Deleting Windows OneCare Backup Files

I gave it a shot. I tried it out. I thought, hey, it’s Microsoft so it’s gotta be good right?

Windows OneCare is a comprehensive PC Care service that helps protect and maintain your computer with antivirus, firewall, antispyware, PC performance tuneups, and file backup and restore functionality. It’s aimed at the home user to provide a service (like Windows/Microsoft Update) that’s always on, always up to date, and always avaialble. Not a bad idea.

So I gave it a whirl, but after balloon messages appearing every 15 minutes telling me my system was safe, and processes launching in the middle of important stuff I was doing (no, not just surfing for pr0n) I just gave up. I’m much happier with a copy of Trend Micro PC-illin, manual scans, and me controlling my system. OneCare isn’t bad, but it’s not for me. Maybe it’s good for grandma who keeps asking you why she should click on Start to shutdown her computer. For the rest of us, I’m going to have to say passola.

However in the course of using it, I had done a backup to one of my external drives. After removing the OneCare infection from my system, I found that I couldn’t delete any of the backup files. WTF?

I’m administrator. I’m root. I have absolute power.

Apparently not.

It seems OneCare backups will change the security on the folder so that only SYSTEM has write access. Everyone else, even administrators, only have read access. So quick fix. Right click on the folder, choose Security, and give yourself full control.

Then hit delete.

Simple, but really bugged the crap out of me. Almost as much as the product itself.