If you have another security program already installed, WSC will link directly to that vendor's site. It enables both customers and rival programs to disable Microsoft's firewall and Defender anti-spyware software, if they wish. WSC is just a dashboard, not a technology. There's nothing special that we do for them." Ben Fathi, corporate vice president of Microsoft's security technology unit, says it is providing application program interfaces (APIs) so that all ISVs, both large and small, have equal access - and Microsoft's own security software developers "have to abide by the same rules. Microsoft regards WSC as a key enabler of compatibility and competition. We would simply like to have the interfaces so that our solutions will be compatible, and customers can choose what they want to use."Ĭuriously, Microsoft says this too, and claims it has been working towards it in consultation with more than a hundred independent software vendors (ISVs) who have joined Microsoft's SecureIT Alliance.
Paden is also adamant that Symantec does not want to reduce the level of security implemented in Vista: "We don't want them to remove PatchGuard at all," says Paden, "We absolutely do not want Microsoft to remove anything from Vista. We - and not only us - have been responding to EU enquiries. Symantec spokesman Cris Paden said last week that the company had not formally complained to the EU's Competition Commission: "That's absolutely not the case. (Typically this happens when a virus replaces a bit of Microsoft's core code with its own, compromising the operating system.)Īlthough both seem straightforward introductions, and have previously attracted little or no attention, they have put Symantec in high dudgeon mode. This was introduced in 2003 only in 64-bit Windows, to stop rogue applications from changing (or patching) the core operating system kernel. The second is PatchGuard, which is not even included in standard 32-bit Windows. WSC pops up a warning if a PC doesn't have a working firewall or anti-virus (AV) software, or if Windows Update is turned off. First is the Windows Security Center, introduced into Windows XP with SP2 (Security Pack 2). Microsoft reckons two parts of Vista are at risk. If that happens, you can mostly thank Symantec, a £2.5 bn US software giant, which has been loudest in its opposition, although another security vendor, McAfee, has also been agitating for change.
Just a couple of months before Windows Vista ships to businesses, Microsoft is worried that the project may be delayed again, or delivered with reduced security - though only in Europe.
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