Microsoft to offer free consumer security suite

Updated at 6:15 p.m. PST with Microsoft and M juicy couture bracelets cAfee comment, at 5:30 p.m. with Sophos comment, and at 4:40 p.m. with customer comment.

Windows Live OneCare logo

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsof juicy couture necklaces t on Tuesday said it is changing its strategy for offering PC antivirus software, with plans to discontinue its subscription-based consumer security suite and instead offe cheap gucci handbags r individuals free software to protect their PCs.

Code-named Morro, the new offering will be available in the second half of 2009 and will protect against viruses, spyware, rootkits, and Trojans, the compan buy gucci bags y said in a statement.

With the arrival of Morro, Microsoft plans to stop selling the Windows Live OneCare service, although the two services are not identical. Morro lacks OneCare's non-security features, such  juicy couture watches as printer sharing and automated PC tuneup. Morro will, however, use fewer resources than the subscription-based offering, making it better suited to low-bandwith systems and Jordan 19 shoes  less powerful PCs.

Microsoft decided to switch to a free product because there are still so many PCs out there that lack any antivirus software.

"Because they're not concerned about  Jordan retro 13 malware, the number of people who don't have antivirus software or don't keep it up to date exceeds 50 percent in developed markets, and it's worse in emerging markets," Amy Barzdukas, senior direct puma sneakers or of product management for the Online Services and Windows Division at Microsoft, said in an interview. "Live OneCare was tailored for developed markets with broadband...and it's not meeting the needs of a lot of custo Jordan retro 12 mers."

Asked why the company wouldn't just offer both the free and subscription versions, Barzdukas said: "Having core anti-malware at no charge for consumers, we believe, we will protect mo Jordan retro 6 re consumers that way." Consumers who want more than the features Morro will offer have "fine alternatives from third parties" to buy, she added.

Despite the fact that McAfee stands to lose pay Jordan 5 shoes ing customers to Microsoft's new free software, McAfee spokesman Joris Evers said the news signaled a defeat for Microsoft.

"Consumers have voted; OneCare, in its two years on the market, has a Jordan 21 shoes chieved less than 2 percent market share," he said in an interview. "Microsoft is giving up and has defaulted to a dressed-down freeware model that does not meet consumer security needs. This is goo puma first round d news for McAfee."

Barzdukas dismissed the notion that Microsoft was responding to market share or competitive pressures. "If the current approach isn't working... (as far as protectin puma ferrari shoes g consumers broadly) we need to go with a new approach," she said.

Asked if Microsoft would ever consider bundling the security features into Windows, Barzdukas said: "I can't fore Jordan 7 shoes see such a time."

Representatives from Symantec could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, said the news doesn't impact his securit Jordan 9 shoes y firm because it focuses on the enterprise market.

"I think this announcement may cause some sleepless nights for the chiefs at McAfee and Symantec--they've always done well out of the consume timberland work boots r anti-virus market, and with tougher financial times ahead of them (they) won't be pleased to see the possibility of that evaporating further," he wrote in an e-mail response to questions.

Microsoft gucci totes  had been selling Windows Live OneCare for $49.95 per year, which covered up to three PCs and offered centralized backup and optimization features in addition to security capabilities.

Windows L women's puma shoes ive OneCare will continue to be sold for Windows XP and Vista via retailers through June 30, 2009, and direct sales will be gradually phased out as Morro becomes available. "Microsoft will ensure that all current cu Jordan retro 11 stomers remain protected through the life of their subscriptions," the statement said.

Morro, which will be available for download over the Internet, will work on Windows XP, Windows cheap air force 1  Vista, and the upcoming Windows 7.

The news frustrated OneCare customer Cas Purdy who complained on Facebook: "I just paid for OneCare. I'm kind of bitter."

Purdy, who heads up public relations at Jordan 10 shoes  security firm Websense, said in a follow-up phone interview that he paid for his OneCare subscription a few weeks ago for his home laptop. Websense does not compete with Microsoft on consumer softw cheap gucci bags are.

"I'm all for a free tool but given that I just paid for it...we'll see," he added.

Microsoft's Barzdukas said customers should contact customer support if they have a concern. "We will absolutely  Jordan 6 shoes do the right thing by our customers, and if the customer wants to call our free phone support line we'll make sure they are happy," she said.

A posting on the Windows Live OneCare Team Blog has timberland pro work boots  a detailed FAQ for customers.

Microsoft started selling OneCare in May 2006, three years after signaling its intent to enter the security software market with its purchase of Romania's GeCad. burberry wallets >

Although OneCare received only mixed reviews, it significantly shook up the security software market, resulting in generally lower prices.

The software maker has also started selling its Forefront line of security software for businesses and indicated at its Microsoft Online launch on Monday that it plans to expand its lineup of hosted security services.

CNET News' Ina Fried contributed to this report.

Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joi 

 ned CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service, and the Associated Press. E-mail Elinor. Topics: Privacy & data protection Tags: Microsoft, Windows Live OneCare, security, malware Share: Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Facebook Twitter

Microsoft spoiling for a Red Hat fight with Web apps on Linux

commentary

Microsoft is apparently going to support Firefox and Safari with its upcoming Office Web Applications (and, hence, Windows alternatives like Mac OS X and Linux).

Yes, those using Internet Explorer and  new balance mx1009 Silverlight will have an enhanced experience, but this is an exceptional step forward--and smart business--for Microsoft.

But what does it mean for Red Hat?

Yes, Red Hat. I'm not suggesting that Re new balance wr790 d Hat's desktop business is threatened because today it doesn't have much of a Linux desktop business. Red Hat has chosen not to compete--at least, not much--on the traditional enterprise desktop.

That's no new balance ww926 t the point. The point is that if Microsoft succeeds in stepping beyond its closed ecosystem and opening up its technology to alternative platforms like Linux, Firefox, etc., it will eventually disrupt Red Hat's U new balance ww811 nix and Weblogic replacement businesses. Today, Red Hat can clean up the wreckage of these overpriced and over-engineered markets. Tomorrow? Well, tomorrow becomes much more difficult if Microsoft outmaneuvers Red new balance cw442  Hat by broadening its appeal beyond Windows.

Microsoft, in other words, is on the offense, not defense.

Not that this is the first salvo. Microsoft's patent-plus-interoperability deal with Novell is new balance mr1123  paying dividends for Novell, as The VAR Guy points out, and hence for Microsoft. That deal was Microsoft's way of painting a bulls-eye on Red Hat.

That deal has helped Novell but hasn't necessarily hurt R new balance mr740 ed Hat. A Microsoft whose technology fits into a wider technology stack, however, is potentially a much bigger threat to Red Hat because, in a way, it undermines one of Red Hat's (and, indeed, any open-source vend new balance mr790 or's) primary selling points: choice.

By allowing would-be customers to choose Microsoft technology a la carte, rather than as a take-it-or-leave-it stack, Microsoft co-opts Linux. Once it has SharePoint, O new balance wr768 ffice, or other applications running on Linux, it will have a much easier time leading customers to the "enhanced" experience with these applications on Windows.

So, what should Red Hat do? It needs to cons new balance mr1223 ider moving in on Microsoft's territory. The time to move is not when the Unix market has completely dissipated. It's not after JBoss has Weblogic and Websphere in retreat. By that time, Microsoft will be knockin new balance 977 g down Red Hat's door.

It's time for Red Hat to go after Microsoft. The good news is that it will have plenty of allies. The bad news is that Microsoft is a much stronger competitor than Red Hat has had to fa new balance 1123 ce in recent times. Game on.

Matt Asay is chief operating officer at Canonical, the company behind the Ubuntu Linux operating system. Prior to Canonical, Matt was general manager of the Americas division and vi 

 ce president of business development at Alfresco, an open-source applications company. Matt brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging 

  open-source business strategies and opportunities. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay. Topics: Microsoft, Industry news, Strategy, Red Hat Tags: Red Hat, Microsoft, Office, Web, open source Share: Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Facebook Twitter

Microsoft sets up ad kiosk outside U

Microsoft's video-recording booth parked just outside a U.K. Apple store.

(Credit: AppleInsider)

Microsoft is taking its "I'm a PC" ad campaign directly to the people: the Mac people.

At least, that's the case in the U.K., where an AppleInsider reader spotted a Microsoft-br new balance 802 anded video kiosk just outside a Birmingham Apple store. Microsoft employees were asking passersby to come in and record their very own "I'm a PC" video, presumably for use in a future ad.

It's not clear from new balance 925  AppleInsider's report whether this tactic was actually working, but it's certainly become clear this year that Microsoft is determined to hit back directly at Apple after years of taking punches delivered by the Ma new balance 620 c vs. PC ad campaign.

For almost a year, Apple has reported that around half the people buying Macs in its retail stores are new to the Mac. Those are presumably the people Microsoft is trying to win back int new balance 1223 o its camp with these kiosks and the ad campaign.

Tom Krazit writes about the ever-expanding world of Internet search, including Google, Yahoo, and portals, as well as the evolution of mobile computing. He has  

 written about traditional PC companies, chip manufacturers, and mobile computers, spending the last three years covering Apple. E-mail Tom. Topics: Mac Tags: Apple, Microsoft, advertising Share: Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Facebook Twitter

Microsoft RPC exploit could be a packaged deal

While Microsoft has labeled Thursday's emergency patch MS08-067 as "critical" and provided a rareout-of-cycle fix because its exploit could easily be used as worm on a compromised network, one security researcher doesn't th nike air max 90 white ink it will happen that way.

"It's likely we're going to see this packaged with some other attack." said Ben Greenbaum, senior research manager at Symantec. "A Web-based attack nike air max 90 current , for example. We're looking out for are exploits of this being bundled with client-side exploits or Trojans so that the worm can get past corporate firewalls and get behind that fir huarache low ewall into the internal network."

Comparisons have been made to Zotob, an RPC worm that spread like wildfire in 2005. Remote Procedure Calls (RPC) allows programmers to run code e air max 2010 ither locally or remotely; a flaw within them is ideal for creating a worm.

"The potential is certainly there," Greenbaum said, adding that modern day attackers are "looking to create as much revenue for themse custom nike air max lves as possible, and part of that equation means avoiding detection. What we're likely to see is that this will be added to a wide variety of attack tool kits already available."

"It's possible--but it' nike air max huarache s not likely--that we'll end up seeing a purpose-built worm that only exploits this one vulnerability," he said.

Since the patch came out Thursday morning, Symantec has s nike air max 2010 een increased scanning on ports 139 and 445, ports that exploits of MS08-067 would use.

There are some mitigating factors. Most firewalls, with default settings in place, should not allow an exploit of thi jordan huarache s penetrate that firewall, he said. However, home networks with File and Printer Sharing could fall victim to a bundled attack using this exploit.

The greatest danger is to sys air max shoes tems running Windows XP and Windows 2000; Microsoft has ranked the patch as critical for these systems. On Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or Windows 7 pre-Beta, if the firewall is disabled, and File and Printer s men huarache haring enabled, an anonymous user could use this exploit to connect but would do so only at the lowest possible integrity setting, which would prevent successful exploitation, Greenbaum s buy air max shoes aid. Microsoft has rated the patch only as important for those operating systems.

As CNET's resident security expert, Robert Vamosi has been interviewed on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets to sh 

 are his knowledge about the latest online threats and to offer advice on personal and corporate security. Listen to his podcast at securitybites.cnet.com or e-mail Robert with your ques 

 tions and comments. Topics: News, Vulnerabilities & attacks Tags: security, Microsoft, MS08-067, Ben Greenbaum, Symantec, File and Printer Sharing, RPC, exploit, worm, ports 139, port 445 Share: Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Facebook Twitter

Microsoft researcher talks tools, telescope, and iPhone

Microsoft researcher Rick Rashid speaks to developers Wednesday at the Professional Developer Conference.

(Credit: Ina Fried/CNET News)

LOS ANGELES--As he began his speech on Wedne max 90 sday, Microsoft Research chief Rick Rashid talked up his ties, not just to Microsoft's products, but also to those from Apple.

"If you use a Macintosh or an iPhone, which honestly I would no air 180 retro t recommend, you would be using code that I wrote more than 25 years ago," Rashid quipped to a crowd of developers at the company's Professional Developer Conference here. In his Carnegie Mel air max360 lon days, Rashid helped create the Mach kernel that is at the heart of Mac OS X (Note: I originally stated that it was at the heart of FreeBSD, but others have pointed out that's not accurate).  airmax360 

Rashid noted that it's also a testimony to the staying power of core technology ideas.

"If you'd asked me 25 years ago if I thought code I was (writing, would be) running today on max360  a cell phone, my reaction would have been 'what's a cell phone?'" Rashid said.

"It just shows you things really do survive and get used in interesting ways," Rashid said.

Later in h max90 is talk, Rashid is expected to show off some of the latest technology from the labs. (I'm betting we see Microsoft's Sphere surface computer, since Microsoft started the keynote Wednesday with a than nike air max skyline eu k you note to the company that makes the display that powers Sphere.)

Update, 9:12 a.m. PDT: Microsoft put out a release noting some of the things Rashid will cover. air max skyline women >

Microsoft plans an update to its Worldwide Telescope software and also detailed the Microsoft CCR and DSS Toolkit 2008, software developer tools that aim to "make it easie air max skyline si r to develop loosely-coupled concurrent and distributed applications."

Microsoft sensor technology is being used to create maps for research and work related to protecting th air max skyline eu e environment.

(Credit: Elinor Mills/CNET News)

Other topics include: DryadLINQ (a project that enables ordinary programmers to write large-scale data parallel applications t nike air max bw o run on large PC clusters), a tool to help kids learn to program known as Boku, as well as Second Light, a surface computing research project I wrote about earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Microsoft researcher Feng Zhao is discussing how computers factor into the world's energy use. In the U.S. for example, computing uses about 1.5 percent of all electricity, according to a 2006 E retro nike air max PA report. However, computers can also be used to make other systems, such as heating and air conditioning, more efficient.

A slide of updated telescope software features.

(Credit: Elinor Mills/CNET  

 News)

Zhao showed a sensor map from Microsoft research that helped chart the temperature in the main convention hall over the last couple of days. He noted that Microsoft uses 10,000 such sensors througho nike air max tailwind 2008 ut its data centers.

"It's...good for our customers," he said. "It's also good for the world."

Update, 9:45 a.m. PDT: Rashid discussed the update to the tele nike air tailwind scope software, which Microsoft is calling the "equinox" update.

The new update, going live now, offers more than double the data of the original release, including 55 new pa nike air max tailwind 2010 noramic images from the Apollo moon and Pathfinder Mars missions.

The demos drew loud applause as Rashid showed a wide range of views, including a display of the ent nike air max tailwind 4 ire viewable universe.

During her years at CNET News, Ina Fried has changed beats several times, changed genders once, and covered both of the Pirates of Silicon Valley. T 

 hese days, most of her attention is focused on Microsoft. E-mail Ina. Topics: Windows, Microsoft Tags: Microsoft, Rick Rashid, Microsoft Research, Sphere, OS X, Mach, iPhone, PDC2008 Share: Digg Del.icio.us Reddit Facebook Twitter