Security Response

Last July, I discussed how Windows Vista™ was one of the mostimportant technologies that we would see in 2007. Last year, SymantecAdvanced Threat Research released four research papers on the then betaversion of Windows Vista. These papers provided a security analysis ofthe new Windows Vista network stack, user-mode security defenses,kernel-mode security technologies, and the Teredo protocol—a key IPv6over IPv4 transition technology in Vista. Being one of the firstthird-party assessments on the progression of Windows Vista security,these papers were extremely well received in the technology industry.

Fast forward to today, and Windows Vista has now been released tobusinesses and consumers alike. Throughout its release, Symantec hastracked the evolution of Vista very closely and continued to assess itspotential in defeating today’s attackers. We’ve documented our findingsin a series of six research papers that are being released in thecourse of the next week. The goal of this...

I have to say that it is not surprising to see that Microsoft is countering the claims (that Symantec, McAfee, and others are making) that Windows Vista will hinder innovation, while putting consumers at risk. In fact, I think that it is to be expected. Some of the arguments that are being put forth in their favor are rather uninformed, exceptionally broad, and disingenuous. They have been presented in such a way as to position security vendors as though we have for decades preyed on the weak and stolen from the poor and with the emergence of Windows Vista, freedom from this tyranny is in sight. The reality is, we offer a real service—protection from real threats that will otherwise result in real losses—and this is by no means a protection racket. In any case, it’s not my intent to try and dissuade that part of the population that really thinks this; but, I will try to offer some insight to those who would consider themselves technologists.

It is important to remember that...