-
MICROSOFT said it will discontinue sales of its subscription PC security service and instead offer free software to help protect computers from viruses, spyware and other threats.
-
Software giant cans its paid Windows Live OneCare service in favor of a free consumer software focused on protecting PCs against malware.
-
Microsoft has announced it will offer a free anti-virus and security software suite and will discontinue its OneCare service.
-
Microsoft will dump its Windows Live OneCare consumer security software next year and instead give away revamped, streamlined antimalware software that it's calling 'Morro.'
-
Two years ago, Microsoft rankled computer-security software vendors by jumping into their market. Now the company is again creating waves by pulling out of it.
-
Security update fixes critical hole in pre-beta version of Windows 7 operating system, due to be distributed to attendees of PDC 2008 on Tuesday.
-
Microsoft has slashed the cost for internet and technology startups to use its software and servers in an attempt to attract the latest generation of programmers away from Open Source rivals like Linux.
-
Microsoft is giving away free software to early-stage Web start-up companies as part of a worldwide program called BizSpark launched on Wednesday.
-
Software maker will allow certain companies to use Windows Server and other products for three years at no charge.
-
To address the growing need for a PC security solution tailored to the demands of emerging markets, smaller PC form factors and rapid increases in the incidence of malware, Microsoft Corp. plans to offer a new consumer security offering focused on core anti-malware protection.
-
"Microsoft decided to switch to a free product because there are still so many PCs out there that lack any antivirus software."
-
Updated 1:15 p.m. PST with Symantec comment. For some security companies, Microsoft's decision to offer a free anti-malware product, code-named Morro, won't result in a dramatic change in how they do business. Morro will be available in the second half of 2009 and will protect against viruses, spyware, rootkits, and Trojans, according to Microsoft. Rowan Trollope, senior vice president of Symantec's consumer business, characterized the announcement as a "capitulation by Microsoft, and a reinforcement of the notion that it's simply not in Microsoft's DNA to provide high-quality, frequently updated security protection." Here's the rest of his statement provided via e-mail: "Consumers have already rejected OneCare even though it entered the market at a lower price, because OneCare offered substandard protection and poor performance as evidenced by scores of third party reviews. The offering only gained modest market share and ultimately was deemed unsuccessful in the marke ...
-
If you heard a deafening swallowing sound sometime in the past day or so, we can explain its origin. The corporate makers of security software must have collectively gulped when Microsoft announced its plans to offer a free consumer security product.Microsoft Announces Free PC Security Product "Morro," as the product's called at the moment (probably named after Morro Castle), is supposed to take care of a lot of stuff. Viruses, spyware, rootkits, and Trojans are all on its kill list. It should require little in the way of bandwidth and computing resources, too, giving Microsoft an "in" with the growing netbook audience. Amy Barzdukas, Microsoft's senior director of product management for the Online Services and Windows Division, explained in a statement how Microsoft got the idea for Morro, saying, "Customers around the world have told us that they need comprehensive, ongoing protection from new and existing threats, and we take that concern seriously." She then continued, "This new, no-cost offering w ...
-
MICROSOFT is giving away free software to internet start-ups under the BizSpark programme for thirty countries.
-
The company said its Malicious Software Removal Tool erased the phony 'Antivirus 2009' rogue app, among others.
-
Microsoft is expected to offer users free upgrades to Windows 7 the successor to its troubled Vista platform to revive its consumer business.
-
The all-in-one security software suites from the major anti-virus vendors fail spectacularly at detecting custom-made malware that exploits the latest software vulnerabilities, according to testing done by security analysis firm Secunia. Secunia tested how well nearly a dozen security suites fared against malicious files and direct attacks that leveraged more than 150 known software flaws. All of the vulnerabilities used in the test are publicly documented -- details of them can be found in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database -- and most of the vulnerabilities can be fixed by applying a software update currently available from the program's maker. Secunia says that out of the 300 test cases, 126 are particularly important because they affect very popular products and have either been discovered as zero-day threats or Secunia has developed working exploits. Secunia CTO Thomas Kristensen said all of the vulnerabilities used in the test merit a moderate
-
Microsoft's stock price suffers more than usual on days that it ships software updates to plug security holes, new research suggests. With few exceptions, Redmond issues security updates on the second Tuesday of each month. Microsoft implemented what's known as "Patch Tuesday" several years ago in order to give companies more time to plan for testing and rolling out the updates. It also began disclosing each Thursday prior how many security problems customers could expect to have to deal with on Patch Tuesday. Microsoft did all this in the name of increasing the predictability of its patching process. But according to researchers at McAfee Avert Labs, the other predictable part of Patch Tuesday and Advance Notification Thursday is that Microsoft's stock price almost always sinks on those days relative to other trading days. On average, Patch Tuesday saw Microsoft's stock price fall -0.11 percent in 2006, -0.29 percent last year,
-
Giveaway booze idea dreamed up to counter decline in paying customers.
-
Jean-Louis Gassée explains how Microsoft's future business model will borrow from both Apple and Google.
-
Microsoft can compete with free, but only if it embraces free software.
-
Health insurer Aetna Inc. is becoming the first health insurer to team with Microsoft Corp. to give its customers an Internet-based vault for storing medical records they can access even if they change jobs or leave their health plan.
-
Press freedoms are being eroded even in democratic nations because of war and security worries, rights group Reporters Without Borders says.
-
Virtual Machine Manager 2008 is the company's first tool for managing its recently released Hyper-V platform, and includes centralized provisioning tools.
-
Jon Oltsik recommends that network administrators treat Microsoft's newest patch with urgency, but says the out-of-cycle release bodes well for the company's security efforts.
-
Microsoft said late Wednesday that it plans to break out of its monthly patch cycle to issue a security update today for a critical vulnerability in all supported versions of Windows. Redmond rarely releases security patches outside of Patch Tuesday, the second Tuesday of each month. The software giant isn't providing many details yet, but the few times it has departed from its Patch Tuesday cycle it has always done so to stop the bleeding on a serious security hole that criminals were using to break into Windows PCs on a large scale. By Security Fix's count, this would be the fourth time since January 2006 that Microsoft has deviated from its monthly patch cycle to plug security holes. As shown by the stories in the linked examples above, Microsoft has fixed problems, each time, that were being actively exploited by bad guys to break into PCs. Microsoft's advanced notification
-
Microsoft is weathering the economic downturn better than expected, with sales in the three months to the end of September topping Wall Street estimates, according to new figures
-
SOFTWARE developed in Australia that uses techniques to improve airport security systems could be on the market within 12 months.
-
Microsoft unveiled a program called Windows Azure yesterday that stores and runs customers' data and programs in its computer-server farms, stepping up competition in "cloud computing" with Amazon.com and Google.
-
Three of the technology world's biggest players are expected to announce today that they have agreed to a common set of principles on how to do business in nations that restrict free speech and expression, the Wall Street Journal reported.
-
US software giant Microsoft has launched a new war on piracy in China, where 8 in 10 Windows programmes are illegal. Chinese Web users were quick to denounce what they qualified as "brutal" methods.
-
Young Canadian Brandon Crisp, 15, took off from home after his parents took away his Xbox 360. The game's constructor Microsoft announced it would give a $19,500-dollar US to whoever found him.
-
What’s driven Microsoft from day one, and continues to do so, is that Microsoft is the software company for Joe the Plumber. That’s their constituency, not necessarily Joe the Developer. They cater to Joe the Developer, Joe the CIO, and Joe the Analyst certainly likes to check in on what they are doing. It's this whole idea of disruptive technology. They have always targeted the under-served and un-served parts of the marketplace and move up from there.
-
In the latest edition of its “Security Intelligence Report,” Microsoft said that the security 0f its Windows operating system has significantly improved.
-
I was sitting in a rather boring meeting last week when my iPhone buzzed. I took a peek at the SMS, hoping it was a text message from my daughter. It was not. Like millions of other iPhone owners from New York to L.A., I got a message stating that," Your Apple iPhone now has free AT&T WiFi access at thousands of hotspots nationwide, including Starbucks ..."
Subscribe to our RSS (Really Simple Syndication)