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Microsoft Releases AntiSpyware Program
Nathan Weinberg writes "Microsoft released this morning Microsoft AntiSpyware, the product of last month's acquisition of GIANT. As I write in my report on my site, the program is very powerful, and certainly measures up to and may even beat Spybot and Ad-Aware. However, it's also pretty buggy, and Microsoft might have already sneaked in a pay subscription service."
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This is just scary:
1. Release buggy browser
2. Sell antispyware software
3. Profit?
Direct and indirect download links
Shocking - they don't seem to support DOS based Windows (9x and ME) even though there are arguably millions of infected consumper PC's. WinME boxes aren't THAT old.
I do understand not supporting NT4 tho..
...yup...
Hmmm I ran this, but I still seem to have windows on my computer.
Well, let's hope this program will be free for all people who are plagued with IE hijaking programs. With patches so slowly coming, this might be a good PR for Microsoft who is taking some hard hits from critics.
Some call me Howie Feltersnatch
Does nobody see this as a potential problem, as Microsoft will now have a vested interest in NOT fixing their O/S so that spyware can't get in?
And lastly, there doesn't seem to be any evidence that Microsoft is making it a subscription service. I was able to download, install, and run the program all without signing up for a subscription of any sort. Maybe that's because the program is still in beta or maybe it's just anti-MS FUD on the subscriber's part... who knows.
Reading the review would reveal why the submitter said that. The review says it might have a subscription based on the fact that it had 206 days until it expired. My personal opinion is that the expiration is there because it's Beta, but it may very well lead to a subscription service.
As far as the summary not saying it's a beta... Well, seemed pretty obvious to me. They just bought the company afterall.
- AMW
Microsoft refuses to patch their browser wich is the cause of most "crapware" at least for all the AOL people and now they relese a sftware product to clean up or try to clean up what is initially their fault. As long as they don't bundle this with the OS it is not anticompetetive. But microsoft itself is. I mean they now bundle a firewall so no one needs to get kerio or zone alarm. If this thing get's bundeled along with the Antivirus the bought someone is gonna sue them again and then the government is going to look the other way because they are gonna say windows can't work with out. I just hope I'm wrong.
And without giving too much away, the GenuineCheck program that it offers for download (if you're not using IE) doesn't really do its job. I mean, I DO have a licensed Windows product key, I just didn't use it for this install. Still, it didn't seem to pick up on that.
Or maybe the goons are on their way as we speak. Who knows.
Expire? Why should it expire if it is free?
Because it's a Beta. Most Microsoft Betas expire.
- AMW
Microsoft has often done this. They don't want customers to run beta software forever. They want the customer to realize that he or she must get the latest version.
It is just Giant rebranded with a few things missing(which I assume is just because it is in beta). Giant was a very good anti-spyware program so I expect the MS rebrand will be just the same.
The real question will just be how much effort MS puts into keeping the definitions and program updated as new types of spyware come down the pipeline. As effective as the program is right now, it is how effective it will remain in the ever changing world of spyware that is what really matters.
No beta will answer that question, only the test of time will. But, this is just Giant rebranded and it is a very solid platform, which is why MS bought it in the first place.
You are who you are, let no one tell you different. But, never close your mind to a new point of view.
As to the resutls, it turfed up three bits of possible Spyware which Ad-Aware and Spybot were missing/ignoring. The first was what it thought was Kazaa, but was infact Kazaa Lite (I've never had the original Kazaa installed). Second was some legacy registry keys left behind by WeatherBug which had piggybacked its way onto my PC with some shareware some time ago - fixed and reported to Spybot/Ad-Aware. Finally, it detected something called SearchSquire, but this turned out to be part of the Immunization feature of Spybot.
So, aside from the conflicts with Spybot's Immunization feature and the false positive on Kazaa Lite's registry keys, both of which can be fixed by setting the detection to "Always Ignore" it's not a bad little tool at all. Expect of course, for the fact that Microsoft is clearly planning of getting people to pay for this tool according to the webpage and EULA. Hmm. Getting people to pay for cleaning up the mess that you helped create in the first place... Unless this product is *vastly* better than Spybot and Ad-Aware on a thoroughly owned PC, I don't think so, and even then I think not...
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
Funny.... Friends and Family are heavily infested everytime I visit. Install Firefox and Mike's Ad Blocking Host File and guess what, no more spyware. The best solution is prevention.
The probably saw this:
2. TIME-SENSITIVE SOFTWARE. The software will stop running on July 31, 2005. You may not receive any other notice. You will not receive any further updates when the software stops running.
and figured OMG SUBSCRIPTION!
Another interesting EULA box is the actual definition of the software's function:
4. POTENTIALLY UNWANTED SOFTWARE. The software will search your computer for "spyware," "adware" and other potentially unwanted software ("Potentially Unwanted Software"). If it finds Potentially Unwanted Software, the software will ask you if you want to ignore, disable (quarantine) or remove it. The software will only remove or disable Potentially Unwanted Software as you instruct it. Removing or disabling the Potentially Unwanted Software may cause other software on your computer to stop working, and it may cause you to breach a license to use other software on your computer, if the other software installed the Potentially Unwanted Software on your computer as a condition of your use of the other software. You should read the license agreements for other software before authorizing the removal of any Potentially Unwanted Software. By using this software, it is possible that you will also remove or disable software that is not Potentially Unwanted Software. You are solely responsible for selecting which Potentially Unwanted Software the software removes or disables.
When I worked at Dell, they wouldn't let us dick with spyware stuff because of potential legal problems -- that is, the law might side with the malware.
REM Old programmers don't die. They just GOSUB without RETURN.
With the threat of people jumping ship to another OS, MS may make back their money by just keeping their customers?
Interesting question. Is a company that releases an inferior product, but that has a monopoly required to force their customers to pay subscription fees for multiple software packages by third parties needed to patch the vulnurability? And if they decide to release their own software to fix the problem, are they partaking in anti-competitive practices by wiping out companies that exist solely to patch the problem? If they charge a competitive fee for the software, is that better or worse than giving it out for free? On one hand they're screwing their customers who live with the bugs, on the other hand they're putting companies out of business.
But it does run fine under Wine, and produces a validation code. The code isn't recognized as valid by the MS web page, though. Strange.
4. POTENTIALLY UNWANTED SOFTWARE.
Is Microsoft coining a new term - PUS? My machine is infected with PUS.
I can see it now...
The following has been identified as PUS. You may choose to keep it, however Microsoft cannot guarantee stability if you allow it to remain installed. Do you wish to disable the following PUS?:
Lilo - Identified as PUS
Microsoft also bought Internet Explorer, that's given away for free. They really don't need to make the money back with all the cash they have. The positive PR from giving it away for free could easily make up for the cost of the company.
-matt