slow development of MSAS, opinion and thoughts

[Willem]

In the FAQ I read:

"Windows Defender (Beta 2) is targeted for the first half of 2006. We have
not determined the final release date yet."

I wonder why the development of this important add-on to Windows is going so
slow. It was a mature product already when MS acquired it from Giant. And I
think it works OK for 98% or so.

Could it be that Microsoft has second thoughts about releasing a standalone
product for spyware protection? The announced new name "Windows Defender"
suggests a more general malware protection.

My non-technical friends keep asking me why they need seperate products to
protect them from different types of malware. They would rather have one
product. Some know of Norton Internet security and call that an example, but
on a well-configured Windows XP SP2 (automatic updates, limited accounts for
daily use etc.) products like that are an overkill. And some say they would
rather have all the protection integrated in Windows.
I think I agree with them. At least there should be a single engine for
real-time protection.

Does anyone know about plans to integrate the different anti-malware
technoligies Microsoft aquired in recent years (GeCAD RAV 2003, Giant 2004
and Sybari 2005)?

In the meantime I would like Microsoft to get MSAS out of the beta phase
ASAP. I can live with the current limitations but there is need for support
at least to the level of Knowledge Base / technical FAQ.

Willem

 

[Ira]

Willem asked about the release of a public MSAS program and I for one am a
supporter of MS in this area. This is the the first time that I know of
that MS is so thoroughly testing a product. Other MS products are released
to soon and require SP's. I feel that will not be the case with MSAS. Just
look at the bugs still being reported after all this time. MS keep up the
good work.
Ira


: In the FAQ I read:
:
: "Windows Defender (Beta 2) is targeted for the first half of 2006. We have
: not determined the final release date yet."
:
: I wonder why the development of this important add-on to Windows is going
so
: slow. It was a mature product already when MS acquired it from Giant. And
I
: think it works OK for 98% or so.
:
: Could it be that Microsoft has second thoughts about releasing a
standalone
: product for spyware protection? The announced new name "Windows Defender"
: suggests a more general malware protection.
:
: My non-technical friends keep asking me why they need seperate products to
: protect them from different types of malware. They would rather have one
: product. Some know of Norton Internet security and call that an example,
but
: on a well-configured Windows XP SP2 (automatic updates, limited accounts
for
: daily use etc.) products like that are an overkill. And some say they
would
: rather have all the protection integrated in Windows.
: I think I agree with them. At least there should be a single engine for
: real-time protection.
:
: Does anyone know about plans to integrate the different anti-malware
: technoligies Microsoft aquired in recent years (GeCAD RAV 2003, Giant 2004
: and Sybari 2005)?
:
: In the meantime I would like Microsoft to get MSAS out of the beta phase
: ASAP. I can live with the current limitations but there is need for
support
: at least to the level of Knowledge Base / technical FAQ.
:
: Willem
:
:
:

 

[Bill Sanderson]

Interspersed:

In the FAQ I read:

"Windows Defender (Beta 2) is targeted for the first half of 2006. We have
not determined the final release date yet."

I wonder why the development of this important add-on to Windows is going
so slow. It was a mature product already when MS acquired it from Giant.
And I think it works OK for 98% or so.

Could it be that Microsoft has second thoughts about releasing a
standalone product for spyware protection? The announced new name "Windows
Defender" suggests a more general malware protection.

Not at all. Microsoft's goal is to alleviate the problem, both in the
spyware and the antivirus areas. Releasing the Giant product as a beta has
measureably helped the computing climate--both in terms of eliminating
actual issues on individual machines, sending a signal to the spyware
purveyors about what isn't acceptable behavior, and helping the anti-spyware
industry mature and come together to create a common set of definitions and
understandings about what constitutes spyware.

The standalone product is still an end result of this beta, and it will
still be free.

Additionally, the technology resulting from this beta and from some of the
other vendors you referenced, will eventually be found in:

http://windowsonecare.com

http://safety.live.com

and, at some point in:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/solutions/security/clientprotection/default.mspx

The Sybari products are alive and well and in broad use.

http://www.sybari.com/

The Steve Balmer reference at the above URL (see "latest news") is probably
a good place to get an overview about the questions you raise. It
references this paper:

http://download.microsoft.com/downl...2945e472dda/TechInvestmentHelpCustomersWP.doc

which has more detail about how these investments fit together and what
products will be released based on them.

My non-technical friends keep asking me why they need seperate products to
protect them from different types of malware. They would rather have one
product. Some know of Norton Internet security and call that an example,
but on a well-configured Windows XP SP2 (automatic updates, limited
accounts for daily use etc.) products like that are an overkill. And some
say they would rather have all the protection integrated in Windows.
I think I agree with them. At least there should be a single engine for
real-time protection.

Does anyone know about plans to integrate the different anti-malware
technoligies Microsoft aquired in recent years (GeCAD RAV 2003, Giant 2004
and Sybari 2005)?

In the meantime I would like Microsoft to get MSAS out of the beta phase
ASAP. I can live with the current limitations but there is need for
support at least to the level of Knowledge Base / technical FAQ.

I think you wil be pleased at the capabilities of the Microsoft product
released as beta2 at some time in the next 6 months. There are a number of
KB articles about the current beta1 product, but I agree that there are a
number of issues with it that are not well documented.

 

[Willem]

Bill,

Thanks for all the links! Windows OneCare looks a lot like they way I hoped
MS would go, looks very promising.
I had not heard about it, it had not made it to the MS Newsletters here in
The Netherlands or I might have missed something. It looks like OneCare is
on a more agressive schedule than MSAS. Now I understand where all the
development resources are going.

cheers, Willem

 

[Guest]

SLOW??

I don't think you have a clue about what changes have to be made to the
application.

The original app developed by Giant Company might have been a really good
stand alone product, however there are serious shortcomings to the app.

The most serious is that it's only a single-user app. This means that the
app will only work properly for, and protect the user account that installed
the app. It also means that a large amount of the source code has to be
modified. This is also the cause of the problem with the lack of support for
limited user accounts. This is the first reason for the long beta.

The other serious problem is that the program was written using Visual
BASIC, which isn't a robust platform. Since MS wants to develop this app to
run as a service, this means that they have to change the source code to
something else, such as C++, likely .NET, or C#, which utilizes .NET. This
is the other cause of the lengthy beta.

One other thing to keep in mind is that the program has been beta for about
11 months now, and Vista went beta in September and isn't scheduled to be
released until late summer of next year.

Alan