available in retail you will be able to install it on her PC with a CD that you purchase at a store.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Is the final version of onecare going to account for slight changes in application or any plans for exlusions within the firewall? I have an app that downloads a security certificate and the firewall seems to think it is a different app everytime.
A: I'd have to understand more about your scenario to answer this question. Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: When will internal backups be supported in WOC?
A: Never ever ever. This is the wrong thing to do for our customers. Internal backup is not truly a backup at all, as the *vast* majority of users use secondary internal hard drives to increase capacity and not to do backup. Couple this with the fact that we don't backup data on the backup device itself and with the cases that in the case of a fire, theft, or severe failure that affects both hard drives and internal backup is a recipe for disaster

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: The Help links within the program usually open the wrong topic in Help. Is that worth filing a bug on, or if its obvious should I assume its known issue?
A: Definitely worth filing a bug on - we know about many of these (help is one of the last things to go in), but we really appreciate the extra eyes. It's the whole reason we do a beta!

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Are there any plans to optimise tuneup? Currently it takes around 6-8 hours to run a tuneup due to the size of the HDs on my system and during tuneup system performance degrades significantly
A: 1. Security vs. Performance - we've chosen security with tune-up. We scan more file types (.zip, .iso, .wmv, etc) than any of our competitors. This does take more time, but we also catch more viruses. In the long run we think this is the right thing for our customers.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Are there any plans to optimise tuneup? Currently it takes around 6-8 hours to run a tuneup due to the size of the HDs on my system and during tuneup system performance degrades significantly
A: 2. You *shouldn't* experience performance degradation during tune-up as we run on a low priority thread. do you have another AV program running at the same time perchance?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: I would like to ask the question again could we possibly in future have updates the abillity to select what is included in tune up
A: What would you want to disable in tune-up?

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: "my worry is that the less knowledgable PC users wouldn't understand how to use this correctly" - I don't think so, everyone has a snooze on their alarm clock.
A: But how many folks have ever hit 'snooze' so many times they got up late? Likewise, repeated snoozing could cause long overdue backups to be 'postponed'.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: [Re Q3] Already filed a wiskbug for those options too .
A: Thanks!

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: "you should choose to disable backup reminders from the backup settings " - that sounds like you're saying "since the way we designed it in the beta doesn't work well for you, just don't use it".
A: you can still run the backup and do backup when required, disabling it would not interfere with your PC healthcare status and won't offer your reminders, which is what you want in this particular case. I take this as a feedback and will work to see if it can be considered in the future version of the products. thanks for your inputs.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Why does OneCare stops protecting while it is updating himself?
A: Technically it doesn't, though windows security center sometimes alerts you during our update. Our core service continues to run during this time however - you're protected.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: one care has been working fine. Had the green icon and everything. I rebooted my system and i get the message " one care cannot continue. Service is stopped or not working, try restarting your computer" Restarting does not help so i reinstalled. No luck.
A: Yuck - sounds like a bug. Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: When running a tuneup & full system scan, why does WOC switch off the Wireless Zero Configuration Service? This is seriously annoying as one of my systems is wireless only & therefore drops connection.
A: We shouldn't be. Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: why does my xbox when acting as an extender not perform properly until i turn off one care firewall? I have all the settings for the extender setup properly in one care.
A: That shouldn't be the case. If you've run through our XBOX media center extender wizard and it's still not working it could be a bug. Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: OneCare installer should recognize during installation if the system is RDC 'ready' and automatically allow RDC for those who use it. (RDC 'ready': remote desktop connection enabled in sys, firewall exception enabled). Will you make this a consideration?
A: Yes - I'm actually in full agreement with you here and we're working to fix this.

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: [Re Q10] but if one start's the back-up and it doesn't allow the back-up to a network store because it's no domain and has no password, only on the local network accessible? What next to do?
A: can you please detail this scenario, are you saying you're not able to backup to a network share?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Anyone else have the update fail intermittently? At times I can browse, do mail, Windows Update etc. but WLOC can't update. No error number, just a generic message and Help opens to a page that is not helpful, same thing after a restart. Later it works.
A: This is a sticky bug we've been hunting for the past several weeks. The most helpful thing for us would be your support logs. Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: I am concerned about the erratic behavior still in Beta. I have filed several bugs but rarely get a response that has merit or makes me believe they are being addressed. What can I do to better insure resolution?
A: All bugs that are submitted via the OneCare Feedback form at connect.microsoft.com are reviewed, we commonly followup with the tester for more information. If you have submitted a bug at connect.microsoft.com please revisit it to see if it has been updated.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re: Q14. Phishing filter seriously degrades performance, hence why I'd like the option to turn it off and not have WOC complain about it
A: Phishing filter should not noticably degrade performance. The *vast* majority of our users confirm this - are you on IE7 RTM?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: When the hard drive has two partitions with two different operating system--one 64 bit and the other 32 bit, how can one prevent OneCare from looking at the 64 bit partition? Currently the only alternative is to use 3rd party app to hide a partition.
A: Why would you want to prevent OneCare from looking at the 64-bit partition?

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: I do want a reminder, but sometimes the 4 weeks (maximum) kicks in while I'm traveling or busy and I just don't want to stop working to do the backup. Or I might not have a USB drive with me, etc.
A: I understand this scenario and see a merit of doing it for a mobile office worker / laptop, thanks for your feedback :), it will help us in making our product better.

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: I do want a reminder, but sometimes the 4 weeks (maximum) kicks in while I'm traveling or busy and I just don't want to stop working to do the backup. Or I might not have a USB drive with me, etc.
A: A backup can be stopped if it is during an inconvenient time. OneCare will go to yellow status and show a Backup Reminder Action item until you perform a backup

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: I am seeing more and more "the user will be confused" type statements. Does this mean that WOC isn't for those of us who know enough to want control of our own machines?
A: Our target audience for OneCare is those users that don't *want* to be security experts in order to use their PCs to surf the web and check email. We felt that there wasn't a good solution for them today (without lots of knobs, dials, configuration options to plow through), so we designed OneCare with "it just works" in mind

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re#14 I have a slow connection and connecting to the database every time I will navigate to some place will slow navigation. Why not give the users the choice to turn off the phising filter?
A: It shouldn't slow you down even on a slow connection as we start to load the web page at the same time as we connect to the database to check for known-bad sites. If that's not the case it is a problem we need to fix. Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re#27 does that mean there will actually be software on the CD?
A: Yes

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re #27 - In the meantime, she will have installed another AV/Firewall, and may not want to buy WOC when it comes out. :( And, frankly, she's an ideal person for WOC.
A: Sorry to hear that - we're working as fast as we can, though. :)

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Will OneCare be included on a new computer with an OEM version of WIndows? This would be nice because your computer will be protected when you enter the world of internet for the verry first time.
A: Depends on the OEM you purchase from.

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: Re #12 - The main reason for not disabling backup is because of our "clients" who aren't as savvy as some of us. Keeping backup enabled and having that constant orange globe looking at them is disturbing. Disabling backup, as you know, isn't for the newbie
A: We don't want folks to be 'disturbed' when OneCare is in yellow status, however, backup is an important part of PC protection that is too often overlooked - so we do want to send them a clear message that a backup needs to be performed.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re: Q30. This is one of the major bad points about WOC and one that keeps getting raised by users in the NGs. WOC really does need to support the option for internal backups
A: I understand that many people ask for this. We strongly feel that this is giving a dangerous amount of freedom to our customers, though, as many would not know how to use it responsibly.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re# 30 why not give customers what they want- with a clear disclaimer
A: Our target customer does not read disclaimers

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: How long does it take before OneCare can protect you against a new virus?
A: We update virus signatures multiple times a day

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re: q32. If WOC is scanning files as they come in, why does a full system scan need to be so thorough? Can't there be an option to select whether you want a deep scan compared with a "quick" scan?
A: If you choose to do an on-demand scan you can choose full or quick. The tune-up scan is a full scan, however. The intention is for this to run in the night or when you are away from your PC, and we wanted to ensure that we're looking for any potential infection.

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: Re #12 - The main reason for not disabling backup is because of our "clients" who aren't as savvy as some of us. Keeping backup enabled and having that constant orange globe looking at them is disturbing. Disabling backup, as you know, isn't for the newbie
A: we're working on automating backup so that it requires minimal user's intervention and can do as much as possible by itself, however I understand that there are scenarios when the backup may not progress on its own and turns the PC health care status yellow, in such a case giving an option to snooze may be a good option for an advanced user however a newbie should still stick to doing the backup when prompted, getting into a comfort zone by postponing backup is only going to aggravate her level of data protection.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re q35 I would want to disable defrag
A: Why would you want to disable defrag? (the reason I ask is that if your disk isn't fragmented, this doesn't run)

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: I see that WLOC is addressed to novice users. I'd like to see some options for the more expert users: individual scans (for example, select a defrag only or only an av scan) and more feedback to the users (defrag analysis, etc).
A: How would you expose these advanced features without scaring away the more novice users? (think: my mom)

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: "so we designed OneCare with "it just works" in mind" - I agree with this and I think your going in the right direction. Just don't go so far with that mentality that "it just works" becomes "its just inflexible and annoying" :)
A: it is a tough balance. That's why we do things like these chats to listen to what our customers think is annoying. Do you think we're inflexible and annoying? If so, where are we the worst?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: I want to run two different operating systems on the same machine, each one with its own security software. When the 32 bit OneCare goes against the 64 bit operating system, it corrupts the kernel and the 64 bit operating system cannot boot.
A: Wow - that is unacceptable. I haven't heard of this issue before, but if that's the case it is absolutely somethign we will fix. Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Has any resolution been made yet to resolve a problem with Windows Mobile Center syncing properly on Windows Vista?
A: We've made a number of improvements here (mostly with the firewall config wizard), though there still may be some issues. Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: [Re Q22] see the filed bug on connect https://connect.microsoft.com/feedback/ViewFeedback.aspx?FeedbackID=223634\&SiteID;=168
A: Don't be surprised if you recieve an email later today regarding this bug submission

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: "Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?" - No, but I will. I opened a support case and submitted the logs to them.
A: Great! Thanks for submitting, it is your feedback that improves Windows Live OneCare!

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: "we add additional functionality and full integration with the OneCare v1.5 backup" - OK, but I was basically asking what additional functionality was not there that you needed to write your own?
A: a parallel code path at this point gives us the flexibility to make backup more user friendly and provide services around data protection, which otherwise are not possible by being the part of the Vista OS, you should see additional feature/services coming up in the upcoming release which will make this clear - as per the company policy we can not discuss the product plan at this point of time.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: On one paw, there's concern about the way WOC runs; it's for the "computer illiterate" who doesn't want to have to bother with it. On the other paw, we who are more savvy want more control for our own machines. WOC Lite and WOC Heavy? Something like that.
A: (Cat paw? Dog paw? Bear paw? :)) ---- Honestly there are programs out there from our competitors that have way more knobs and dials on them. What we found is that 30% of folks prefer knobs and dials, but 70% prefer "it just works". We're betting on "it just works" and are competing on simplicity, confidence, all-in-one - we're intentionally not competing on advanced configuration options (have you ever used port forwarding? If so, great - you're in the 30%)

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: [Re Q63], ;) be aware the time difference between us :) it could be I am not able to give a answer before tomorrow
A: No worries, and thanks for your consideration

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: Re #69 - I think the most annoying is that I'm treated like a first grader by WOC. Father MS knows best, now. Maybe it's time to look into more than one version. Or does MS think the buyer's not smart enough to get the right version for his/her needs?
A: so far, OneCare has been designed keeping in mind that a user doesn't has to play hard to maintain her PC, keep it secured and protected, as these are a janitorial tasks and should rather be taken care by OneCare with the minimal involvement of user.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re #69 - I think the most annoying is that I'm treated like a first grader by WOC. Father MS knows best, now. Maybe it's time to look into more than one version. Or does MS think the buyer's not smart enough to get the right version for his/her needs?
A: We think that there are plenty of great options on the market today - most of which are more configurable/advanced than us. I think Defender/Forefront is a great solution. I also have used Kaspersky and Black Ice in the past, as well as a number of great hardware firewall/routers. For *me* (an advanced PC user) this is all that I need. OneCare is for a different kind of customer - those that don't want to be security experts to use their PCs. And honestly - even though I have advanced engineering degrees and live/breath software on a daily basis, even I enjoy OneCare more than the other solutions because I don't *have* to think about it. I know that if I'm green I'm good and I can use my time/energy to solve other, more interesting problems.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re #70 Ferret Paw! :D StarFerret has made her appearance.
A: lol

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Is OneCare for the consumer market or does it also work for the business market?
A: OneCare "works" in a number of different markets, though we're focused on the consumer market for the time being. However, we think we work great in a number of small business scenarios today and are looking at ways to optimize these. You might also check out MS Forefront for enterprise environments.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: "Do you think we're inflexible and annoying?"; A little but not too bad, so far the only thing annoying is backup. If someone is traveling and don't have access to a network or USB drive, do you think they will go buy a USB drive or just turn it off?
A: We only warn if you haven't backed up for more than 4 weeks. I would hope that even if you're travelling you're carrying a USB key with you to backup your most critical data. You'd be severely bummed if the airlines lost your laptop, wouldn't you? :)

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: In responce to Question 60, I have done that with little or no response. I think everyone trys to take a lot of time with the bugs. It would be helpful to see more detailed responses.
A: We appreciate the effort our beta testers make in testing the product and submitting bugs. In addition to reviewing every bug submission we also make efforts to gather and share information through other means, such as this chat. If you have submitted feedback and need more response please send an email to ocbeta and include a link to the bug submission.

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: so, atm the thing that is annoying me with version 1.5 is that you cannot select to just do a spyware scan, you have to do both a spyware and virus scan, any chance of an option to just do one of the other
A: spyware and virus scan are essentially meant to sweep the system off all the malicious codes/scripts, what value do you see in separating the two out?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: [Re Q59] You are assuming every PC is on every night ? It's my opinion and practice I hear and see around me PC's are shutted down by the average user, if only to save power.
A: That's admittedly a situation where tune-up can be much more annoying. However, tune-up only needs to be run once a month and can be scheduled to run at a time when it is convenient for you.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Sorry to hear that. If anyone else experiences this issue - please let us know! We would very much appreciate a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: when tuneup runs it always crashes my pc even if there is nothing else running as a result i have never ran a tuneup on my system ever, how can i stop onecare from crashing my pc like this?
A: I suggest that you submit a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/, it will help our engineers get in touch with you and dig deeper into the problem.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: RE 39 i want to seperate them out because i running a full virus scan can be time consuming, whereas normally spyware scans take less time, id prefer to run a spyware scan every day, and a virus scan once a week...just an example
A: Do you know that in v1.5, our spyware protection is real-time? This is a big win for customers as we'll catch spyware that's running or trying to be installed even without running a scan.

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: Given that you have the basic technology there in WOC, why not release 2 different SKUs, one for your main intended target audience and one for the other 30% of advanced users, a bit like XP Home vs XP Pro?
A: thanks for your feedback, we'll be working on different SKUs of OneCare for our upcoming releases, however we can't discuss the details at this point.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re 84 ahhh well that is great news, i was wondering why none of my scans picked anything up, good work
A: :)

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: [Re Q6] No did a uninstall AV and reboot before installing WLOC it states the app isn't running and the turns suddenly to green and states WLOC is OK.
A: Interesting. Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re#62. An options dialog or individual options. For my mom, I would turn on and leave it running. For me, I would like to defrag some disks on demand, scan viruses on some special place). A novice user won't turn on things. You can also have a normal mode
A: You can defrag on command (Windows Defrag) and scan viruses in some special places with on-demand scan. Is there any reason in particular you would need to schedule these specialized tasks?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Will it be possible to disable the firewall for certain network devices? Let's say that you don't want to have a firewall on a certain netork. This is possible with Windows Firewall of Windows XP SP2.
A: I don't understand this question

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: when tuneup runs it always crashes my pc even if there is nothing else running as a result i have never ran a tuneup on my system ever, how can i stop onecare from crashing my pc like this?
A: That shouldn't happen (obviously). Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: when tuneup runs it always crashes my pc even if there is nothing else running as a result i have never ran a tuneup on my system ever, how can i stop onecare from crashing my pc like this?
A: If you have never run a tuneup you could be compounding the problem. Please generate a support log and submit it via the OneCare Feedback Form at connect.microsoft.com. Instructions for creating a support log are available on the OneCare page at connect.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Given that WOC 1.5 is out there (in beta), is there some sort of timeline as to when 1.1 users will be auto-upgraded to 1.5 and 1.1 will no longer be supported?
A: All users will be upgraded from v1.1 to v1.5 when we release, with no change to their subscription status

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: OK, am I to understand that if I choose to go to another AV/Firewall vendor I need not feel guilty, since WOC doesn't have the features I want? As long as I keep it on this machine, and put the full featured ones on my other two computers?
A: You are free to pick the right solution for you, absolutely. That's the beauty about a free market with competition. :) We feel that we've developed a great solution for a certain type of customer. We understand that there are folks that will prefer a different kind of solution - there are no hard feelings there.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: [82] Let's say that you have 2 network devices. 1 is connected to the internet. So you enable the firewall for it. The other one is connected with your network-enabled music player so that it can play songs from your computer. So you disable the firewall.
A: I don't understand why you would want to disable the firewall, though.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re#71 The AV scan takes a loooooooong time to run and the defrag takes less. I may want to defrag every week and av scan every month.
A: I see - that makes sense. Do you feel that defrag once a week gives you noticably better performance than defrag once a month?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re #88 - Of course, I will continue to test WOC on this machine, with a focus on what it's intended market/audience is. I have several clients who will be ideal candidates for this. I would like to clear up the issues I think will confuse my clients.
A: Gotcha

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: [Re Q40], No not yet, I'm looking for the reason for it because it's not consistant.
A: Even if it's not consistent, it could be a bug. We'd appreciate a bug report on it - thanks for your time.

Sandeep (Expert):
Q: [82] Let's say that you have 2 network devices. 1 is connected to the internet. So you enable the firewall for it. The other one is connected with your network-enabled music player so that it can play songs from your computer. So you disable the firewall.
A: we can check with our feature team and get back to you on this, currently in WOC you can not have two different configuration for two different networks/network card/network devices on yours PC.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Is the OneCare feature complete, or can we expect some more poweruser settings? Like, disabling the services that OneCare provides and customize what warning message we want to be displayed? (ie. if the firewall is turned off, the icon will always be red)
A: OneCare, like Disneyland, will never be finished. :) However, our design philosophy is to ensure a simplicity and bug the users as little as possible. when we need them to interact with the product, we try to fix problems as quickly and simply as possible - usually with a single click. The kind of poweruser settings you are asking for (disabling our FW without notification) goes against our design philosophy and are unlikely to ever be added.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Is it possible to use another firewall without the icon getting red? For people that can't say goodbye to their current firewall program.
A: Why can't you say goodbye to your current firewall program?

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Q: Is it possible to use another firewall without the icon getting red? For people that can't say goodbye to their current firewall program.
A: Windows Live OneCare includes a 2 way Firewall, a firewall that your feedback has helped design. We hope that Windows Live OneCare users would use the Firewall.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re#91 I'm not saying that defrag once a week gives me better performance, I just want to choose when I want to do things, and what should be on the. For example, I have three drives, the third one is barely accessed and I want to defrag it on demand
A: :) What percentage of our users would you think would be interested in such a feature? For your consideration, compare that to some of the other things we could be doing like helping walk a user through enabling WEP on their wi-fi networks.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re: Q97 - for power users that want more options in their firewall
A: What additional options would you like to see in your firewall? Specifically, what scenarios does our fw not enable?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: [97] Maybe because you just bought a license for it or finally have a it working perfect after so much time.
A: Sounds like one of our competitors firewalls. :) They don't get "it just works"

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re#94 I don't know, but from what I see, many in this chat are :)
A: That's true, and it's always a balancing act with betas. Our target user typically doesn't participate in betas of security software. :) However, the feedback we get from you folks is *incredibly* valuable - you probably don't know how many decisions we bsae on your feedback and how many late night meetings we spend poring over the forum and bug reports. We do want you to understand our design philosphy and target customer, however, so you can target your feedback.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re: 98: e.g. port forwarding, dynamic port re-allocation etc
A: Okey doke - valid answer. If you actually use these features, you would need a different firewall.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re #96: So it is also wrong to expect that the user can disable the weekly services that OneCare offers? Ie. the daily or once in a week virs & spyware scan?
A: You can schedule it for different times or frequencies.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: When I switch my pc off i do not want a half finished half defraged drive. thats why I would like to choose when to run it. surley its not to much to ask.
A: You can choose when to run defrag. :) Just not within our tune-up. You can run defrag.exe any time you like (on demand) or schedule a task with Windows Task Scheduler to run at any frequency you like.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re q104 does tune up run the next day when it misses its schedule
A: Yes

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re #103: Yes, but I was more expecting it bo be set to "Disabled" - I prefer to run such things on-demand, and not be interrupted daily or once a week when it starts hogging cpu etc.
A: Tell me more about hogging CPU - this shouldn't be the case as we run in a low priority thread.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re q104 so it could be running when i want to shut down my pc. so i have no control over half finished defrags.
A: "half finished" is a bit of a misnomer with defrag. all drives are fragmented to some degree 99.9% of the time. Defrag makes this better and every bit helps.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Is the online WOC scan more upto date than the installed WOC scan as it can get the latest filters etc. at the time of running or is the difference so negligable as to not be a concern?
A: They share the exact same signature set.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: What if I've already run defrag, and then decide to run tuneup. Will it run defrag again?
A: If your drive is not fragmented, defrag doesn't run.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re #101 I understand the target is "Install and forget", but some users (like us) like some advanced settings (even if they are somewhat hidden). I don't see conflict in adding advanced options in a software targeted to standard users
A: I appreciate your feedback.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Is there any plans for a server SKU of WOC?
A: Potentially. Would you buy it?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re: q111. Depending on functionality and integration in with other products (e.g. MOSS Virus Scan) yes
A: Cool, thanks for the feedback.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re q 108 I am sorry but i understand a defrag thats half finished still as half moved files on the disc so it cant be better. plus even if it is low priority i dont want it running why I am doing my primary task digital artwork and graphics manipulation.
A: When they're both running at the same time do you actually notice performance degradation, or just a spiked CPU? There's a big difference - prioritized threads actually work beautifully. If you're running photoshop while we're running tune-up you should, in theory, not notice it at all as it will drop to zero instantly whenever you are doing something.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: re: 111 & 113 - Think you may have a potential audience in the small business server market
A: That would be wonderful. We know today that many of our customers are small businesses - our "it just works" philosophy tends to ring just as true, if not moreso than with consumers. Small businesses are about getting a job done, not about using technology for its own sake.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: Re #105: As we speak it is during a "Tune-Up" scan and currently at the virus & spyware section. The process MsMpEng.exe is constantly doing a minimum doing 75% of the cpu.
A: Do you notice any performance issues, or just a spiked CPU?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
Q: I have a question segun says in Internet Onecare Windows this detecting certain products of company like virus or some class of strange file, a found example is q if it is entered to gmail detects virus BAT/BWG.A
A: Have you submitted a bug with details and a support log on https://connect.microsoft.com/?

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
All right folks - I have to run, but thanks so much for your time, energy, and effort!

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
We couldn't release without you folks and your feedback. You are very much appreciated.

Luke Abrams (Moderator):
See you in the forums, and keep those bug reports coming!

Evan - WLOC Beta (Moderator):
Thats all the time for today. Thanks for coming to today's chat and thank you for helping to make Windows Live OneCare the best it can be!

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