News

Microsoft Working With Security Vendors

Symantec, McAfee and other security vendors to gain access to information needed to make their products work with Vista's security features.

(Brussels, Belgium) Microsoft Corp. said Monday it would give security vendors Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc. some of the information they want to make their products work with the upcoming Windows Vista.

Microsoft spokesman Tom Brookes said the software interfaces for the Windows Security Center -- Vista's new "security dashboard" -- would shortly be uploaded to a Web site for software developers.

Both security companies have complained that Microsoft was withholding key information they needed to develop software compatible with Vista before it is handed over to computer manufacturers next month. Consumers should be able to begin buying the new operating system in January.

Microsoft also said it planned to talk to both Symantec and McAfee to discuss changes they want made to Microsoft's anti-hacking tool, Patchguard. Symantec wanted its software to be excluded from Patchguard's scope so it would not be wrongly identified as a threat to the system.

On Friday, Microsoft said it had changed key aspects of Vista to soothe European antitrust worries. But the EU antitrust office refused to back Microsoft's optimism that European concerns had been met. "The jury is out," EU spokesman Jonathan Todd said.

The EU and Microsoft have fought for years, and the 25-nation bloc levied a 497 million-euro ($613 million) fine on Microsoft in 2004.

Featured

  • Report: Cost, Sustainability Drive DaaS Adoption Beyond Remote Work

    Gartner's 2025 Magic Quadrant for Desktop as a Service reveals that while secure remote access remains a key driver of DaaS adoption, a growing number of deployments now focus on broader efficiency goals.

  • Windows 365 Reserve, Microsoft's Cloud PC Rental Service, Hits Preview

    Microsoft has launched a limited public preview of its new "Windows 365 Reserve" service, which lets organizations rent cloud PC instances in the event their Windows devices are stolen, lost or damaged.

  • Hands-On AI Skills Now Outshine Certs in Salary Stakes

    For AI-related roles, employers are prioritizing verifiable, hands-on abilities over framed certificates -- and they're paying a premium for it.

  • Roadblocks in Enterprise AI: Data and Skills Shortfalls Could Cost Millions

    Businesses risk losing up to $87 million a year if they fail to catch up with AI innovation, according to the Couchbase FY 2026 CIO AI Survey released this month.