There were some gossip going on regarding Microsoft releasing a new antivirus/antispyware software after One care was discontinued.Now its true and is named as “Morro” after a beach in Sao Paulo, Brazil,is already being tested by Microsoft employees and a trial version will be made available soon.Microsoft has stated that Morro would be available by the end of 2009 at the latest.

Morro” is likely to be targeted to compete with the low end of anti-virus products from other providers, and it will not have much of an impact on sales of full-blown security suites.

According to Janice Chaffin, president of Symantec’s Consumer Division,

Microsoft’s free product is basically a stripped down version of the OneCare product Microsoft pulled from the shelves. A full Internet security suite is what consumers require today to stay fully protected.

UI looks similiar to Windows Defender.As far as my opinion is concerned if you need a better free antivirus go for Avast.Lets see how Morro competes with the biggies such as Symantec,ESET,Kaspersky and McAfee.

Morro seems to be concentrating on being an anti-virus software program without additional modules that allow a user to create backups or use a firewall for extra protection.Microsoft is getting ready to put Morro into testing over the next few weeks, but it appears that certain testers (including Microsoft employees) already have it and are taking it for a spin.

Neowin managed to obtain three screenshots.The screenshots show an interface very similar to Windows Defender, an antispyware product that comes free with Windows Vista and Windows 7.You can expect the UI to change by the time you try Morro. Lets see what surprises we get.