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Myself, like many of you I am sure, hate anti-virus products.  In fact, I hate them so much that I haven’t ran an anti-virus product on any of my machines for a good 5 years.  (I have ran them for limited runs to beta test them, etc.)  Why do I hate anti-virus software?  Because I have had far more problems and issues caused by anti-virus products than I’ve ever had caused by a virus.  (And in those 5 years I’ve never gotten a virus because through simple common sense you can avoid infections.)  They are full of bloat with ‘features’ I don’t want, they chew up massive amounts of resources, cause horrible system slowness, are incredibly in-compatible breaking apps, even caused BSD’s, etc.  So, when Morro was announced that Microsoft was going to make a free, simple and clean AV product which was more about saving themselves money by preventing virus’s and thus support calls than anything else I had hope that we would finally have a simple anti-virus that does nothing but AV and stays out of my way.  I figured it would still hog resources and impact system performance though.

Like many of you, I have now installed Morro and it’s shockingly simple.  The install was as easy as it gets, it asked if it could automatically download updates and run a quick scan.  I said yes, and the scan was done in under 10 minutes, even though I have 2 large hard drives with a lot of files on this system.  It only has 3G of RAM, and an AMD 3200+ processor (so not exactly a speed demon.)  Then guess what happened after that?  I closed it, and it disappeared.  It’s not even in my system tray by default (Windows 7) and it doesn’t harass me every day telling me that it’s updated itself.  In fact, most of the day I don’t even remember it’s there.  I haven’t noticed any impact on my system performance but it is working in the background.  (When I ran AngryIP scanner it decided that was a possible threat, prevented the app from running and asked me what action I wanted to take.  I selected allow, and it’s never bothered me about it again!)  Truly this is the AV app I’ve been waiting for, and what makes it even better is that it’s free.  I am now running it on all my machines in my house and have yet to have any bad experiences.

So, if you haven’t had a chance to get Morro, I suggest you get it now before the downloads stop! - http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/

*Update*

So, if you didn’t get your hands on Morro I’m afraid it’s too late now, the downloads have stopped.  But, keep an eye on the site for the next release!

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090621/ap_on_hi_te/us_tec_bloggers_freebie_disclosures

Now, whenever we get products from companies here at WindowsConnected.com we typically do a contest and give the hardware away to our readers and we always post honest reviews about what we think.  In fact, I would say too honest and get ourselves in trouble.  (I’m a perfect example of this.)  So naturally, this FTC crack down has us a bit worried.

These proposed ‘revisions’ (in other words changes to law not performed by congress or elected officials but rather by appointed bureaucrats) would allow the FTC to investigate and prosecute bloggers who ‘may’ have conflicts of interest.  Of course the ‘revisions’ don’t give clear boundaries on what they can investigate.  Look at this line from the article;

“The common practice of posting a graphical ad or a link to an online retailer — and getting commissions for any sales from it — would be enough to trigger oversight.”

That means ANY blog, no matter what it’s about is a target because even the normal public blog sites have ads on them, and the bloggers can be paid by those sites if they generate enough hits.  Even if you’ve never reviewed a product on your blog ever, you could be investigated.  So, I’m confused.  Wouldn’t Michael Jordan or any other celebrity have a ‘conflict of interest’ being paid to promote a product such as Haynes?  Or how about paid actors that provide ‘reviews’ of a product in a commercial?  Or even better, what about the paid actors pretending to be scientists and providing scientific information about products?  And yet I don’t see the FTC going after them.

If the FTC truly is worried about false advertising and are not just looking for a way to exert power and influence over blogs then why aren’t they investigating the absolutely ridiculous claims of AT&T having the ‘nation’s fastest 3G network.’  That is such a blatant lie and misleading advertising and yet I don’t see anything about the FTC investigating them?

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/14/13-and-15-macbook-pros-have-a-slower-sata-interface/

It looks like they’ve dropped the sata controller speed, either through firmware or cheaper hardware.  I’m guessing cheaper hardware.

I didn’t say it, the New York Post did, shockingly enough.  Check the link below;

http://www.nypost.com/seven/06142009/business/fear_grips_google_174235.htm

What’s interesting is that the article after describing the panic at Google that Bing might take away market share then ends by re-assuring Google they have nothing to worry about.  Well, Google isn’t stupid and is taking the threat seriously, as they should.  I know I’ve switched my home page to Bing and I avoid Google like the plague now.  I’ve wanted to stop using Google for a while now (due to the Google founders funding lobbying groups to eliminate ISP’s in favor of a single Government ISP) but their hadn’t been any viable alternatives until Bing.

So, if you haven’t given Bing a shot yet now’s the time, and decide for yourself.

Sad day for me. I’ve been using Microsoft Money to pay my bills online since 1995. Over the years, I’ve decided on what banks to use based on whether they supported Microsoft Money. Guess I’ll have to start using Quicken. Here's the official announcement:

Important notice: Microsoft Money Plus will not be available for purchase after June 30, 2009. All purchased Money Plus products must be activated prior to Jan. 31, 2011.
With banks, brokerage firms and Web sites now providing a range of options for managing personal finances, the consumer need for Microsoft Money Plus has changed. After suspending annual updates of Money Plus in 2008, Microsoft is announcing today that we will no longer offer Microsoft Money Plus for purchase after June 30, 2009.

Granted, I still have a year and a half until support drops off, but I’m really saddened they decided to discontinue it, it was a really good product, and one of the few that Microsoft delivered on time, year in and year out.