Windows 7 will not support the security solution Windows Live OneCare. The reason for this is the End of Life for OneCare, which will get replaced by a free alternative.
OneCare is closing on June 30, 2009. So it is not surprising that Windows 7, being expected for 2009-Q4 / 2010-Q1, does not support the unsuccessful security and repair suite. Nevertheless, Microsoft has taken several measures to prevent using OneCare with the Vista successor.
According to data published in a special Knowledge Base entry, OneCare users are not only warned while upgrading to Windows 7, that the software will not work anymore. Also after the upgrade, alerts are shown so the user isn’t left unsecured.
In these, Windows Live OneCare is labeled as incompatible. If a user still wants to use OneCare in connection with Windows 7, the real end is coming when he tries to start the program. Windows 7 then informs the user that the Windows Live OneCare service doesn’t work. At the same time, the manual start of the OneCare service is suppressed.
When Windows 7 RTM is released, Microsoft’s new free security solution, Codename “Morro”, is probably available already.
Update: Please download the free Microsoft Security Essentials.