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Suitable replacement for OneCare on Windows 7 RRS feed

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    I currently have 3 VISTA computers which I plan to upgrade to W7 very soon.  (already have the boxed OS)

    Was very disappointed to learn I have to remove Windows Live OneCare.  The description of this service is: "Windows Live OneCare is an easy-to-use, all-in-one service that automatically performs the tasks necessary to help secure your PC and optimize its performance."

    I want a product that allows me to do the same thing on W7 that OneCare currently does on VISTA.  Any suggestions?

    I know there are a number of free and for fee virus; malware, firewall and protection tools.  Some probably better than OneCare.  My experience is that they are geared mainly for virus protection and you care for each machine separately.

    The thing I like the most about One Care is that it allows me to very simply take care of the 2 other notebooks in my "circle" (home network) without much effort.  The best feature from my standpoint was the backup of all of the computers in my circle to the CENTRAL BACKUP Devise on my desktop computer, i.e., external HD.  It helps me manage all of the maintenance activities without being a bother.

    Back to alternatives.  I want something that is fully integrated for all of my computers, if possible - (firewall, spy-ware, malware and backup), and something that does interfere with normal computing activity with a lot of unnecessary warnings.  Will Norton 2010 be a good choice?  (does it do everything OneCare does?)

    I am entitled to the free version from Time Warner of the older version of CA but it does not do backup.  Not sure it is even compatible with W7. 

    Any recommendations will be appreciated.

    Monday, November 9, 2009 10:39 PM

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    HI! For the protection, you may use the Microsoft Security Essentials. It's the security protection that will replace Windows Live Onecare. You can download it from www.microsft.com/security_essenetials However, for the backup feature, you can do manual settings for the backup wherein the other 2 computers can also create a backup with the same external hard drive. You will jsut need to make sure that all of the computers are setup on the same network. Hope this is helpful. Have a good day.
    ----- bayabasgirl29
    Tuesday, November 10, 2009 12:28 AM

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    HI! For the protection, you may use the Microsoft Security Essentials. It's the security protection that will replace Windows Live Onecare. You can download it from www.microsft.com/security_essenetials However, for the backup feature, you can do manual settings for the backup wherein the other 2 computers can also create a backup with the same external hard drive. You will jsut need to make sure that all of the computers are setup on the same network. Hope this is helpful. Have a good day.
    ----- bayabasgirl29
    Tuesday, November 10, 2009 12:28 AM
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    Thanks ... I am aware of MSE - unless there is something I don't know I'll be in the dark on the status of the 2 laptops on routine maintenance & tune up activities. I assume i can put them all on a schedule.  As you know setting them for a time certain each day is a stab in the dark.  You can hope the computer will be on at that time but is not a good bet.  I know I may have false sense of security with OneCare it is just one of the best products yet out of MS and they drop it?  Know anything about Norton?  3 user license?

    Tuesday, November 10, 2009 4:07 AM
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    I marked the previous reply as the answer, since MSE is the recommended replacement for OneCare. Yes, it does not include the other features of OneCare, but since you are moving to Windows 7, pretty much all of them are included in Windows 7. What you won't have is the "circle" that tells you the status of the other PCs. Tune-up in OneCare is really a collection of the tools already in Windows for the most part and Windows 7 makes these much easier to use in Windows. Defrag is a background task in Windows Vista and Windows 7, cleanup is something to run manually every so often, and backup is much improved in Windows 7. The protection of MSE is an improvement on OneCare, yet based on the same core. What is gone is the firewall - the Windows firewall provides excellent inbound protection.
    Some people are happy with the Norton 360 product, which was Symantec's answer to OneCare. I, however, will never put a Norton/Symantec product on my PCs - that is, however, my opinion and you may find that it is the solution you need.
    Personally, I'd recommend that you try MSE when you switch to Wndows 7 and see how you like it. Be sure to remove OneCare before upgrading. If you decide you need more than MSE provides, remove it from one PC and give another product a try. If you like that, remove MSE from the others and install your product of choice.
    -steve
    ~ Microsoft MVP Windows Live ~ Windows Live OneCare| Live Mesh|MS Security Essentials Forums Moderator ~
    Tuesday, November 10, 2009 12:57 PM
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    Thank you Stephen.  Since I will be upgrading to W7 rather than doing a clean install (unless that is highly recommended) how will I do my 'restore' if needed without OneCare?  I assume there is a back up wizard or some such with the boxed OS? 
    Wednesday, November 11, 2009 9:57 PM
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    follow answer,

    since windows 7 is a new operatinf system made by microsoft (onecare as well) so windows 7 already adopted the feature of onecare. Firewall, Back Up etc,.

    -Paul
    Thursday, November 12, 2009 2:35 AM
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    Thank you Stephen.  Since I will be upgrading to W7 rather than doing a clean install (unless that is highly recommended) how will I do my 'restore' if needed without OneCare?  I assume there is a back up wizard or some such with the boxed OS? 

    There is now. :-)
    http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/onecarebackupandrestore/thread/e5d686c8-762b-4b22-bc08-bfb93f911e57

    Be sure to completely remove OneCare before you do the upgrade to Windows 7.
    Note that a clean install is always preferable when going from one major version of Windows to another. It is actually also much faster, including the backup and restore of data using the Windows Easy Transfer tool (found on the Windows 7 disc) and reinstall of programs. Your OneCare backup of data would be your failsafe if the WET didn't bring everything over (which I've never encountered).
    -steve
    ~ Microsoft MVP Windows Live ~ Windows Live OneCare| Live Mesh|MS Security Essentials Forums Moderator ~
    Thursday, November 12, 2009 1:25 PM
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    I have completed the upgrade to W7 HP and it will NOT backup to to a network drive with W7 Home Premium ... you must have W7 PRO :-( at $90 more per computer ... Vista Home Premium had W7 Home Premium does not.
    Friday, December 11, 2009 12:40 AM
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    I have completed the upgrade to W7 HP and it will NOT backup to to a network drive with W7 Home Premium ... you must have W7 PRO :-( at $90 more per computer ... Vista Home Premium had W7 Home Premium does not.

    You are correct. The native backup in Windows 7 only allows network destinations on Pro, Ultimate, and Enterprise. In Home Premium you can only backup to local media. It certainly isn't worth spending the money for Professional just for this, so you probably should seek an alternative.
    -steve
    ~ Microsoft MVP Windows Live ~ Windows Live OneCare| Live Mesh|MS Security Essentials Forums Moderator ~
    Friday, December 11, 2009 2:34 PM
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    Good to here from you.

    By alternative do you suggest that there is a software product out there that will allow me to backup over the network?  I have ordered a Linksys product that will create a node on the network ... before I realized that MS had 'de-contented' Home Premium. 

    Alternatively all I can do (other than spend $230+ for the PRO upgrade) is sneaker net my laptops to the HD once per week ;-/

    What is odd is that MS online support tried for two hours to 'fix' this problem.

    One would think that for small home networks that this would be a feature that would have been kept, since backup is so important and home users are frequently not computer savvy?????

    Wish I had stayed with VISTA and ONECARE till mid next YEAR ... then got Mac's
    Friday, December 11, 2009 4:04 PM
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    I think it is odd that they chose to cripple backup in this way as network backup is something many people want.

    Yes, I meant that you should look for a program that you could use to backup to a network location that had licensing (and cost) that was palatable for you to use on your 3 computers.

    Here's a free alternative....

    Microsoft offers a free Power Tool called SyncToy - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C26EFA36-98E0-4EE9-A7C5-98D0592D8C52&displaylang=en
    It can be installed on each PC. You create folder pairs and then run the pair to sync from location a to location b.
    You can configure as many source folders as desired and set a number of options.
    In the Help text there's some basic instructions on how to set up a scheduled task to run all or a selected pair.
    Your destination would be the new NAS you bought.
    What you lose is incremental backup.

    There are many backup programs out there, from simple file backup (with options to support incremental, differential, and complete backups) to a full image backup solution. One that I've used before is Acronis True Image, but the cost may be a bit on the high side for 3 licenses, though less than the cost of upgrading your 3 machines to Professional.

    Good luck.
    -steve
    ~ Microsoft MVP Windows Live ~ Windows Live OneCare| Live Mesh|MS Security Essentials Forums Moderator ~
    Friday, December 11, 2009 4:53 PM
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    If your Linksys product is something similar to thier Media Hub I have been looking at, or some other sort of NAS, many of them come with thier own backup software. As for the software on the Media Hub, it looks like you can set it up to backup as often as you want automatically or on Demand (On Demand has a button the NAS or in the NAS's LCD menu). It can also backup multiple versions of your files.
    Only problem is the backup software does not work with Macs.


    I have't actually bought one yet, but I have been salivating over them or simular NASs for a while now. :-)  I'm tired of having multiple copies of my music/photo/video files on multiple computers. I'll have to post something here if/when I finally get one.

    Now the only problem is how to backup the backup. ;-)
    Steve
    • Edited by swattz101 Friday, December 11, 2009 7:15 PM add no-mac caveat
    Friday, December 11, 2009 6:57 PM
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    You may want to consider Windows Home Server. I've seen the HP single drive unit going for $199 in the past week or so. It is currently showing at $249 at Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0021L9HKK/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=152242983&ref=pd_sl_46ig0i40p9_e You can add external USB drives for increased storage. And, WHS provides shared folders for network storage in addition to full PC backup for up to 10 computers on your LAN. With the LX195, I'd probably not consider usng it with 10 PCs, though. <g>

    -steve
    ~ Microsoft MVP Windows Live ~ Windows Live OneCare| Live Mesh|MS Security Essentials Forums Moderator ~
    Friday, December 11, 2009 8:06 PM
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    Thanks again Stephen -- That is about what 3 copies of anytime upgrade to PRO will cost.  I assume there would not be any 'problem' using it as the destination for the backup using W7 Home Premium? 
    Saturday, December 12, 2009 3:21 AM
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    Thanks again Stephen -- That is about what 3 copies of anytime upgrade to PRO will cost.  I assume there would not be any 'problem' using it as the destination for the backup using W7 Home Premium? 

    Actually, it isn't a destination, as such. It is a full blown OS with a powerful program running on top - Windows Home Server.
    It does the backup using a Connector installed on each of your computers.
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/features.mspx

    -steve
    ~ Microsoft MVP Windows Live ~ Windows Live OneCare| Live Mesh|MS Security Essentials Forums Moderator ~
    Monday, December 14, 2009 1:10 PM
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