BBC NEWS | Technology | Microsoft offers free anti-virus
Love the 3rd paragraph - "The software giant has been criticised in the past for failing to include free security software with Windows."
Umm... think they get critisied for including necessary software in their OS actually... like browsers! Can't have it both ways!
Another EU commission fine on the way then.
The issue is always one of bundling, and leveraging their monopoly to gain other market shares...Originally Posted by Diello
If they just make it available via their site, they'll be fine.
Anyone tried to download it???
"Not available in your country or region
You appear to be in a country or region where the Microsoft Security Essentials Beta is unavailable.
This beta is available only to customers in the United States, Israel (English only), People's Republic of China (Simplified Chinese only) and Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese only)."
Not so - MS have said they'll take IE8 out of W7 for the EU - Opera are still up in arms (hence the brilliant Boycott Opera campaign being run!) as they realise that people STILL won't use their browser, and that the only way anyone ever will, is to get MS to bundle Opera with Windows in some way... Pot? Kettle? Black? Also don't see Apple being gone after for all the bundling they do, but, O wait, Apple are the darling of the media and the masses, so that's OK.
Now people whine that MS don't bundle Windows with anti-virus/malware?! Cake & eat it.
Ah, but that's not quite the same - MS were about to be told what to do by the EU. Instead of waiting for the ruling, they've acted like the typical stroppy child and pre-empted it. (Remember doing that as a kid? Your parents tell you off, and you react by taking their punishment to an extreme?)
And, Apple *do not* have a Monopoly which they are using to force themselves into another market. If you think they do, contact the EU and make a complaint!!
This actually really annoys me about lots of people on the internet - they don't seem to understand what exactly it was that Microsoft did (and is doing) wrong.
They practically killed Netscape, for example. They used their size to try to kill off rival media players (which, they pretty much succeeded in doing realistically). Remember Windows 3.1? IIRC, they changed the code so it would only run on MS Dos, regardless of whether the non MS-DOS could technically run it.
Out of all that, they were dragged through the US show trials, where after a long time, they were pretty much given a slap on the wrist and told to carry on. The big punishments that they should have got were dropped! Then they were told to do something in the EU (releasing documentation for competitors to be able to work with their OS properly) and they dragged their feet for a huge amount of time, and then paid lip service to the judgement - leading to further fines etc...
So, the fact that they are removing IE8 from Windows in the EU is actually an action that would make any normal court judge turn around and find them in contempt of court. When you are being investigated/in court, you don't pre-empt the judgement! You wait, and take your punishment like you're supposed to, and appeal if you disagree.
The whole issue here is that of choice. Microsoft are being found time and time again to be trying to damage the ability of a consumer to choose competing products.
Looks like they're not letting any more people get it:
Alert!
Thank you for your interest in joining the Microsoft® Security Essentials Beta. We are not accepting additional participants at this time. Please check back at later a date for possible additional availability.
yeah... only 75000 beta participants, from the whole of USA/China/Brazil/Israel would go pretty quick...
Windows Vista and 7 64-Bit: http://rapidshare.com/files/24551259...n-us-vista.exe
Windows Vista and 7 32-Bit: http://rapidshare.com/files/24551260...n-us-vista.exe
Windows XP 32-Bit: http://rapidshare.com/files/24551260...e-en-us-xp.exe
Last edited by RabbieBurns; 25th June 2009 at 06:37 AM.
Would be useful, if it is anygood we could get anyway with AV costs each year.
Save a few grand at least.
Antivirus testing outfit: Microsoft Security Essentials makes the grade
seems to do alright. Ive installed it on my xp vm here. Not got any viruses to test it against right enough, not had a sniff of one in years heh.
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