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Microsoft Beta Includes Built-in Virus Scanner
Ethereal writes "InternetNews.com reports that Microsoft has begun beta-testing a built-in virus scanner for its Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) that will be included in the final product in mid-2004. The tool is among the operating system enhancements the Redmond, Wash., company is developing as part of its Security Center initiative to rebuff viruses, worms, trojans and crackers. Microsoft will also provide free online training to help developers make the most of SP2's security features, Chairman Bill Gates said at today's RSA Security conference. It's the first time the company has offered training with a Windows service pack release."
flamebait my ass, it's a valid question. Now, THIS is flamebait, dumbass.
"Faith: Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel." - A.B.
Please mod parent as insightful.
Nice analogy there. Good show.
wbs.
Huh?
If I could mod you higher, I would.
Apple Macs come with a built-in firewall, and I don't see anybody complaining over there. They also come with a built-in mail filter, and the same thing applies: no one is complaining. In fact, it all makes good sense.
...)
You do accoasionally get complaints on the Mac side, when Apple has done similar things (eg. Sherlock vs Watson).
But in general it's not so much of a problem.
I think the main reason this is so, is that instead of providing a complete solution, Apple add the infrastructure to the OS, and leave room for others to provide 'compensatory' products that use that infrastructure.
For instance, the built in firewall in Mac OS X (ipfw), is part of the OS where it belongs, but they only provide a pretty basic interface to it, unless you want to get your hands dirty with the command line.
This provides a market for things like BrickHouse which add an easy to use GUI over the top.
Even when they provide a total solution they don't necessarily kill the competition. When Apple released Safari, people were worried about what would happen to Opera.
Opera is still around, they've even moved to using the WebKit core, so they no longer have to worry about all the complicated HTML rendering code, and can instead concentrate on the bits and pieces around it that differentiate their browser. One could argue that Safari being released actually helped them. (Whether or not that translates into sales is another question)
The Mac has always been a very extensible platform. In the past, third parties had to use traps and patches and other nasty low level hacks. In Mac OS X, they have made it easier and safer through the use of frameworks and plugin bundles. (eg PithHelmet, GPGMail,
Apple could do a much better job of documenting these (Try working out how to write a Mail plugin. Every single one in existence seems to be based on GPGMail which did the hard work of reverse engineering it) but they do not try to squash competition.