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Posted on 06/21/2017 12:49:24 PM PDT by dayglored
Windows 10 does disable some third-party security software, Microsoft has admitted, but because of compatibility – not competitive – issues.
Redmond is currently being sued by security house Kaspersky Lab in the EU, Germany and Russia over alleged anti-competitive behavior because it bundles the Windows Defender security suite into its latest operating system. Kaspersky (and others) claim Microsoft is up to its Internet Explorer shenanigans again, but that’s not so, said the operating system giant.
“Microsoft’s application compatibility teams found that roughly 95 per cent of Windows 10 PCs had an antivirus application installed that was already compatible with Windows 10 Creators Update,” said Rob Lefferts, director of security in the Windows and Devices group.
“For the small number of applications that still needed updating, we built a feature just for AV apps that would prompt the customer to install a new version of their AV app right after the update completed. To do this, we first temporarily disabled some parts of the AV software when the update began.”
Lefferts claimed that Windows Defender is fine with other security software on a PC, but if that third-party code expires or becomes outdated then Redmond’s security software will kick in. He said Defender wouldn’t scan a system without the permission of the operator.
He also said that Microsoft works actively with third-party security firms to ensure compatibility, but is short on specifics. One of the key planks of Kaspersky’s case against Microsoft is that it cut compatibility testing times from two months to six days.
The antitrust case seeks to stoke fears that Microsoft is pulling the same trick with security software that it did with browsers. Redmond’s then-CEO Bill Gates was convinced the internet was a fad and missed the boat on browsers. They then locked Internet Explorer into the operating system to make up the lost ground – a decision that cost the company dearly in the long run, but still destroyed Netscape in the process.
Kaspersky is worried that Microsoft is trying the same trick, but – based on Lefferts' post – Redmond is ready to fight such claims. Windows 10 is naggy in a lot of regards (it seldom tires of saying how good Edge is), but proving it's anti-competitive will be a very big chasm to cross.
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This looks to me like Microsoft has the right intent, but it's not coming off as well as it might.
That's not newsworthy. Malware's always been programmed to try to disable to your security software.
I would hope Symantec would recommend their own software. Norton typically is 4 or 5 in the top 10 (middle of the road). PC Magazine did rate them #3, so that is an improvement. Kaspersky consistently ranks higher and did so in the PC Magazine review (#2).
I was surprised to learn that Norton’s first offering for Windows 10 would not protect a user’s web browsing if they used Firefox or Chrome. I never liked Norton because it was excessively bloated and hurt PC resources.
Microsoft has been performing “dirty tricks” on competitors since day one.
Gates and Balmer and their cohorts belong in jail.
That was Norton Internet Security. They did roll out an update that includes protections in Chrome and Firefox under Windows 10.
They were rated 3rd in the recent review (one of the Editor Choices), so not knocking them. In the past I haven’t been too impressed (seemed bloated). I will take another look when it’s time for me to upgrade / replace the company’s virus program next year.
Well, mostly during upgrading major versions of 10: example to the next creators update Windows will try and disable 3rd party anti-virus during the upgrade process. If you don’t first- there is a chance the upgrade won’t work. We’re running into this while building a custom upgrade task sequence for Windows 7 to 10, and McAfee throwing a wrench in it.
I use Webroot and it sometimes pops up saying part of it has been disabled (anti ransomware part) and would I like to enable it again. Sometimes I can and sometimes I cannot. Their forum posts about this have suggestions but no fix.
NOW I know why. I bet Microsoft is behind this.
Or use Linux instead. I have run it since 2009 on many computers and have yet to be affected by any virus or malware. For the truly paranoid, boot your computer from a Linux thumb drive. In retrospect, Windows security (or the lack of it) was such nonsense.
Creators Update, v1703.
Windows 10 decided to upgrade my new company laptop (joined to a domain, so it shouldn’t have done that without my permission!) - an HP Zbook 15u G3. Brand new, up to date hardware, and with the exception of my Kaspersky AV and a few tools, only MS software.
The update broke all of my network devices, with the exception of Blue Tooth! Thank goodness I was able to roll it back to v1607.
Geez!
Mark
For some of us, Linux just isn't the right tool for the job. I use Linux all the time for the text manipulation tools. I've built and manage a number of Linux based application servers. I built Linux servers as our premises relay servers. I like Linux.
But I can't use Linux to manage our Exchange servers, Active Directory, Azure Active Directory Connect, Active Directory Federation Services, Office 365, etc... I need to use Windows in order to manage those systems.
It's important to use the right tool for the job.
Mark
Amen. I'm in the same boat. My work workstation is Linux (CentOS), and we have Ubuntu servers coming out our ears. And some Macs. And a ton of Windows machines including a dozen or so Windows Servers (AD among them of course).
Cross-platform tools are the saving grace.
sooo many reasons not to like windows 10 now- What next? If we type something MS doesn’t like or agree with they won’t allow us to post?
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