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Microsoft Admits Disabling Anti-Virus Software For Windows 10 Users (bbc.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Microsoft has admitted that it does temporarily disable anti-virus software on Windows PCs, following an competition complaint to the European Commission by a security company. In early June, Kaspersky Lab filed the complaint against Microsoft. The security company claims the software giant is abusing its market dominance by steering users to its own anti-virus software. Microsoft says it implemented defenses to keep Windows 10 users secure. In an extensive blog post that does not directly address Kaspersky or its claims, Microsoft says it bundles the Windows Defender Antivirus with Windows 10 to ensure that every single device is protected from viruses and malware. To combat the 300,000 new malware samples being created and spread every day, Microsoft says that it works together with external anti-virus partners. The technology giant estimates that about 95% of Windows 10 PCs were using anti-virus software that was already compatible with the latest Windows 10 Creators Update. For the applications that were not compatible, Microsoft built a feature that lets users update their PCs and then reinstall a new version of the anti-virus software. "To do this, we first temporarily disabled some parts of the AV software when the update began. We did this work in partnership with the AV partner to specify which versions of their software are compatible and where to direct customers after updating," writes Rob Lefferts, a partner director of the Windows and Devices group in enterprise and security at Microsoft.
Breaking down yearly stats it looks like 1 million per day are actually created.
But AV only finds about 300,000 a day. And that's all of them collectively.
Not only is AV useless but also damaging as it creates never ending bloat in AV products.
soooo you claim these apps are mission critical yet they are written pre XP days and you haven't bothered to test or build new versions of them and it is MICROSOFT's fault for not supporting your 15+ year old shit.
Of course you run one AV software at a time and you disable the other one. That is PC use 101. What's the problem?
http://saveie6.com/
I have a fifteen year old refrigerator that still works, as well as a twenty year old oven, a nine year old smart phone, an eleven year old TV, lamps that are more than thirty years old, a lawnmower that is going on twenty years old, and lots of other "shit" that is fifteen years or older that still works. Why should anyone discard functional things just because of Microsoft's say so?
Time is what keeps everything from happening all at once.
Or for a non-inflammatory title: Microsoft Disables Faulty AV Software so Win10 Uses Can Safely Update To Latest OS
AV software is some of the worst crap to get foisted on Windows installations. I wish MS would just disallow it outright. But as the Kaspersky suit shows, AV vendors aren't going to let go of that teet if they find any way to avoid being forced to do so.
It is not up to Microsoft to decide what software the user runs. Microsoft has 2 morally correct options. Either ignore software compatibility at all, it is not their responsibility, it is the users / application vendors responsibility.
Or they can check and then ask the user what to do. Disabling software, or even removing it, without asking is the morally wrong approach.
Of course doing the right thing would also get in the way of their forced update system, that is why it will not happen.
I have a fifteen year old refrigerator that still works, as well as a twenty year old oven, a nine year old smart phone, an eleven year old TV, lamps that are more than thirty years old, a lawnmower that is going on twenty years old, and lots of other "shit" that is fifteen years or older that still works. Why should anyone discard functional things just because of Microsoft's say so?
Why are you comparing a stationary appliance without external interface to a computer program? If that's your comparison then it's worth pointing out that Windows XP still works. It didn't magically vapourise with the release of Windows Vista, 7, 8, or 10.
Now if on the other hand you have a security issue with the fact that your Windows XP machine is network based, or you have a major obsolescence issue that could take out the machine at any time, can you really say it still "just works"? If the camera on your 9 year old smartphone breaks does it still just work? What if that camera was actually "mission critical"? Do you wait until the day that it breaks to find out if you have an alternative?
Microsoft hasn't told anyone to discard anything. That is left up to people themselves. Speaking of I *had* a 15 year old fridge. I threw it away fully working for a new one that has more space and uses less than 1/4 of the electricity. Just because something still works is in itself not a reason to keep it.