Microsoft Windows Live OneCare Conspiracy

[Midkiff]

I seriously think Microsoft is currently running a scam. Every computer I use at work and at home (there are several) that has Windows XP had this same thing happen to them all, simultaneously. After one particular recent round of automatic updates, they all suddenly got infected with a Trojan/worm of some sort. It also happened to be the same time the the red shield of the Windows Security Center started alerting in their toolbars that there was insufficient virus protection. You click to fix the problem, and what do you see? At the top of the list of solutions is the new Windows Live OneCare service, with a free 3-month trial. After that, of course, there is a subscription fee. If you download and install it, it conveniently tells you every time you log in or start up that it has deleted this mysterious re-appearing Trojan.

At home, I might expect problems due to all the porn and torrents, but I certainly do not do that at work. I think it's a big scam by Microsoft to force subscriptions to the OneCare. I bet Microsoft slipped the virus in with the auto update.

[cupcakelove]

I don't think they did it on purpose, but I wouldn't be surprised if they waited until the next bug they pushed out to start advertising their new service. I know they've already excepted and are content with the fact that half their patches break something, I'm sure some of them there found a way to turn that into a business opportunity.