Comments on: Chills at Microsoft's security huddle

Microsoft has quietly held meetings with top antivirus researchers for almost 10 years, but there's some unease now that Redmond is a rival.

[Macsaresafer]

LOL!

Microsoft's getting into the protection racket - um, I mean security
- and now they're going to make mp3 players. All of their partners
have good reason to worry. What's next? Will they decide to make
PCs too?

[nmcphers]

Yes

If Apple becomes the number 1 PC vendor and starts selling more PC's than Dell--very unlikely and I don't think that's their goal--you can count on Microsoft entering into that market.

[rmiecznik]

Stab stab, back stab stab....

Stab you in the back, that's what MS will do, to everyone one, eventually. I would never reveal too much to MS, even if I was their best Vendor.

No way! :- )

[Björn Lundahl]

What is all this about ?stabbing??

If you have been ?stabbed? by Microsoft, you should go to the police. Microsoft did not just evolve to a large company of no reason. Microsoft is not forcing, you or anyone else, in buying their software´s. People do not buy ?things? they do not like. If they did, there would be no reason for anyone to propagate for something else that they would like. All this is very silly!
Björn Lundahl, Göteborg, Sweden

[Penguinisto]

Nice way to cripple win32 security overall...

Seriously - what was once an atmosphere of trust is now going to be a miasma of mistrust and competition... it's only going to hurt MSFT and the AV companies in the end, by making them less able to adapt and respond to new threats. Where there was once collaboration among peers w/ the OS maker, I believe that I'll see less and less of it now.

Glad I don't use Windows for anything I hold important...

[solomonrex]

killing the golden goose

MS is killing it's partners every chance it has. It won't be happy until they have everybody's business. And it's clear their partners are pretty gullible, since they attended this conference. Stupid.

[OneWithTech]

The past holds the future...

...and the past would tell you that Microsoft started out as a DOS program that was bought and then resold on a licensing level. From that point on Widows was created. Not to mention that Microsoft just recently came out with Antispyware software that is nonchalantly loaded onto to people's computers via Automatic Updates.

So this is my question to all you VP's that attended this years meetings; are you actually that ignorant that you don't understand that the wolf allowed you into his den for a reason!

Not only am I a super tech guru, but I can smell a hustler a mile away. Microsoft consist of the largest organization of hustlers in the world!

So my advice to all of you in the security sector, maybe it's time to take a second look at Apple and increasing the security tools there, God only knows that Steve Jobs is busy working on a New Web Browser for Tiger and doesn't currently have the time for this feat!

~Justin
Tech01

[Macsaresafer]

They've already tried!

"So my advice to all of you in the security sector, maybe it's time to
take a second look at Apple and increasing the security tools there"

Mac users routinely laugh at their efforts. Right now, and for the
last five years, there have only been theoretical vulnerabilities for
OS X. Some day, there may be a real virus threat to Macs out there,
but until and unless that day comes, there's no point in spending
money on antivirus for your Mac.

[brian.lee]

Share so long as it's convenient for all of us....

I don't see what the big deal is... So Microsoft decided that it doesn't want to share any more internal secrets with security companies? big deal... It's not convenient anymore there's nothing for Microsoft to gain financially from sharing so the partnership is broken. Every business in their right mind would do the same thing if they could to make a buck. I would not be surprised to see Google pull something similar once every website on the plant is lined with ad words and any other cool api they come out with. The fact that you base your entire business model on one company this being Microsoft was stupid to begin with.

[KTWinATL]

10 years from now

Anyone want to bet, 10 years from now they'll only be 1 Security company left along with Microsoft from today's confab? Any takers?

[rmiecznik]

lol, 10 years

Apple will be here, no sure about MS.

[registereduser]

Microsoft: World Domination Inevitable...

Ah yes... Microsoft to rule the software industry...it is invevitable...

[Björn Lundahl]

Fight hard Microsoft!

Fight hard Microsoft so we can buy effective security softwares. That is what we really want when we are not debating but going shopping. I understand that you have this insight.
Björn Lundahl, göteborg, Sweden

[Hardrada]

FUD FUD FUD

this story is nothing but FUD. Microsoft didn't have anything new to share since Vista is pretty much finished and they're very early in the planning stages for the next product.

Let's be clear: AV vendors are not exactly our best friends as consumers - doesn't it seem odd to anyone that the companies screaming loudest about the next "imminent threat" also stand to benefit the most when we renew our licenses for their software? AV companies have failed to innovate in this area, forcing Microsoft to step up and do so.

Weird how the Apple and Linux folks are so critical about Windows vulnerabilities and then so critical about Microsoft trying to do something about them.

-btw - load MAC OS or your favorite *nix distro on 90% of the pc's in the world and you'll find they have a few vulnerabilities too. Leaving your car parked in the garage and then claiming it never breaks down is a little disingenuous.

[Penguinisto]

Err, huh?

"[i]Weird how the Apple and Linux folks are so critical about Windows vulnerabilities and then so critical about Microsoft trying to do something about them.[/i]"

Such a blanket statement that turns out to be, well... wrong.

The Vulns? Yeah - but we're just as hard (actually, harder) about any found on OSX or Linux - esp. those which would be as earth-shakingly stupid as the boners that we've seen surface in Windows.

OTOH, hey - if MSFT wants to actually do something ab't it, great. OTOH, if they do it by alienating their own partners, well...

And if Vista is "pretty much finished" to the point where security discussions between MSFT and vendors are next-to-zero, then I fear for the data of millions of new Vista users - because from the looks of it, they will be rather ripe for the impending on-line raping.

[i]"AV vendors are not exactly our best friends as consumers - doesn't it seem odd to anyone that the companies screaming loudest about the next "imminent threat" also stand to benefit the most when we renew our licenses for their software? AV companies have failed to innovate in this area, forcing Microsoft to step up and do so. "[/i]

No argument on the first part - vested interest is vested interest. OTOH, the very existence of A/V companies shows that it MSFT who failed to innovate in the field of security, no?

[i]"-btw - load MAC OS or your favorite *nix distro on 90% of the pc's in the world and you'll find they have a few vulnerabilities too."[/i]

Funny, but Apache holds 80%+ of the Webserver market, and yet the majority of the vulnerable/compromised webservers were using IIS... In other words: QED, your argument doesn't hold water.

"[i]Leaving your car parked in the garage and then claiming it never breaks down is a little disingenuous.[/i]"

Again, I refer you to Apache vs. IIS.

/P