Well, It's offical

Paul K · 02-10-2004, 17:15

Microsoft is to step into the fight against Malware/ spyware and virus infestation
Linky

Quote:

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Microsoft plans to offer its own anti-spyware software, Chairman Bill Gates said Friday.

Gates said Microsoft will offer software to detect malicious applications and that the company will keep it up-to-date on an ongoing basis. He did not say when the software would be available or whether Microsoft would charge for it.
Although progress is being made against spam and viruses, Gates said the adware and malware problem is getting worse.
"This malware thing is so bad," he said in a speech at the Computer History Museum here. "Now that's the one that has us really needing to jump in."
It's also a problem that has affected Gates personally. He said his home PCs have had malware, although he has personally never been affected by a virus.
"I have had malware, (adware), that crap" on some home machines, he said.
Gates' comments came at the end of a busy Bay Area tour. Earlier Friday, Gates addressed a group of engineering students at the University of California at Berkeley.
Microsoft has been testing a for-fee antivirus product, though the company has not announced details of how it will offer it. The company purchased Romanian antivirus firm GeCad in 2003.
A Microsoft representative did not immediately have further details on the company's plans.
Another looming problem, Gates said, is the password.
"People hate changing their password," Gates said. "They pick very guessable passwords."
The industry will have to move to smart cards or some kind of biometric recognition for authentication.
"It will take five or six years," he said. "There's no doubt that has to come."

bopdude · 03-10-2004, 06:35

Interesting reading, but is it to little to late from M$ ? I mean who's gonna pay for a SB S&D type prog when there are so many free ones available, unless there's a promise of total protection

Paul K · 03-10-2004, 08:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by bopdude

Interesting reading, but is it to little to late from M$ ? I mean who's gonna pay for a SB S&D type prog when there are so many free ones available, unless there's a promise of total protection

It actually makes you wonder if at some point it's going to be incorporated into an O/S. To date MS hasn't had the best track record as far as securing their operating systems, having built in firewall, anti-virus and malware protection would go a long way to providing end users with a total package..... as long as it worked

bopdude · 03-10-2004, 08:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul

.... as long as it worked

Ahh the magic words, as you've said, they haven't got the best track record but at least they're trying to do something, or at least are being seen to be

Paul K · 03-10-2004, 09:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by bopdude

Ahh the magic words, as you've said, they haven't got the best track record but at least they're trying to do something, or at least are being seen to be

Yep but let's face it, even if MS were to produce a stable, easy to use O/S with a firewall that was as good as any third party software out there, an anti-virus to match Nortons etc and malware protection to protect against trojans and spyware then then the first thing that would happen would be an anti-trust law suit and complaints from software manufacturers.
MS will never win as long as the other software companies know that all they have to do is go to court and blame MS for all their problems.

**Damien** · 03-10-2004, 09:59

If microsoft sells (or puts in) anti-virus software wont they be selling programs to cover up the bugs they made

nffc · 03-10-2004, 14:04

No doubt as it's M$ it will have more security holes in it than the products it's trying to block in the first place...

Gareth · 03-10-2004, 18:30

Good link, Paul. I'm interested to see how this turns out. Free or a fee?

greencreeper · 03-10-2004, 18:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damien

If microsoft sells (or puts in) anti-virus software wont they be selling programs to cover up the bugs they made

Exactly! Oh it's brilliant. Sell software that's full of security holes that allows spyware and malware to be installed, and then sell software to remove the spyware and malware. Microsoft is effectively creating a market for its own product!

gooner4life · 03-10-2004, 19:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

Exactly! Oh it's brilliant. Sell software that's full of security holes that allows spyware and malware to be installed, and then sell software to remove the spyware and malware. Microsoft is effectively creating a market for its own product!

LOL

I think you will find any OS or even any program with thousands upon thousands of lines of code will have flaws that can be exploited.

greencreeper · 03-10-2004, 19:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by gooner4life

I think you will find any OS or even any program with thousands upon thousands of lines of code will have flaws that can be exploited.

Yeah - but Microsoft makes money out of it. It's a stroke of genius.

Ramrod · 03-10-2004, 19:29

Of course it will become the no#1 A/V to hack/beat.......It'll be like a red flag to a bull

gooner4life · 03-10-2004, 19:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by greencreeper

Yeah - but Microsoft makes money out of it. It's a stroke of genius.

They are a business and if little imbeciles will keep on writing malicious code to take advantage of the flaws in the operating system then microsoft are more than entitled to make money out of writing protection.

greencreeper · 03-10-2004, 19:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by gooner4life

They are a business and if little imbeciles will keep on writing malicious code to take advantage of the flaws in the operating system then microsoft are more than entitled to make money out of writing protection.

Interesting take on things

I'm not saying anything.

**Maggy** · 03-10-2004, 20:11

Can anyone say hand on heart that there is no software that cannot be cracked or hacked by anyone who feels like trying?All they need is the inclination,time and access and they will do it.So they don't do it with Linux but frankly how boring to do it with something that is open source when there is the thrill of getting at the big boys like M$.

I just wish they would spend their time and talents coming up with summat original and useful that they could exploit for cash instead of making everyone elses lives miserable.All Hackers are Barstewards!

As are the wormers and spammers along with the virus makers.

So instead of Computing being a cheap and viable process it becomes more and more expensive because one has to buy certain software just to operate a computer and keep it running.