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Microsoft releases antispyware tool

Rivals continue to bicker over their access to Windows Vista to build competing products

Microsoft released the final version of its Windows Defender antispyware tool on Tuesday, while security rivals squabbled about whether the company has given them sufficient access to Windows Vista to build competing products.

The release of the final version suggests that Microsoft thinks Windows Defender is sufficiently stable and bug-free for mainstream use. The final release fixes about 400 bugs in beta 2 of the product, which was released in February. Beta versions of the program were downloaded 34 million times, a Microsoft spokeswoman said.

Along with the bug fixes, customers using Windows XP and Windows 2003 get two free support calls for Windows Defender. The product is no longer supported for Windows 2000 users, since support for that OS ended in June, Microsoft said.

The software is available here free of charge. It's in English now, with German, Japanese, and other languages to follow shortly. It competes with free tools from Lavasoft, Spybot (Safer Networking), and others.

Windows Defender is also included with Microsoft's new antivirus product, Windows OneCare, which went on sale in June for $49.95 per year.

Security vendors have been riled by Microsoft's entry into their market. McAfee and Symantec say they are being locked out of the 64-bit version of Vista by a kernel-level security feature in the OS called PatchGuard. Microsoft has dragged its feet in providing access to the kernel, they complain, which could prevent them from fully protecting their customers.

Security vendor Sophos used the dispute to take a shot at its rivals. It said it has all the information about Vista that it needs, and accused Symantec and McAfee of not having designed their products with 64-bit Vista in mind.

"We've taken a different approach, by focusing on catching bad behavior before it has a chance to occur," Sophos said in a statement. "Additionally, we are building our technology by making use of supported Microsoft interfaces rather than by trying to subvert them. That's why we're ready for 64-bit Vista, and others aren't."

Sandi Hardmeier, a Microsoft security expert who runs the blog "Spyware Sucks," was sympathetic with Sophos' position.

"I've got to agree with this; if McAfee and Symantec did a little more coding and a little less bitching, they might get somewhere," she wrote in her blog.

Hardmeier has argued that McAfee and Symantec should change the way they code their products instead of relying on access to the Vista kernel. Only by coming up with a new design for antivirus software will any security vendor be able to fully protect its customers, she says.

On Tuesday, McAfee shot back. If Sophos doesn't need access to Microsoft's kernel then it's because it offers a less sophisticated range of products, it said.

"Single-product vendors, like Sophos, may well not have an issue with Microsoft. However, for an innovative security risk management vendor like McAfee, that offers its customers comprehensive security protection, full and unfettered access to the kernel is vital if we are to protect users," McAfee said.

Sophos responded that McAfee is out of touch with its products.

Microsoft, needless to say, seemed to enjoy the bickering.

"Okay, we all recognize this as a marketing move. But, hey, it's a marketing move I can smile about," Jeff Jones, a strategy director with Microsoft's Security Technology Unit, wrote in his blog.

He went on to argue that Sophos may indeed have an innovative approach to host improvement prevention systems.

By James Niccolai, IDG News Service
October 24, 2006

Courtesy: InfoWorld

Complacency over the security of open-source projects

Alan Cox, one of the most respected figures in the U.K. open-source community, has warned about complacency over the security of open-source projects.

Speaking to delegates at London's LinuxWorld conference on Wednesday, he emphasized that considerable sums of money were being spent in attempting to hack into open-source systems.

And he cautioned that many open-source projects were far from secure.

"There is a lot of money going into security, but the situation is worse, because there is a lot of money going into breaking security. People are being paid to work breaking down software systems," Cox, who is employed by Linux seller Red Hat, told delegates.

"Things appear in the media, like 'open-source software is more secure, more reliable and there are less bugs.' Those are very dangerous statements," Cox said.

Cox said that analysis looks only at well-known projects. An analysis of 150 projects from SourceForge, a repository for open-source code, would not result in the same high marks that the Linux kernel would get, he noted. "High-quality only applies to some projects--those with good code review and those with good authors," Cox said.

"The debate of Microsoft saying 'Look how secure we are' versus Linux saying 'We're more secure' is not looking at the important points," he added.

Cox, who has been closely involved with the development of the Linux kernel for many years, also took the opportunity to take a swing at a newly launched project that promises to measure the quality of open-source code.

The Software Quality Observatory for Open Source Software (SQO-OSS), funded by the European Commission, was launched on Monday. Cox told delegates that metrics must not become targets.

"It is good to build metrics, and SQO-OSS has great potential," he said. "But there are problems with this, and there are risks associated with that kind of methodology.

"If you are working with metrics and you have 14 bugs, you fix the 13 easy ones, and the one hard one can wait. That happens in the security world, but it becomes inefficient."

Richard Thurston reported for ZDNet UK in London.

Spy No More

SPY NO MORE by Illysoft

 

The Blackworm Virus Hoax
The Blackworm Virus is indeed a serious virus. It can disable anti-virus products, overwrite user files and email itself out to just about every email address found on the infected computer. However, one thing the Blackworm Virus does not do is announce itself to the infected user.

Vundo Trojan - Specifics and Removal
Are you tired of annoying pop-ups trying to sell you unwanted software products like Winfixer 2005, WinAntiVirus Pro 2006, WinAntiSpyware and RazeSpyware? Do you want to know the cause of these pop-ups? These problems are caused by the Vundo Trojan. This article includes information about Vundo Trojan and how to get rid of it.

Ransomware - When Anti-Spyware Goes Bad
With over 100 anti-spyware products to choose from, how do you know you are making the right choice? This article discusses Ransomware, the latest technique used by rogue anti-spyware products, definitely ones not to choose!

Steps forward in Fighting Spyware

By: Mitch Johnson

During 2004 there were significant strides in the battle against spyware which will change the future of the invasive threats. The Federal Trade Commission and the United States Congress addressed several issues involving spyware in an effort to minimize the threats coming from the quickly growing industry. Before these spyware issues were brought to government attention spyware was known to be nearly anything that was an internet related threat.

There is now a formal definition telling that spyware is "software that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge and which may send such information to another entity without the consumer's consent, or asserts control over a computer without the consumer's knowledge." Also working against spyware, the congress passed several bills to stop spyware from installing and running itself on someone's computer without their knowledge.

Most spyware distributors were able to sneak around the news laws set into place by the legislation passed by making their spy software more difficult to remove. Spyware will install unwanted toolbars, show pop ups, alter security settings, change your browser home page and change or delete system files. Other forms of spyware can log each key stroke you make and then send or sell it to unknown parties.

Spybot Search and Destroy and Lavasoft's AdAware programs are available to personal computer users for free to combat spyware threats. On the other side, spyware companies approached their invasive methods in a different way by coaxing users into buying their products which would then install spyware. To stop these efforts by spyware the FTC filed suits against Seismic Entertainment Productions and SmartBot.net who were selling their spyware to be installed as an anti-spyware product.

These companies' programs, Spy Wiper and Spy Deleter, would send warning messages to users that their system had spyware and by purchasing and installing on of these programs the threats could be detected and removed. On the contrary, the programs would bombard a user's computer with pop ups and install additional spyware, causing computer malfunctions.

PestPatrol is another example of spyware companies' stealth like methods. This popular anti-spyware product will actually detect spyware applications on a fresh computer with Windows XP that has not been connected to the internet yet. This is usually a definite sign of rogue spyware. These false claims by anti-spyware products are partially the reason why it is estimated nine out of ten computers are infected with spyware.

Studies done by industry experts at IDC have predicted the spyware market will grow up to $400 million dollars by 2008. Major security companies such as McAfee and Symantec are already beginning to include anti-spyware software in their product packages. Yahoo, Earthlink and Microsoft have also joined the anti-spyware world, releasing their versions of spyware removal tools.

By Microsoft breaking into the anti-spyware world several smaller spyware tool companies may be smashed because users will most likely prefer the trusted company's software over an unknown.

About the author: Mitch Johnson is a successful freelance author that writes regularly for http://www.1st-in-eliminate-spyware.com , a site that focuses exclusively on spyware removal software, as well as tips on how to prevent spyware from popping up on your computer. This site articles on has spyware guard, http://www.1st-in-spyware-detection.com/ as well as spyware scanner, http://www.1st-in-spyware-removal-tools.com/