The product is designed to help protect users of Windows products
from spyware--software that's secretly installed on people's computers
for a variety of purposes, such as bombarding them with pop-up ads
and tracking their Internet usage. The company claims the anti-spyware
tools will help people keep their computers running faster and with
fewer Web-related glitches.
The beta, which is available for download on the company's Web site,
was built using technology Microsoft gained through its December
acquisition of Giant Software, which specialized in spyware-fighting
tools. Microsoft said that in addition to loading the software with
the capability to combat many known strains of spyware, the company
will continue to research emerging forms of spyware and to offer
automatic updates to the product to fight new threats.
Microsoft executives said the company has not decided yet whether
the anti-spyware package will launch as a stand-alone item or
as part of one of its Windows products. They also indicated that
there is no set time frame for the package's official release.
Amy Carroll, director of product management for Microsoft's Security,
Business and Technology unit, said the company has been focused
on getting the beta out to users as quickly as possible, to begin
helping in the fight against the spyware epidemic. She said the
beta was created in 21 days after the Giant acquisition.
"Our goal is to focus on getting customers protected from
the bad guys," Carroll said. "People are reporting spyware-related
issues to Microsoft more than ever, and we've seen that over one-third
of the people reporting crashes in our applications are actually
dealing with spyware problems."
Carroll said that Microsoft is also encountering an increasing
amount of spyware that goes beyond creating simple nuisances such
as pop-ups. These pose the threat of enabling more serious crimes,
such as identity theft, or of causing significant computer performance
problems.
She pointed to a compatibility issue that Microsoft experienced
just after the launch of Windows XP Service Pack 2 as partially
caused by a hidden spyware application.
The look and feel of the anti-spyware beta is similar those of
products from vendors such as McAfee and Norton, which offer people
the ability to launch manual scans for unwanted applications and
to program the tool to run automated searches. Microsoft's application
is designed to monitor all system and software changes made to
a particular computer and launches pop-up announcements to let
customers know when the system has detected an attempt to install
spyware.
The software, designed to work with the company's Windows 2000
and Windows XP operating systems but not with earlier versions,
asks that users validate their existing Microsoft software via
an online authentication process before downloading the anti-spyware
tools. However, the company does give the option to skip the validation
process.
Interestingly, one of the first messages generated by the anti-spyware
tool is a recommendation to turn off Microsoft's own Windows Messenger
Service, a program the software cites as a "wide source for
pop-up message spam." However, Carroll said this function
was intentional, as the company had previously encouraged customers
to shun the application as part of the SP2 release.
Microsoft said users of existing Giant anti-spyware applications
should continue to use those tools. The company was also quick
to point out that the beta release is merely a first version of
the software that the company is distributing for feedback and
testing purposes.
The software maker is also working on an antivirus package, which
is likely to be a standalone application. The tool is expected
to be released sometime later this year. Jon Oltsik, an analyst
at Enterprise Strategy Group of Milford, Mass., said the software
maker will probably wait until the second half of 2005 to begin
its efforts in full.
"I don't think Microsoft is in a hurry here. The rumour is
that the company will enter the PC security space in the third
or fourth quarter of this year," Oltsik said. "My guess
is this means a direct attack on Norton and McAfee in the retail
channel. This market is booming, so an entrance before next holiday
season makes sense."
In addition to the anti-spyware beta, Microsoft announced that
starting on Jan. 11, it will begin providing tools for removing
malicious software to customers running Windows 2000 and later
versions. The company said updates to the applications will be
made available on a monthly basis as part of its scheduled security
updates, or more frequently if necessary. The package will consolidate
many of the individual software removal tools the company has
already released.
Story from TechRepublic 25th January 2005
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