OneCare Software - Good or Bad

[Frog]

A suggested solution for a problem I was having a couple months ago was
to "[WinXP ONLY!! =>] Run the Windows Live Safety Center's 'Protection'
scan (only!) in Safe Mode with Networking, if need be:
http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/howsafe.htm".

At that time, I was unable to make this software work on my system.
Subsequently, however, I made the software work and have performed
'Protection' scans on several occasions. Each scan was completed with
nothing bad being found on my system. I now question whether any other
scan possibilities offered by this software package are recommended for
an occasional use. The message that I seemed to receive from the
earlier exchange was to use only the Protection scan and nothing else.
I have read in this newsgroup that doing any scanning of the registry is
absolutely not a good idea. Thus, I was looking for the good and bad
comments concerning the use of OneCare software.

Thanks for any comments sent my way on the subject.

Frog

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Do not confuse the Windows Live Safety Center scans with the application
named OneCare (which you do not have installed, I assume).

It'd be perfectly fine to run the Protection scan (only) from time to time,
if only to double-check the efficacy of your installed anti-virus and
anti-spyware applications.

PS: Running the Protection scan was only one of several suggestions I made
in that post, Frog. There isn't an online scan or an installed application
in the world that can detect and remove all Bad Guys.

 

[Jose]

A suggested solution for a problem I was having a couple months ago was
to "[WinXP ONLY!! =>] Run the Windows Live Safety Center's 'Protection'
scan (only!) in Safe Mode with Networking, if need be:http://onecare.live..com/site/en-us/center/howsafe.htm".

At that time, I was unable to make this software work on my system.
Subsequently, however, I made the software work and have performed
'Protection' scans on several occasions.  Each scan was completed with
nothing bad being found on my system.  I now question whether any other
scan possibilities offered by this software package are recommended for
an occasional use.  The message that I seemed to receive from the
earlier exchange was to use only the Protection scan and nothing else.
I have read in this newsgroup that doing any scanning of the registry is
absolutely not a good idea.  Thus, I was looking for the good and bad
comments concerning the use of OneCare software.

Thanks for any comments sent my way on the subject.

Frog

Windows Live OneCare (IMO) is neither good or bad, but it is safe -
for what it does. I doubt it contributed much to resolution of your
unstated issue.

It might turn up a potential problem and might not. It may make you
feel good since in comes from Microsoft.

It is one tool to have in your utility belt, but you need more tools
than Windows Live OneCare.

 

[Frog]

Do not confuse the Windows Live Safety Center scans with the application
named OneCare (which you do not have installed, I assume).

The web page you suggested is the one I used in my scan.

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/howsafe.htm

The running of this "Protection Scan" does in fact place some software
on the system...it is identified in the Add/Remove Programs list as
"Windows Live OneCare safety scanner". I started to remove this entry
after my initial scan and a message informed me that it should not be
remove if I intended to make another scan using this software in the
future. I note that subsequent scans start with a download of data
prior to initiating the scan.

It'd be perfectly fine to run the Protection scan (only) from time to
time, if only to double-check the efficacy of your installed anti-virus
and anti-spyware applications.

Good news, the scans made with this program have not identified any
problems on my system.

PS: Running the Protection scan was only one of several suggestions I
made in that post, Frog. There isn't an online scan or an installed
application in the world that can detect and remove all Bad Guys.

I think I completed the steps you had in your earlier message. It seems
that everything on my computer is working fine these days. I just
observed, while running the Protection scan, that other scans were
possible and was wanting to learn about their value. I think you are
telling me that the "Protection Scan" is the only one I should use.


Thanks for your help PA Bear...you are always reliable and to the point
source of information.

Frog

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

Thank you for your kind words.

Rest assured that the presence of Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner (which
is not the same as Windows Live OneCare) in Add/Remove Programs and on your
system will not have any affect on any installed security applications.

Yes, if you uninstall it and later wish to run another online scan, you will
have to reinstall it.

 

[Frog]

A suggested solution for a problem I was having a couple months ago was
to "[WinXP ONLY!! =>] Run the Windows Live Safety Center's 'Protection'
scan (only!) in Safe Mode with Networking, if need be:http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/center/howsafe.htm".

At that time, I was unable to make this software work on my system.
Subsequently, however, I made the software work and have performed
'Protection' scans on several occasions. Each scan was completed with
nothing bad being found on my system. I now question whether any other
scan possibilities offered by this software package are recommended for
an occasional use. The message that I seemed to receive from the
earlier exchange was to use only the Protection scan and nothing else.
I have read in this newsgroup that doing any scanning of the registry is
absolutely not a good idea. Thus, I was looking for the good and bad
comments concerning the use of OneCare software.

Thanks for any comments sent my way on the subject.

Frog

Windows Live OneCare (IMO) is neither good or bad, but it is safe -
for what it does. I doubt it contributed much to resolution of your
unstated issue.

It might turn up a potential problem and might not. It may make you
feel good since in comes from Microsoft.

It is one tool to have in your utility belt, but you need more tools
than Windows Live OneCare.

Thanks for your response. I agree that one tool is insufficient to
find/fix all of the problems that attack our computers...that was my
reason for wanting to know the value of the other scans available from
the Windows Live OneCare web page. I have learned about many good,
reliable, effective, and safe tools while reading the exchanges on this
Microsoft news group. It is here (and the 98SE newsgroup) that I
learned nearly everything I know about computers.

Frog