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Microsoft Security Essentials Released; Rivals Mock It
Bimal writes "After a short three-month beta program, Microsoft is officially releasing Microsoft Security Essentials, its free, real-time consumer anti-malware solution for fighting viruses, spyware, rootkits, and Trojans. MSE is available for Windows XP 32-bit, Windows Vista/7 32-bit, and Windows Vista/7 64-bit. 'Ars puts MSE through its paces and finds an unobtrusive app with a clean interface that protected us in the dark corners of the Internet.' The software received positive notes when in beta, including a nod from the independent testing group AV-Test." But reader CWmike notes that Symantec is trash-talking Microsoft's free offering. Jens Meggers, Symantec's vice president of engineering, dismissed MSE as a "poor product" that will "never be up to snuff." Meggers added, "Microsoft has a really bad track record in security." The GM of Trend Micro's consumer division sniffed, "It's better to use something than to use nothing, but you get what you pay for."
When Pressed, Symantec admitted they were actually describing their own products, burst into tears, and chugged the rest of the bottle of whiskey.
Around the computer shop's i've worked at we joke that we'd rather have a virus than norton on our machines, at least the virus won't charge you a fee to mess up your OS.
- Better to speak your mind than to remain silent, or someone may speak for you.
Symantec operates on the TSA theory of security:
If you aren't being harassed by a mouth-breathing subnormal, you aren't secure.
My father, also in IT, has the theory that Symantec's goal is to consume your computer's resources to the point where a virus would give up and realize that your computer isn't worth being used in a botnet or for extortion.
Obligatory image: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1283/790399551_d8a1e0ea5a.jpg
"Our opponent is an alien starship packed with atomic bombs. We have a protractor."
You must be... Oh wait.
Now correct me if I'm incorrect, but was I told it's untrue that people in Springfield have no faith? Was I not misinformed?
It's kdawson, if Microsoft somehow cured the common cold his headline would be "Microsoft technology responsible for deaths of trillions of living organisms".
to make everybody on Slashdot rush to defend MS.
If Microsoft kills Symantec, I will personally buy nineteen copies of Windows 7 Ultimate Edition to thank them.
Priceless.
My ism, it's full of beliefs.
Free the files!
Hell, I never understood that either. Why should anyone who just forked out $xxx for a brand-new OS then be forced to pay yearly "protection money" as well? Sounds like a racket to me.
A racket? Don't be stupid. It's not like they put the bugs and exploits used by malware into the Operating system.
That sounds like a description of a pre-installed copy of Windows to be honest! ;)
I scanned my Fedora ISO with MSE and it didn't find any threat! Is Microsoft changing attitude towards Linux?