Taken from Maximum PC, Feburary 2009 Edition

Having achieved only modest market share with its subscription-based OneCare PC security plan, Microsoft is switching gears and offering consumers a free antivirus app beginning mid-2009.  Code-named Morro, the app will focus strictly on malware protection versus OneCare’s combo of AV, system maintenance, and data backup; it will be available for XP, Vista, and the upcoming Windows 7 OS.

Microsoft says its motivation is to get antivirus protection on more PCs.  But the company has no plans to bundle the app with Windows.  Rather, it will be available for download, which should help the company avoid any antitrust flak.

Are AV heavyweights McAfee and Symantec worried that Microsoft’s free app will lure their paying customers?  Representatives from both companies say no.  As Symantec’s Senior VP of Consumer Business Rowan Trollope put it, “We view this announcement as a capitulation by Microsoft and a reinforcement of the notion that it’s simply not in Microsoft’s DNA to provide high-quality, frequently updated security protection… Making a significantly scaled-back version of that same substandard security technology free won’t change that equation.”  Ouch!