Posted on 02/15/2005 2:04:19 PM PST by Arnold Zephel
Microsoft to offer free anti-spyware, anti-virus software
34 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Microsoft Corp. will offer consumers who use its Windows operating system free software to battle so-called spyware and eventually antivirus software, chairman Bill Gates (news - web sites) said.
Photo AFP/HO Photo
Speaking at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, the high-tech security industry's largest annual gathering, Gates said that Microsoft is on track to deliver a broad antivirus product to consumers by the end of the year following its acquisition of Sybari Software, announced last week.
Gates, who also serves as chief software architect of the world's biggest software company, emphasized the company's commitment to continue developing products to help computer users guard against the threats from malicious software that can compromise privacy and slow computers to a crawl.
"Customers are concerned about the risk malware (malicious software) poses to their personal information, and frustrated by its impact on the reliability and performance of their computers," Gates said.
Microsoft last month rolled out a free test version of the software that removes the unwanted spyware -- which can redirect or "hijack" Internet browsers -- based on technology from Giant Company, which Microsoft acquired in December.
At the time, Microsoft did not say whether it would eventually charge users for the program.
A paid version of the anti-spyware software will be aimed at corporate customers, who often require more complex infrastructure support.
In addition, the company will launch a new version of its Internet Explorer browser with tougher security features to help fend off threats like "phishing" -- the use of websites designed to look like a legitimate site of a bank or other firm in order to get passwords -- along with viruses and spyware, Gates said.
A test version of the new browser, version 7.0, will be available this year and it will be incorporated in the next version of Windows, Longhorn, expected to reach computer users next year.
Will it protect you against spy ware from Microsoft?
Sign me up Bill, I need more of your garbage on my system.
There will be 2 problems.
1) Microsoft will be spying on you with its anti-spyware.
2) It will have holes that can be exploited. And once it attains a dominant share, those holes will be ruthlessly exploited.
LOL...doubtful. I too am skeptical, but hopeful.
Let me hazard a guess. Someone has to be using IE to get these s'wares, right? No thanks.
No.
This is something I will avoid like the black plague.
"Buying anti-virus software from Microsoft is like buying glasses from a blind man."
I don't know why I typed Zone Alarm Pro into my previous post...it's not an antispyware app and I don't have it installed on the StoatPuter.
A pre-senior moment? :-)
Note that it's aware of a lot of programs that and knows they are OK. If this takes off I pity the company that has software on you machine MS "thinks" should not be there....
About time...we ended up spending $100 each to have two computers updated to SP2 after SP1 had a conflict with NAV and both ended up with a virus that would not allow us to download SP2 ourselves as it kept shutting down the computers. NAV blamed it on MS, MS blamed it on NAV, but neither would help fix the problem.
I was just forced to switch to MS Outlook because we could not receive e-mail attachments from our Corporate office because they exclusively use MS Outlook which uses Rich Text Format. I was mad as hell. I already had blockers on my ISP's e-mail program. I also had a problem with MS Outlook not wanting to accept my address book...it would import the names, but not the e-mail addresses. I ended up typing them in manually, all 100 of them. Bill Gates can bite my butt.
Outlook is one of the biggest violators of the concept that programs should work within standards and play well with others. It is annoyingly proprietary and closed bloatware. Getting data into or out of Outlook can be a real adventure... not to mention the Outlook corruptions that only a $250 program can properly fix. Nice! Love that lower TCO and superior integration that Windows provides.
I'm already using it. The first time I ran it, it found several spyware programs that had been missed by other spyware scanners I use.
Note that it's aware of a lot of programs that and knows they are OK. If this takes off I pity the company that has software on you machine MS "thinks" should not be there....
As with all anti-spyware apps I've used, it leaves the user in control as to what it ultimately removes. Users always have the option of ignoring it's recommendations and selectively cleaning some or none of the flagged items. That being said, you raise an essential point in that the consumer must become informed as to the true scope of action pertaining to all of his/her installed programs. One application that I've used for years was flagged by Microsoft's antispyware program as being spyware, even though the developer and numerous reviews that I've read of the app promised that it wasn't spyware. The problem, I believe, came down to an option that's available during the original app's install, where you're given a choice of using it as a 'free' program, in which case it will display ads, or you can register it and it won't display the ads. I have always used it as a paid, registered program and was led to believe that the adware stuff wasn't installed at all when you operate in this mode. Microsoft's antispyware app still flagged it, however. I was left with the question....is this a matter of the Microsoft app being unaware that the adware components weren't installed and it simply flagged everything from that developer, or was it a matter of the developer lying about the app's true functions and the 'highly respected' reviewers that approved it simply weren't aware of what it was doing in the background? Because I found another app that did the same job 'almost' as well, I ripped out this favorite program and installed the new 'clean' one. Subsequent system scans indicated no spyware, but now I have a less-functional program and I'm not sure if it made any difference or not.
Particularly now that Microsoft, with it's ubiquitous market presence, has weighed into the antispyware arena, developers need to be far more open and honest about exactly what their software will do, particularly if it 'reaches out' in any way from the host system. There needs to be a set of industry standards that defines what spyware is, but as this is a subject of rancorous debate at the moment, that seems unlikely in the near future.
Consumers need to remain vigilant and insist on firewalls that allow them to define exactly who or what their machines are talking to. Even with this, however, it's difficult to keep tabs on what every single app is doing at all times. I suppose that until coherent industry standards are developed, all one can do is aggressively remain informed, run frequent antispyware scans with multiple scanners, maintain a firewall and keep away from 'free' software that sounds too good to be true.
The MS AntiSpyware works very well.
I knew my son's computer was full of malware and I figured I'd have to reload it soon. Then this came out and I figured I had nothing to lose.
It removed a bunch of malware. The only thing it had trouble with was VX2, but after a week or so it was gone for good as well. The report back to MS feature helped with the VX2 problem I am sure.
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