SAN JOSE, Calif. – Microsoft Corp. is no stranger to antitrust skirmishes and complaints from competitors about unfair business practices.
But the latest fight over its upcoming Vista operating system pits Microsoft against an unlikely adversary: the security software vendors who are some of its most intimate partners in protecting its notoriously vulnerable systems from attacks.
As Vista’s planned release nears, the company is facing a backlash from such vendors as Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc., which argue that even the concessions Microsoft recently made to appease European antitrust regulators won’t do enough to help them best protect their customers.
“We’ve been talking to them for over two years on this issue,” said Rowan Trollope, Symantec’s vice president for consumer engineering. “And now (with) basically a very short amount of time before the operating system comes out, we’re not in a good position to provide that security to our customers.”
Ultimately, consumers will decide whether Microsoft’s own security measures are adequate to combat increasingly sophisticated Internet threats and keep personal data safe from hackers and online criminals.
But the showdown also marks an important turning point in how computer users buy security software.
Microsoft now competes directly with Cupertino-based Symantec and Santa Clara-based McAfee with its own product, called OneCare, posing a substantial threat to vendors who have been vital to protecting generations of Microsoft operating systems.
European antitrust regulators have warned Microsoft not to shut out rivals in security software and other markets, and the European Union so far has fined the company $970 million over the current flavor of Windows.
To quell EU concerns about Vista, Microsoft pledged to make key changes, but the vendors remain unsatisfied and have threatened antitrust lawsuits. McAfee issued a statement Thursday complaining of the company’s failure to live up to “hollow assurances.”
Industry analysts said Microsoft’s new dual role could inadvertently make the operating system more vulnerable.
“Microsoft’s priority should be simple: Fortify the operating system, make it secure, make it as impenetrable as possible, but work with the third parties,” said Joe Wilcox, a senior analyst with Jupiter Research.
Vista will be Microsoft’s first major upgrade to its flagship operating system since Windows XP’s release in 2001. The company touts Vista’s sleeker looks, improved search capabilities and simplified organization as key upgrades over previous systems.
But several key security changes prompted Symantec and McAfee officials to launch withering public attacks in recent weeks.
Executives accused Microsoft of unfairly promoting its own security software with a dashboard that couldn’t be disabled by vendors.
Vendors also howled over an icon on the welcome screen linking to Microsoft security products.
The biggest – and unresolved – fight hinges on vendors’ claims they have been locked out of access to the core, or kernel, of higher-end, 64-bit versions of Vista.
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