Comments on: Are Free Antivirus Software Equally Good as Paid Antivirus

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latarsha murray — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:52:01 +0000

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By: Silki

Silki — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 03:21:34 +0000

Hi Daniel,
Your comments are welcome. I am not a huge fan of Microsoft products, but it is a fact that MS still remains at an unbeatable position in OS and Office Apps, despite lots of criticism.
And it is also a fact that in such a competitive environment, there will always be criticism in the air, howsoever good product you make.
Regarding the false sense of security, I must say that despite huge investment, marketing, awareness programs and all such stuffs, all security vendors have not been able to achieve a cap on the growth of malware and internet threats. There are lots of computers, which still run unprotected, and do not have even the basic layer of defense.
If Microsoft, given its vast reach, is able to provide even a basic layer of security to the masses, it will surely be a great achievement. I am not saying that this is GOING to happen, only time will tell this. But Microsoft, certainly has shown the possibility.

By: Daniel Schrader

Daniel Schrader — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:07:13 +0000

I hope you don’t mind another Symantec voice in the discussion, but my take is a bit different than David Hall’s. Let another Symantec person weigh in . . .

The point isn’t that Microsoft has a bad virus scanner, the point is that all Microsoft’s product will do is scan static files for viruses. This is a single layer, all or nothing defense.

Every security professional has heard the mantra, “layered security”. For the home user that should mean (in order):

outside the box:
Security in the router
Encrypted wireless

in the box
Search security – mark up search results so you don’t accidentally go to infected/malicious web sites.
Phishing protection – identify and block phishing sites – and do it better than the weak protection offered by IE or Firefox (this can be a thread unto itself)
Browser security – analyze the code in the page before the browser renders it. The better security suites do this.
IPS – look at network traffic for signatures of attacks on known vulnerabilities – so look for traffic that targets the latest Adobe or Apple or other 3rd party vulnerability instead of looking for signatures of exploits
Firewall (intelligent, 2-way, doesn’t ask the user to make security decisions without giving them the info to do so)
Vulnerability assessment – (are we all patched?)
Password protection
Tamper protection – ensure the security settings of both the OS and the security software aren’t changed by malware/intruder
Updates at least hourly – or cloud scanning model – after all we are getting up to 20,000 new viruses a day
Effective malware scanning

What does Microsoft security essentials offer – only the bottom layer. Will most users realize that? No. Maybe they will turn on Windows firewall, maybe they will use their browser’s phishing features – maybe. Most don’t know those even exist.

So yes, free scanners can give a false sense of security.

Meanwhile all this technology requires an investment – a big investment from the developers. Will security firms keep innovating and investing with Microsoft giving away the farm? Not is there is no profit in it.

Finally, do we really want a security mono culture from Microsoft? Has a near monopoly in OS and a virtual monopoly in office apps been great for anyone other then Microsoft? No. Windows is a remarkably reach and easy target for hackers, the quality of MS Office is poor (tell me yours hasn’t crashed this week) and Windows 7 is windows dressing on Vista – which was a disaster.