Flame Malware Illustrates Vulnerability of USB Drives

While USB drives have long been a security threat, the Flame spying malware brought the use of portable storage devices to a new level of weaponry. Flame, discovered last month in Iran's oil-ministry computers, used USB ports found on every PC as a pathway to avoid detection by network-guarding security systems. The cleverness of Flame's creators in keeping the malware under the radar was one more example of why it is considered among the most sophisticated espionage-software packages to date. [Insider (registration required): Extinguishing Flame malware] Because Flame was looking for highly sensitive data, it had to steal the information from networks without internet connections, yet still be able to connect at some point to a remote command and control server, vendor Bitdefender said in its security labs blog. To do that, Flame would move stolen files and a copy of itself to a memory stick inserted in an infected computer. When the storage device was plugged into another PC, Flame would check to see if it was connected to the Internet and then copy itself and the stolen files to the new host, which the malware used to compress the data and transmit it to the controller's server over HTTPS. Flame would not store stolen documents in the new host, unless it was sure there was an Internet connection, Bitdefender said. "This is how it ensures that it has the best chances to call back home and send leaked data to the attacker." The malware hid in storage devices by naming the folder that contained the malware and stolen data. "Because Windows could not read the name, the folder remained hidden from the user, giving he or she no reason to suspect they were carrying stolen information," Bitdefender said. "The main idea behind this is something that we have not seen before: the information mule is a person who is used to carry information between two systems," Bitdefender said. Flame was capable of infecting networked PCs, but that function was turned off to prevent the malware from spreading too far into a network, thereby increasing its chances of detection. Bitdefender acknowledged that the malware creators might also have had an accomplice who acted as a data smuggler in carrying an infected USB drive from one PC to another. Dangerous Inspiration The success Flame creators had in using USB memory sticks will be studied by hackers. "The technicalities of how Flame uses the USB stick is new and shows that attackers who are determined to penetrate deep inside secure environments are using USB devices to gain that access and to exfiltrate the data they discover too," Liam O Murchu, manager of operations for Symantec Security Response, said in an email Tuesday. "Flamer's use of this USB technique shows that this is an avenue of attack that is highly valuable and will be used again and again." The mode of infection was one more example of Flame's list of sophisticated techniques, which included fooling Microsoft Terminal Services into having its certificate authority generate fake digital signatures. Once embedded in the code, the signatures made Flame appear to be Microsoft software, while the malware altered and updated its code. Flame has been linked to the Stuxnet malware blamed for damaging uranium-enrichment systems in Iran's nuclear facility in 2010. Kaspersky Labs discovered that a component of Flame, which was created in 2008, was also in the 2009-version of Stuxnet. Quoting anonymous sources in the Obama administration, The New York Times recently reported that Stuxnet was the creation of U.S. and Israeli government agents. Because Flame and Stuxnet were highly targeted attacks, neither are believed to pose much of a threat to most corporations. Nevertheless, the vulnerabilities exposed by Flame, particularly the flaw in Microsoft's issuance of digital signatures, were significant. Venafi, which sells key and certificate management technology, reported that more than a quarter of Global 2000 companies were vulnerable to attacker using the exploit. Microsoft has released a patch for the hole.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 http://www.pcworld.com/article/257775/flame_malware_illustrates_vulnerability_of_usb_drives.html#tk.hp_pop

How to Keep Your Employees Happy With Their Company PCs (Without Losing Control of Your IT)

If you’re a typical small-business owner, you don’t have a centralized provisioning system that can easily and automatically deploy each desktop or laptop system. You might not even have a dedicated employee, let alone a whole department, to manage your IT resources. And you probably give each user their own local login, instead of using a centralized authentication server. In other words, your employees have the keys to their local computer kingdoms. And that means they can do just about anything on their machines: Install new applications, install undesirable applications, change settings, and perhaps even unintentionally corrupt the Registry or download malware. SIMILAR ARTICLES: How to Carry Any Operating System in Your Pocket How to Run Android Apps on Your PC How to Use Plex to Get Media From PC to Roku Box How to Buy a Desktop PC How To Update Your PC’s BIOS Stream Media From Your PC to Your Roku Box Giving your employees the freedom to try new tools, listen to music while they work, or visit social media sites in their off time will improve their morale and enhance their productivity. But that flexibility can quickly lead to disaster if they wind up ruining their computers, bogging them down with garbage apps, or worse. So how do you balance keeping your employees happy with maintaining control of your company’s assets? The Decision One strategy is to deny your employees all administrative control over their computers. Such a restriction would reduce the risk of your computers being waylaid by buggy apps and malware, because no one would be able to install anything. The drawback is that you--or your designee--would have to do all of the installing for them. That can be a time-consuming process, especially if you’re deploying a new application to your entire workforce--even if it’s just a handful of employees. Then you have to consider periodic security patches, bug fixes, driver updates, and upgrades. And don’t forget the need to install drivers and software for new peripherals, such as printers and scanners. Granting Administrator Access Giving your employees admin control involves a trade-off between control and convenience. Instead of managing everything yourself, you can take a number of steps to bestow administrative rights to your employees without losing complete control over the computers you’ve provided. Before you open up everyone’s computer for unfettered use, establish a baseline software environment that will be standard for each staffer. Set a policy that allows employees to augment their computers with new applications but prohibits them from uninstalling or disabling the baseline programs--especially the antivirus and antimalware tools, a secure Web browser, an office suite (unless you use a cloud app, such as Google Docs), and whatever proprietary software your small business needs to function. Then, use an application such as DriveImage XML (free for private use; a five-user commercial license costs $100) to clone the system drive on each class of computer you’ll deploy. Your goal is to create an image of each type of desktop system in your office, from standard administrative machines to function-specific desktops (video-editing workstations, for example). If disaster strikes or an employee renders their computer unusable, you can quickly restore it to its original configuration. Use DriveImage XML to create a clone of each of your PC environments. You should also establish policies and procedures that employees must follow to minimize the chances that they’ll disrupt normal business operations. For starters, establish a policy that every employee must create a Windows user account, in addition to their administrator account, and that they must sign in under that user account at all times unless they’re performing functions that require administrator credentials. This policy will help prevent rogue applications from gaining privileged access to the operating system. You should also dictate that all employees store their work-related files on a shared network drive (located on a server or NAS box), and that they keep personal files in their personal cloud storage (Dropbox, SkyDrive, and the like). Inform them that the personal data will not be included in the mandatory scheduled backups. The Power of Group Policy Editor Local administrator privileges seem unstoppable, but there is a means by which you can exert fine control over the Windows operating system. The secret is to use Windows 7’s Group Policy Editor. Log on with the user’s admin credentials, and type gpedit.msc in the Windows search box (you’ll find it in the Start menu) and then press the Enter key. From here, you can disable access to critical Windows elements entirely--including the Control Panel--or you can choose which components you wish to allow your employees to modify. For instance, you might give them the ability to switch screensavers, but not to change printers or uninstall programs. Don’t discount the power of the Group Policy Editor. If you’re the slightest bit hesitant about letting employees run wild on their systems, this handy Windows feature offers the ounce of control you need to keep your systems running smoothly. You’ll find all of the settings worth browsing and editing under Group Policy Editor’s 'Administrative Templates' folder in the User Configuration menu. The Group Policy Editor in Windows 7 is a powerful administrative tool. You can also block access to specific programs installed on a Windows machine; just open the Group Policy Editor and navigate to the System folder under Administrative Templates in the User Configuration setting. Double-click the Don’t run specified Windows applications option, enable the policy, click the Show button (it’s near 'List of Disallowed Applications'), and then type in the names of executable application files (such as uTorrent.exe) as values. You can use Group Policy Editor to block specific programs from launching. This method won’t prevent industrious employees from renaming their favorite peer-to-peer programs to, say, “hatemyboss.exe” and running them, which is why you might want to combine your Group Policy edits with some additional changes at the network hardware level. You could, for instance, go into the configuration panel of your primary router and change the firewall settings to block access to all ports for your employees’ systems, save for those required for the computers to actually work--such as traffic on ports 110, 53, 25, and 80, to name a few. This is a nuclear option to prevent employees from turning your small-business environment into downloading central, but it is worth considering if peer-to-peer misbehavior is an issue at your workplace. Finer Administrative Control AppLocker, a Windows 7 tool, delivers precision control. If your systems are running either Windows 7 Ultimate or Windows 7 Enterprise, you can make use of the operating system’s built-in AppLocker feature. Accessible via the Group Policy Editor, AppLocker provides even finer control over the items that system users can run on their machines. For example, instead of just blocking apps by executable name, you can go in and block apps by publisher, file path, or file hash. The file-path option is especially useful if you want to block all access to a digital download service--such as Steam--that puts all downloaded programs into a specific directory. Do you need a third-party application to control your users’ activity on their systems? Not really. However, if you discover that recalcitrant employees with administrator privileges are circumventing your Windows-based access controls, you might want to look into stronger solutions. For example, if you install Faronics’ Deep Freeze ($35.50 per year) on employee machines, the program will restore each system to an identical snapshot every time the PC restarts. Or you could provide staffers with a virtual desktop that would give them the freedom to install their personal programs in a sandboxed environment. As long as you’re willing to invest a bit of time setting up the right configurations, granting your employees administrator privileges on their small-business PCs won’t necessarily lead to chaos. You can even control admins without making your employees feel as though they’re working under parental controls from nine to five.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/257424/how_to_keep_your_employees_happy_with_their_company_pcs_without_losing_control_of_your_it.html#tk.hp_fv

How to Save Money on Printing Costs

By now you’ve heard the claim that at close to $4731 per gallon, printer ink is more expensive than vintage Champagne, rare whiskey, and Russian caviar. PCWorld reported on that almost ten years ago, and not much has changed since. SIMILAR ARTICLES: 7 Ways to Protect Your Printers Save Ink and Paper Every Time You Print Save Paper Costs by Shrinking Prints Cheap Printing: 5 Ways to Save Bucks on Ink and Paper How to Use Less Paper When Printing Design and Create Essential Print Materials for Your Business These days, printer ink will still run you about $20 to $35 per minuscule cartridge, each yielding 400 to 1000 printed pages. In fact, unlike everything else in the world of consumer electronics, ink prices are going up--as much as 30 percent since 2009. In a business where hundreds of pages are being printed each day, those costs are significant. It’s easy to dismiss a single page coming out of the machine as inconsequential, but with a price per printed sheet (per color used) now hitting anywhere between 3 and 10 cents, a business that goes through 500 sheets a week could be spending $2600 annually on printing--and many times that if staffers regularly print in color. Printing is a substantial business expense, but ultimately you have more control over it than you might think. Sure, some printing--packing slips, mailing labels, legal paperwork, and so on--may be unavoidable, but there’s a lot you can do to cut printing costs. Here are some ideas, from the relatively painless to the rather aggressive. Conscientiousness Do those little email-signature 'Please consider the environment before printing this email' notices, followed by a tiny green tree, do any good? (In my experience, when you do print such an email, that message invariably ends up on a page of its own.) Hey, at least it’s a start. The recycling bins of the world’s offices are crammed full of pages that never should have been printed. Instead of printing on paper, save your document as a PDF that you can archive and search easily. Ending that wasteful practice starts at the top. If you’re a small-business owner, lead by example: Don’t print memos, maps, baseball scores, and “interesting articles” to leave on employees’ desks. This is why email was invented. Instead of dropping a 30-page report on your assistant, forward it as a PDF. Word can save documents directly in PDF, and sites such as Pdfcrowd can save Web pages as PDFs (if for some reason forwarding a link doesn’t work). You can even use the print-screen function and the Windows Snipping Tool to create quick screen grabs instead of printing them on paper. The bottom line: There’s virtually nothing you might be accustomed to printing that you can’t reproduce in digital form instead. What’s more, you can archive, index, and search digital files much more quickly than paper files. Paper Tricks Duplex printers save cost by using both sides of each sheet of paper. One of the oldest tricks in the playbook to reduce printing is to cram more information onto each page. This task is easy with a duplexing printer (one that can print on both sides), although the options might be buried in your printer preferences. By the same token, when you're printing PowerPoint slides, use the option to print multiple slides per page instead of just one. In PowerPoint's Handouts mode, you can print up to nine slides on a single side of paper (albeit very small). Another paper-saving possibility is the 'shrink to fit' option in Excel and most Web browsers. This setting keeps orphaned text and columns from being cut off when you print a page that’s ordinarily a bit too large for your printer. Using 'shrink to fit' can save you from printing lots of sheets with just one or two words (not to mention likely having to reprint the whole job).
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/257306/how_to_save_money_on_printing_costs.html#tk.hp_fv

Mountain Lion: What We Know Heading into WWDC

With Mountain Lion poised to make an appearance at WWDC next week for developers and eager keynote followers alike, we here at Macworld figured it might be a good time for a rundown of what we already know about Apple's next OS. By Serenity Caldwell, Macworld Jun 10, 2012 3:40 pm With Mountain Lion poised to make an appearance at WWDC next week for developers and eager keynote followers alike, we figured it might be a good time for a rundown of what we already know about Apple’s next OS. It’s showing up this summer (sometime) Apple hasn’t changed its late summer delivery date since the company first previewed Mountain Lion in February, so it’s a good bet that the next Mac OS will be showing up sometime this summer. That said, “summer” can mean anytime from now until September 21, so don’t get your hopes up for Mountain Lion to be ready on Day One of WWDC. It brings iOS closer to the Mac No, you won’t be running your iOS apps on your Mac (at least, that we know of), but Mountain Lion is all about integration with Apple’s mobile operating system. Familiar applications like iCal, Address Book, and iChat have hopped aboard the iOS name-train and will go by Calendar, Contacts, and Messages, while iOS-only apps like Notes, Reminders, and Game Center will make their grand debut on the Mac. It wants to keep you notified iOS apps aren’t the only thing Apple’s mobile operating system has for Mountain Lion—the Mac OS will also receive iOS’s notifications system when it arrives later this summer. Notification Center on the Mac will keep track of your app updates, Messages, emails, calendar invites, and—perhaps—even third-party app alerts. It sports some new looks New names are fun; new features are better. There are a whole bunch of new system options present in Mountain Lion, like improvements to Dashboard and more Accessibility changes. Your system apps will get a few nice features, too: Safari has a unified search bar and new share features; Mail sports inline find, notification settings, and VIPs; and Preview receives a major overhaul. It’s trying to keep you safe(r) In Lion, Apple’s big push toward security revolved around sandboxing Mac apps. With the Mac App Store officially sandboxed as of June 1, however, Apple’s next project is to make sure folks purchasing programs outside of the store can have confidence in their buys. Gatekeeper is Apple’s proposed solution. It allows you to choose one of three settings for running applications on your computer: those only purchased from the App Store, those that have registered with Apple using Developer ID, or any application downloaded from any developer. It’s the middle option—which lets developers code-sign their apps with Apple to ensure that there’s no malware at play—that may prove most popular when Mountain Lion launches; it allows many developers with apps that can’t abide by the Mac App Store’s sandboxing guidelines (Bare Bones Software’s BBEdit, for one) to still have their apps certified by Apple. It still has things to come (probably) Yes, we know a fair amount about this version of OS X, but there's still plenty to discover. As we mentioned earlier, Mountain Lion doesn't ship until the wonderfully-ambiguous "late summer," and for good reason: Knowing Apple, the company still wants to show off a few tricks that it’s taught this big cat—probably on-stage at WWDC. We'll have live coverage of the keynote and information on Mountain Lion as WWDC week progresses, so stay tuned. And if you're dying for more information than even this round-up can provide, check out our Mountain Lion FAQ.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/article/257286/mountain_lion_what_we_know_heading_into_wwdc.html#tk.hp_new

Google Warns Gmail Users Over 'State-Sponsored Attacks'

Google believes a subset of Gmail users may be the target of what it calls “state-sponsored” malicious attacks. Certain Gmail users will see a warning message over this issue from now on, although this doesn’t particularly mean your account was hacked. Google is being secretive over the nature of the attacks. Eric Grosse, Google’s vice president of security engineering said in a blog post: “We can’t go into the details without giving away information that would be helpful to these bad actors, but our detailed analysis -- as well as victim reports -- strongly suggest the involvement of states or groups that are state-sponsored.” There aren’t any clues on the source of the attacks either, but Google has been involved in spats with China over the past year, alleging that the country’s government was behind the hacking of Gmail accounts of several high-profile U.S. officials. If you get the warning message, “It just means that we believe you may be a target, of phishing or malware for example, and that you should take immediate steps to secure your account,” Grosse explained. “These warnings are not being shown because Google’s internal systems have been compromised or because of a particular attack.” Google advises a user to go through a bunch of security improvement if that person sees the Gmail warning. This includes a more secure password, enabling two-step verification at login, and making sure your browser and other software is up to date. The company said it would continue to update these notifications based on the latest information.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/article/257039/google_warns_gmail_users_over_statesponsored_attacks.html#tk.hp_new

What Separates Business Routers From Consumer Routers?

If you’re in the market for a new router for your small business, you might be tempted by the flashy features, high speeds, and low cost of consumer-oriented routers. The latest models, based on the IEEE 802.11ac standard, look particularly attractive. SIMILAR ARTICLES: First Netgear 802.11ac Router Coming in May How to Choose a Router for Your Business Netgear N600 Wireless Router, $78 How to Buy a Router How to Set Up a Wireless Router Buffalo Shows Off 802.11ac Wireless Router Prototype, Your Router Cowers in Fear But can a consumer router deliver everything your business needs? Is it sufficiently secure? Is it scalable? Does it provide redundant connections to the Internet? If it’s a wireless model, does it provide enough range to cover your entire office? Should you instead invest in a router that’s specifically designed for the needs of small- to medium-size businesses? What exactly distinguishes a consumer router from a business-class model, anyway? Glad you asked. Consumer Router Priorities: Speed, Media Streaming, and Security Buffalo was first to market with its new IEEE 802.11ac router. Walk into your local electronics retailer or shop online, and you’ll find at least a dozen consumer wireless routers selling for $100 or less, from such well-known brands as Asus, Buffalo, Cisco (Linksys), D-Link, and Netgear. The prices are certainly appealing. Even better, all the essential features seem to be in place, including compatibility with the IEEE 802.11n wireless networking standard, a four-port ethernet switch, wireless encryption, and a built-in firewall. Most routers in this class have 2x2 antenna arrays (two transmit and two receive antennas), which are capable of handling two 150-megabits-per-second spatial streams (one on each antenna) for a total theoretical throughput of 300 mbps. You’ll never see real-world performance that fast, however; overhead, distance between the client and the router, and environmental factors can whack that number down. The industry refers to this class of router as "N300." Many lower-end consumer routers are dual-band models, capable of operating wireless networks on both the 2.4GHz frequency band and the 5GHz band. The 2.4GHz band delivers better range--but since it provides only two nonoverlapping channels, and since so many routers have been deployed, the spectrum has become congested. The 5GHz band boasts 23 nonoverlapping channels, so it’s significantly less crowded, but it provides much less range. Many people use the 2.4GHz band for data and Internet access, and reserve the 5GHz band for streaming audio and video over their network. The industry refers to this class of router as "N600," but the term is misleading because it implies that routers in this class can stream data at 600 mbps. They can’t. The N600 claim comes from summing the speeds of the two concurrent but independent 300-mbps networks. You’ll never be able to connect a client to either network and expect it to stream data at 600 mbps, nor can you connect a single client to both networks simultaneously. D-Link markets its DIR-857 as an N900 router. Move up the consumer market to the $200 price range, and you’ll see more-advanced dual-band routers from the same manufacturers. These devices come outfitted with 3x3 antenna arrays and promise a theoretical throughput of 450 mbps on each band. Routers in this class are often described as "N900" models; here again, however, it’s not because they can deliver throughput to a single client at 900 mbps. Typically these routers are also outfitted with a four-port ethernet switch, but they support wired connections at gigabit speeds, versus the 100-mbps switches on less-expensive routers. The IEEE 802.11ac wireless networking standard isn’t likely to be ratified before early 2013, but that hasn’t stopped router manufacturers from introducing routers based on the latest draft definition. We saw a similar pattern of events when the 802.11n standard was being finalized. Only two such routers are on the market right now: The Buffalo WZR-D1800H arrived first, followed by the Netgear R6300. Both manufacturers are aiming their products squarely at consumers, emphasizing the devices' ability to stream media. Thanks to a much-improved modulation scheme, 802.11ac routers can pack more data into each spatial stream: 450 mbps, versus 150 mbps for 802.11n. An 802.11ac router with a 3x3 antenna array can deliver a theoretical throughput up to 1300 mbps (1.3 gigabits per second). Buffalo, for one, is marketing its product as an "AC1300" router. Since there’s an outside chance that these products will be incompatible with equipment based on the final standard, we don’t recommend buying such devices for your business.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment. http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/256683/what_separates_business_routers_from_consumer_routers.html#tk.hp_fv

Windows 8's Built-in AV to Be Security of Last Resort

Microsoft's Windows 8 will activate its built-in antivirus (AV) software only if it senses that the PC is not protected by another security program, according to AV vendor McAfee. The new operating system, which last week reached its final public milestone, includes security software, dubbed "Windows Defender," that combines characteristics of both that anti-spyware program of the same name and the free Security Essentials, the antivirus program that until now has been offered as a separate download. Microsoft first announced Windows Defender last September, and included it with that year's Windows 8 Developer Preview, and this year's Consumer Preview and Release Preview. In all three sneak peeks, Defender was switched on, and served as the operating system's default protection against malware. But that's not how it will work when new Windows 8 PCs debut later this year. According to Gary Davis, director of global consumer product marketing for McAfee, Microsoft has given third-party vendors and computer makers first crack at protecting PCs. Computer makers, known as OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), typically include trial versions of major antivirus programs with their PCs. Those trials offer malware signature updates for limited periods, sometimes as short as 30 days. When the trial expires, PC owners are encouraged to upgrade to the full paying edition, which usually offer signatures for a year at prices ranging from $40 to $90. Windows 8 cedes the AV role to those pre-installed trials, said Davis, and will not activate Windows Defender if it detects an active antivirus program that's receiving signature updates. "Looking at the way they're doing things in Windows 8, Microsoft is going to great lengths to let AV vendors keep customers," said Davis in an interview last week. But Microsoft didn't take the tact to please security companies. "It is our understanding that this was mostly because of pressures from the OEM community," Davis said in an email replay to follow-up questions. "A large portion of their profits on PCs come from revenue associated with AV." Computer makers do reap revenue from the pre-installed software, including antivirus tools, that they bundle with their PCs. In the case of AV software, OEMs receive a portion of the money paid to security vendors by customers who upgrade from the trial versions to the full editions. That practice relies on loading the PC with a range of third-party applications -- not just AV products -- that critics scorn as "crapware" or "bloatware." Windows 8 will activate Windows Defender automatically only if there is no other antivirus software on the computer, said Davis. And even when the OS detects that existing AV software hasn't been updated recently, it will only offer Windows Defender as one of several choices. When the PC stops receiving AV signature updates -- most likely because the trial version has expired -- Windows 8 begins a 15-day countdown. During those 15 days, the Action Center, a desktop component that consolidates important system notifications, will warn the user that the AV software is expired, with information about how to renew coverage. After the 15 days, the warning will expand the options offered users. "At the end of 15 days the user has the option to renew what they have, install Windows Defender, select another option from the Microsoft Store or click on a 'remind me later' button, which starts a seven-day notice period," said Davis. The Microsoft Store is the name of the company's online market, where it sells its own Windows software, including operating system upgrades, as well as some third-party programs. It's not to be confused with the Windows Store, the e-mart accessible only from Windows 8 that is the sole distribution channel for Metro-style apps for that OS and Windows RT. Currently, the only AV software sold in the Microsoft Store is from Trend Micro, which along with McAfee and Symantec, are the three largest antivirus firms. Although Windows 8 users will be notified during the 15-day span -- and after that if they take no immediate action -- the protection gap will put those PCs at greater risk of cyber attacks and malware infections. Not that those computers won't have company: Last week, McAfee cited a year-long study and claimed nearly 20% of U.S. Windows PCs lack any active security protection. More than a third of those machines had expired AV software on their hard drives. Microsoft's decision to hold off on activating Windows Defender in Windows 8 is in line with its approach to securing older versions of Windows. In late 2010, Microsoft began offering Security Essentials to Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 PCs via the company's Windows Update service. Since then, Security Essentials has been listed as an optional download from Windows Update only on PCs that lack other working AV software, a category that includes present-but-expired third-party programs. At the time, Trend Micro called Microsoft's move to use Windows Update to offer the free Security Essentials "unfair," and said it "raises significant questions about unfair competition." AV vendors have butted heads with Microsoft several times. In 2006, Symantec and McAfee complained to European Union antitrust regulators about Microsoft's decision to block them from accessing the kernel in the 64-bit version of Vista, and barring them from its new integrated security center. Microsoft bowed to the pressure, and later produced APIs (application programming interfaces) that gave security vendors some access to the kernel and allowed them to mesh their product's on-screen status features with the security center. Major security companies have also regularly dismissed Security Essentials as a half-baked solution, and argued that their software is much more effective in stymying attacks. When Microsoft launched Security Essentials in 2009, for example, Symantec's top engineer called it a "poor product" that was a "bunch of little basic tools." Symantec, and others, continue to use that argument to persuade potential Windows 8 users that they should pay for antivirus software rather than rely on the free Windows Defender. On its website, Symantec uses phrases like "We are the security experts" and "Norton protection includes many layers of security which Windows Defender is missing" to separate its consumer products from the free tool in Windows 8. Although the Windows 8 Release Candidate activates Windows Defender automatically, Microsoft also has built a page that lists the current third-party AV software that works with the new OS. Most of those programs have limited lifespans of between 30 and 90 days.
By Friendly Computers Copyright: 2010-01-28 Give us a call today: 281-554-5500 or visit Friendly Computers to schedule an appointment.