Windows Live: Is it Worth It?, Part 2

My recent article about Windows Live OneCare drew a response from Infopackets Reader James R. In an excerpt of his email, James writes:

" Jim does not mention that Windows Live One Care also includes a two way firewall. This is a major feature in any security suite and it's presence should not have been omitted. Jim goes on to say that his computer purrs just by using a cleanup script, Ashampoo's Magic Defrag, Acronis True Image and a few other programs. He goes on to state that everything Live One Care does can be done 'totally free'. Implying that Magic Defrag and True Image are free is misleading to say the least. I don't expect to nor do I agree with every product review I read, but at the least I expect the reviewer to have basic knowledge of the product being reviewed. "

James has certainly made some good points. In my response, I'd like to clarify a few things:

• I didn't allude to the OneCare Firewall since it was working poorly back when I tried it in February. It is, however, much better than the default Firewall built into XP (post Service Pack 2), but not by much.
   
• The Back Up feature in OneCare simply utilizes NT Back Up available from the installation CD of Windows XP (which has been available for some time), and the choices of what and where to backup are extremely limited. There is, however, a somewhat better Synchronize Folders Windows Power Toy available free from Microsoft. These can be scheduled and run from batch files (as I referenced in my previous OneCare article).
   
• Before Magic Defrag, I'd created batch files to defrag using the built in system default and set Task Manager to run them. Choosing to defrag some partitions daily, others weekly and others still monthly. I didn't mention that the PC Tune Up portion locked my system, and that of others at the time, since from visiting the blog and support forums the problem seems to have lessened.
   
• I totally sidestepped discussing the Anti-virus. It is hard to tell when real time protection isn't working -- until you become infected.

Notably so, the thrust of my criticism was incomplete. Trusting any one company or suite of programs from any one source is unwise. I should have spelled that out far more clearly.

Still, the recommendation that the program is not well suited for our readers remains valid. The summary of my solution incorporating free and other paid solutions may have been misleading, but it was meant to point out the value of customizing a care and maintenance routine that fits a person's needs individually -- which is one reason our readers subscribe to the Infopackets website.