Is Microsoft setting itself up for an uproar?

Steven Hodson — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:17:15 +0000

If there is one thing that people have always been slamming Microsoft for is its habit of bundling things with the operating system that other companies charge for, or have built a solid business around. The biggest of these that until Windows 7 has constantly gotten the company in hot water is its browser: Internet Explorer. There have been run ins with the EU over its bundled media player which saw the company having to release of version of Windows in Europe that had Windows Media Player removed.

While that has proven to be a total waste of time as no one would buy the release it hasn’t stopped countries, and companies, crying foul every time Microsoft talks about releasing a free product that competes against already established companies. It is this kind of background that makes the news that they are working on a new – free – security product currently codenamed Morro.

Microsoft is creating a new PC security product for consumers that will be available at no cost to licensed Windows users. This new product:

Provides high-quality protection against viruses, spyware and other malicious software;

Is fast and functional, providing continuous protection with minimal impact on system performance;

Is easy to download and install directly from Microsoft, with no subscriptions, renewals or credit cards required to keep your protection up-to-date.

Source: LiveSide

This new product is based on Microsoft’s Forefront technology and is meant to replace their previous security suite; OneCare, which they have announced that they are ending support of.

Now given that the computer security business is very lucrative one has to wonder how the many competitors in this area will react to Microsoft’s free offering when it comes to market. Could the company be setting itself up for another round of being made out to being the bad guy?

Should we start picking out dates on the calendar for when we’ll start hearing companies crying foul and filing complaints against Microsoft as the EU loves to do at the drop of a hat?

What do you think?

Security software one step closer to being a core unit

Steven Hodson — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:20:03 +0000

I have always strongly maintained that any security related software; whether it be anti-virus, spyware or malware protection, should be a core part of any operating system. Much of the core components like the Windows Kernel32 has always had a weak spot in that it had to provide hooks to allow third party vendor access into this core so their products could work. This is why there was such a stink raised before Vista was release. At that point Microsoft wanted to totally lock down the Kernel from any outside access through PatchGuard.

The problem is that security venders got their panties in a bunch and started issuing threats of the DoJ and in the end Microsoft backdown. At the time I said this was a bad idea and that Microsoft was fully within their rights to be able to do this. In the end the security vendors one and the Kernel opened up once more.

I still think that any protection of the the operating systems; and by extension our own files, should be the responsibility of the OS manufacturer not some 3rd party who has a vested interest in virus and malware proliferation. Now to its credit Microsoft did come out with its own security suite called OneCare and while it hasn’t always been the best on the market they still made the product available under some pretty reasonable grounds – one licensed product could be used on up to three computer.

Word comes out today though that as of mid 2009 OneCare will be phased out in favour of a new product currently code named Morro and will be available to consumers at no cost. Not much more about feature set or exact release date is being said right now.

This move has caught many Windows watchers off guard as many were under the understanding that work on v3.0 OneCare was still underway. As Chris over at LiveSide points out

This move comes as somewhat of a surprise, with talk about OneCare 3.0 being currently in development. Hell we may have even caught a sneak peek. Given the lack of press around this as its breaking, this was clearly not one of those stories under embargo, so it’ll be interesting to see what coverage this gets over the next few days

The other thing I find interesting is the proposed timetable for it release being right around the time many Windows pundit are suggesting that Windows 7 will be released to the public. This is something that Ed Bott made note of as well today

The timing suggests that it could be available with the launch of Windows 7.

One thing you can be sure of though – there is going to be a lot of pissy attitudes coming out of the security software manufacturers corner in the days to come following this announcement.

The Inquisitr » OneCare

Is Microsoft setting itself up for an uproar?

Security software one step closer to being a core unit