Microsoft has launched Windows One Care Live Security beta, an anti-virus and anti-spyware service for consumers only.

The service offers anti-virus, firewall, backup and recovery, as well as personal computer maintenance. Initially free, it will eventually be available for a subscription fee.

The service is part of the company’s Windows Live strategy announced last month, which sees Microsoft compete more directly with the likes of Google, Yahoo and Salesforce.com by using the web to deliver new products and services to customers.

Windows Live is a web-based service whereby users can sign up for a ‘live’ home page that pulls in constantly updating content from a range of information sources including web searches, email, syndicated headlines from other sites and photos and audio from across the web.

Yeah, like I would pay Microsoft extra to protect me against their own security problems.

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