Microsoft will be offering a free, stripped-down version of its Windows Live OneCare PC security tool, code-named "Morro," in the second half of 2009. Microsoft will also discontinue retail sales of its Windows Live OneCare subscription service effective June 30, 2009. Windows Live OneCare includes features that are not directly related to fighting malware, such as printer sharing. Morro will include only the security portion of OneCare, software that fights viruses, spyware, rootkits and trojans. Morro will be available as a stand-alone download to support Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. Microsoft intends for the tool to be used with security settings in Windows and Internet Explorer, which it says will give users a fairly complete, free security setup.

Free security software for PC users -- the light bulb has finally started to go off in Microsoft's head. For years, Microsoft has tortured consumers and IT departments alike by offering trial versions of security products. That was a 1980s marketing tactic, and it was a good one for the times, when buying software was the norm, DOS ruled, and Microsoft, with its low prices and graphical interfaces, was the good guy. But today a good deal of software is free -- users pay for professional support and service if they want it -- and Windows is the preferred target of script kiddies and cyber-mobsters alike. By giving away desktop security, Microsoft is doing what it can to help Windows users defend themselves.

Expect Symantec and others to scream "monopoly" at this move. Of course, the entire world of endpoint security is a-changin'. Symantec is experiencing a transition of its own -- this week, its 10-year CEO, John Thompson, announced he is retiring.) But given the mass growth in malware in the last decade, offering free security to PC users only makes sense.

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