If you have OneCare, there is a good chance you can’t connect your device to your computer. The reason: OneCare’s firewall blocks a lot of things, including the sync, leaving you high and dry. Unless…

Just disable the firewall. That should get rid of almost every problem. When you want to connect your device, open OneCare, click “Change OneCare Settings” (you need administrator privileges to do this), click on the “Firewall” tab, then drag the slider down to the bottom (”Off”) and click Apply.

OneCare will ask you if you want to run the Firewall Connection Tool. There’s good news: This might fix it. Run the tool, put a check in the checkbox for “ActiveSync/Windows Mobile Device Center” and click OK. If that works (see if it worked by opening Windows Mobile Device Center/ActiveSync) then smile and move on. If it doesn’t (and for me, it only works half the time), turn off the firewall as described above. You will now be able to sync your device.

Once you are done syncing, activate your firewall again. If you clicked Apply when turning it off, the dialog should still be open, and you just have to drag the slider back up again and click OK. Otherwise, go through the steps again, and drag the slider up instead of down.

I hope to god the OneCare team figures out how to ensure that this stops being a problem in the future. They need to fix the Connection Tool so that if I select the ActiveSync option, it actually works. And Windows Mobile Device Center needs to be able to launch OneCare if it sees that there is a problem, because I spent months before I found this solution. Get on it, boys!

Also, a OneCare 2.0 beta is starting in April (maybe it won’t have this problem?), and you can sign up for it now by filling out a survey.

According to Paul Thurrott, the new version will feature “the new version will include wireless connection setup and security features, a boot time optimizer, monthly reports, online photo backup functionality (at extra cost), unified monitoring and maintenance of networked PCs, printer sharing, and automated tune-ups.” That sounds so cool, I just can’t wait to try it. The boot time optimizer (which I hope will optimize hibernation as well) alone is worth the effort.

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The Redmond, Washington-based software company laments how the opportunities for education the Internet offers are often tarnished with questionable content. The Live OneCare Family Safety public beta is available in the U.S. to try out through ideas.live.com.

Features of the service include:

Content filtering. Web filtering that lets users to set allow, block or warn settings for a range of content categories, and settings that can be applied for each member of the household. Parents can review and adjust family settings that are automatically applied to computers with the Family Safety software installed.

Expert Guidance. Advice from child organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics on age appropriate settings. Users have access to guidelines on how to help a child use online communications safely or how parents should talk to children about inappropriate Web browsing.

Activity reports. Parents can access activity reports for each user in the family, anytime from any Internet-connected PC, to stay informed about how their children are browsing the Web.

Contact management. In future versions, parents will be able to create “allow” lists for other Windows Live services their children might use to communicate with others, like instant messaging, so that they can communicate only with approved contacts.

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However, LiveSide reports that you can pick up a 90-day free trial of OneCare at onecare.live.com. Of course, being in the “perpetual beta” means you don’t have to pay anyway

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However, some lucky folks, mostly those who got in while it was a mostly closed beta, are getting OneCare for free as a “perpetual beta”. The lucky ones get new OneCare features early in a testing phase, becoming guinea pigs for tested but unproven code in exchange for the free software.

The number of people in this program should be less than 1 percent of users, according to a story at ZDNet. Currently, about 170,000 are testing OneCare. I’ve got my beta invite, and, depending on NDA, will try to bring coverage of the developments as OneCare evolves and matures.

(via Bink)

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No! Take that poor dog out! Jeez

April is 60% discount month for Windows OneCare. Install the beta (or allready have it) and you can pick up the first-year subscription for Microsoft’s security service for just $20, considerably less than the normal $50 you d have to pay next month. Paul Thurrott calls it “a stunning bargain” in his OneCare review.

According to the offer page, you just need to open up OneCare and click Purchase Now:

I don’t see the button. Does anyone else?

Anyway, why should you get OneCare, as opposed to the programs from other companies, like Norton and McAfee? Forgetting about the price, I think OneCare is worth it because it isn’t a resource hog, like those other programs. Other companies seem to think you only want virus protection, and not to actually use your computer. Microsoft can’t afford to slow down Windows, so they don’t. Plain and simple.

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OneCare will be a subscription service and cost $50 a year for antivirus, firewall and tune-up/backup tools.

While Microsoft’s product is not as feature complete as competing products from Norton and McAfee, it also doesn’t bloat and slow down systems, and costs a lot less for the whole package. For an obvious reason, Microsoft is the only company that considers it paramount that its products do not unnecessarily ruin Windows performance, something Norton should try.

Maybe OneCare will never win on features, but as long as it protects users from malicious software and people, and keeps PCs running faster than they would under others, it will very quickly capture the home security market away from the longtime leaders. They didn’t make it a priority to protect home computers, they made it a priority to sell software and target businesses, and now Microsoft is going to school them on how being responsible can be very profitable.

(via Todd Bishop)

Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.

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Why Microsoft won’t release it early is a mystery. The virus has a time-bomb, so why not release the fix before the timebomb? If the fix isn’t ready, just say so, and we’ll understand. But to say that you have it, but will release it eleven days late, well, that’s just cruel. And probably irresponsible.

To keep your computer safe, run the virus scan from the Windows Live Safety Center or Windows OneCare, both of which will detect the virus and remove it.

(via Slashdot)

Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.

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As is, its something that needs to be changed by the time the product goes gold.

Like any blanket security-bypass rule, these default settings are a bad idea, said Mark Curphey, vice president at vulnerability management specialist Foundstone, a part of McAfee.

“Any firewall, any security device should have a default deny,” Curphey said in an interview Tuesday. “Any door should always be closed.”

Note the company the “source” works for. Not to say he isn’t right, although my install of OneCare has no rules for the VM, as I don’t have one installed. Just that a reporter can find a better primary source than a VP at a competitor.

Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.

Visit the InsideGoogle blog.

While many of the initial beta testers will be selected by invitation, Microsoft has set up a process for people in the US only to nominate themselves to test the OneCare program.

Microsoft OneCare has been advertised as a comprehensive PC health service for individuals and small businesses. The integrated service provides many features for Windows users.

The service provides antivirus protection and automatically updates its signature files and engine as needed. The antivirus system also protects against spyware. A firewall locks down unneeded system ports from unauthorized access.

Also, OneCare can do system maintenance, like disk cleanup and defragmentation, and will attempt to repair corrupted files. And, OneCare will include a backup utility that users can choose to backup an entire system or just changed files to CD or DVD.

Microsoft believes a large market exists among individuals and small businesses who do not have the time or expertise to perform the various administrative tasks a PC or group of PCs require. That market would ideally view OneCare and its automated services and updating as a suitable substitute for a full-time administrator.

“Windows OneCare is the next major advance in our ongoing efforts to help keep consumers’ Windows-based PCs ‘healthy’ in a way that’s simple and as worry-free as possible for them,” said Ryan Hamlin, general manager of the Technology Care and Safety Group at Microsoft.

“We’re designing the service so it will continually update and evolve over time, helping to ensure that our customers will have the most complete and effective protection and safety services in place every time they turn on their PC.”

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business. Email him here.