As you may have read, the Beta release of Windows Live OneCare 2.5 is now available on Microsoft Connect for folks to start testing. I of course went ahead and installed Windows Live OneCare 2.5 to give it a spin myself. So what's new with Windows Live OneCare 2.5? After installing the Beta myself, I didn't notice anything different over the non-Beta version. I decided to ping the Windows Live OneCare team to see what we can expect with Windows Live OneCare 2.5. They tell me that the Windows Live OneCare 2.5 release is mainly what they call an "under-the-hood" release. That means that we won't see any big  new features like the great OneCare Circle introduced in 2.0.  Going forward with the Windows Live OneCare 2.5 Beta - continue to expect the improvements and changes to remain "under-the-hood" and not very noticeable in the UI.

In testing the Windows Live OneCare 2.5 Beta, I noticed after installing it on one of my PCs and signing in with my Windows Live ID that contains my OneCare Subscription - it was not displaying my OneCare Circle. This was because I was running the non-Beta version of Windows Live OneCare on my other PCs. When signing in with your Windows Live ID that contains your OneCare Subscription in Windows Live OneCare 2.5 Beta - it creates a new subscription for testing purposes. In order for me to take advantage of my complete OneCare Circle, I will need to install Windows Live OneCare 2.5 on my other PCs. I don't have to worry because this won't affect my OneCare Subscription in any way and I can always uninstall Windows Live OneCare 2.5 Beta and go back to the non-Beta version of Windows Live OneCare.

Interesting in giving Windows Live OneCare 2.5 Beta a try? Just click here to go to Microsoft Connect and fill out the short survey. All feedback for Windows Live OneCare 2.5 Beta should be submitted via Microsoft Connect.

Remember - it's important to stay "green" with Windows Live OneCare. And by that, we mean keeping your OneCare status green ;-)