“Windows Defender surprise: This beta a good bet”

Today on the Seattle Times personal technology page, there’s a good review of Windows Defender, the free program that helps protect your computer against an assortment of what is thrown at us today: pop-ups, malware, spyware and other assorted bits. (The title of this post is courtesy of the Times.) From the Seattle Times:

“By policing how new programs try to modify Windows, Defender has swatted away much of the spyware I’ve thrown at it while staying out of the way otherwise. (The unwanted programs it couldn’t evict defied the efforts of competing spyware removers, too.) And it provides something horribly overdue in Windows: a simple way to inspect all the software active on a computer, including those programs normally hidden from view.”

More info on Windows Defender, and a link to the download, is available here available here.

As Stephen Wildstrom of BusinessWeek said in his column last month, “steps to make security software simpler and to integrate it more effectively are welcome, but the industry has to improve its products so that the nontechnical consumer won’t be required to make highly technical decisions.”

Totally agree with that statement, and one of the reasons I’m pleased to see that the interface of Defender (as well as Windows OneCare) is easy-to-understand and provides a good experience for the customer. The teams on these products have close connections to the customers using and testing the products, and are able to implement updates and changes in direction much more nimbly than packaged software. (Here’s a link to the Windows OneCare team blog.)

A friend (she’s at a web success in the Valley) commented to me recently on the number of online products and momentum she was seeing in the press: “it’s all about the internet, and it looks like this Windows Live, software-as-a-service thing has some major frickin’ traction (at Microsoft).” (She’s quite colourful in her descriptions.)

IMHO, that’s why it’s ‘Windows Live’ not ‘Static.’ ; )

Last, I recommend the video of Bill Gates and Mike Nash discussing the vision for security from the RSA Conference 2006 in February. You can even chat online with the erudite Mr. Nash next week in his monthly chat on Security on March 16 at 10:30 AM Pacific. (Click here to add the chat to your calendar.)

More info…

• To find out more about spyware – what it is, ways your computer can become infected, and what you can do to prevent it – watch this video on protecting your computer.


• If you’re wondering how Windows Defender compares with other Microsoft antispyware and antivirus technologies, check out this product comparison chart.


• Windows Live Safety Center – A Web service designed to help ensure the health of your computer with free scanning tools that help you get rid of unwanted software.


• Malicious Software Removal Tool – A security tool that checks your computer for specific viruses and other malicious software and helps remove any infection found. This tool alone has run more than 2 billion executions.


• The link to the Microsoft Security Response Center Blog

Tags: microsoft, antivirus, antispyware, Windows Defender, OneCare.