Beyond Binary

A day after making a beta of its free security program available, Microsoft has said it already has the number of testers it needs and has halted new downloads.

(Credit: CNET)

Well, that didn't take long.

A day after making available a free beta of its Microsoft Security Essentials software, Microsoft has stopped offering new downloads, saying it has reached the number of participants it was looking for, at least here in the U.S. The software maker had said it was only looking to initially have about 75,000 downloads of the product, formerly code-named Morro.

"Thank you for your interest in joining the Microsoft Security Essentials Beta. We are not accepting additional participants at this time," Microsoft said in a posting on its Web site. "Please check back at later a date for possible additional availability."

Microsoft Security Essentials is the free product that Microsoft promised it would create last year, at the same time the software maker said it was discontinuing its paid Windows Live OneCare product.

The program hits the antivirus basics, including built-in and customizable scan options, a scheduler, automatic definition file updates, a real-time defense shield, and rootkit protection. It's also similar to other free products on the market, such as those from AVG and Antivir.

Download.com's Seth Rosenblatt contributed to this report.

Click on the image above to see Download.com's look at Microsoft Security Essentials.

(Credit: CNET)

SAN FRANCISCO--Microsoft's operating systems are still vulnerable to attacks, but more often than not it's older versions that are taking the big hits.

That was the message from Scott Charney, corporate vice president in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing group, when he sat down with me on Tuesday. We chatted about the latest threats, including Conficker. The much-maligned Windows Vista, he noted, wasn't hit in the way that older versions of the operating system were.

"Some of those widespread exploits take advantage of older platforms," Charney said in an interview, following his keynote speech at the RSA 2009 conference here.

With Windows 7, Microsoft is trying to take security into a few more areas, such as extending encryption to removable devices.

Charney also noted that, as a whole, the Internet still should be safer than it is.

"There is still a sense that it is not safe enough," Charney said. "It was not built for the uses that we currently use it for, all these commercial transactions."

One of the answers, he said, is adding more security features into the PC hardware.

"In a nutshell, software is malleable and hardware is harder to tamper with," he said.

For my complete interview with Charney, check out the video below:

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News)

There's a lot of ways to look at Microsoft's decision to abandon OneCare and come up with free antivirus software.

But I had to do a double take Tuesday night when I saw the Wall Street Journal headline on the decision: "Microsoft plans new spyware."

I saw the headline first on my phone, then went to the Journal's Web site, where the headline was featured on the main page. (See screenshot).

The article itself makes no reference to Microsoft creating spyware, and once one clicks on the story, bears the headline "Microsoft Plans to Introduce Free PC Security Software."

Microsoft's decision to offer free antivirus software puts rivals such as McAfee and Symantec in a tough position.

To be sure, those two--and other rivals--will be able to tout products that offer a broader range of features than Microsoft plans to deliver with "Morro" next year. At the same time, "nada" is a tough price to compete against.

That raises the question of whether those companies or others may look to antitrust regulators for help. We've put queries into those companies and also posed the antitrust question to Microsoft. I'll let you know what we hear back.

One thing in Microsoft's corner is the fact there are already free antivirus products on the market, such as AVG, though typically security vendors look to upsell consumers from low-cost or free products to higher-end ones.

Microsoft appears to be getting out of the paid security software business, at least on the consumer end. (Microsoft still plans to offer paid security products for businesses).

Also, Microsoft said it plans to deliver Morro as a free download rather than bundling it with the operating system--another move that could dampen some antitrust concerns.

It's unclear whether giving away software that others charge for will ultimately be enough to justify regulatory action. Although one antitrust lawyer predicts rival security firms will complain and that antitrust authorities will listen.

"Sure, there will be antitrust issues. They're just...daring the antitrust authorities to knock it off," said Daniel Wall of the San Francisco firm of Latham & Watkins. "This is an old issue, the notion of them giving away for free products that others sell and it is absolutely guaranteed to get the attention of the antitrust authorities in Europe, Korea, Japan, and other jurisdictions."

"They're incorrigible," Wall said of Microsoft.

Antitrust regulators in the U.S. have tended to focus on harm to consumers as opposed to competitors. Authorities in Europe and Korea have taken a broader view, taking action against Microsoft for actions deemed to hurt competitors, such as bundling its media player into Windows.

Both Europe and Korea have required Microsoft to offer versions of its operating system without certain components. In this case, though, Microsoft is not talking about distributing the antivirus code as part of Windows itself.

Representatives from Microsoft, Symantec, and McAfee were not immediately available to comment.

CNET News' Elinor Mills contributed to this report.

Update 4:45 p.m. PST: Here's what Microsoft had to say.

"We are focused on addressing the security needs of consumers," Amy Barzdukas, a senior director in Microsoft's Online Services and Windows Division, said in a statement. "We will, of course, continue to comply with any government rulings."

Update 6:25 p.m.: And we got comment from security firms McAfee and Sophos.

McAfee spokesman Joris Evers, asked if his company would raise an antitrust complaint over Microsoft's move, said: "It's too early to say anything about that."

Over at Sophos--which focuses on the enterprise market and so doesn't compete with Microsoft's consumer security products--Senior Technology Consultant Graham Cluley predicted antitrust issues would not arise.

"I am no expert on such things, but provided Microsoft does not bundle 'Morro' in with its operating system I would be surprised if there were antitrust issues," he said in an e-mail. "Anything which encourages more people to run antivirus has to be good news for all of us."

Asked if Microsoft would ever consider bundling the security features into Windows, Microsoft's Barzdukas said: "I can't foresee such a time."