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Microsoft Doesn't Show Norton The Love
John Stith
Staff Writer
2006-02-14
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If one didn't know better, one would think Symantec was lovelorn over Microsoft's new anti-spyware beta. Usually it's a good idea to bring a trojan on a date. This time, however, Microsoft's Anti-Spyware beta tagged Symantec's Norton Anti-Virus as password stealing trojan virus.
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Do you have a favorite in the security software wars. Symantec has already talked to the EU but does anyone have the power to stop Microsoft? Give us your thoughts on security software at the Security Forum at WebProWorld.
A recent update for Microsoft's Anti-Spyware software detects Symantec's Norton Antivirus as PWS.Bancos.A, more commonly known as a Trojan horse virus. The problem with this is when the Anti-spyware gets rid of the files in Norton, Norton doesn't work anymore. This means it no longer protects the system.
The problems with Norton's could only be corrected with manual registry edits and a re-installation of the Symantec Software. This would be problematic for most people and would certainly leave their computer security crippled.
Microsoft does a couple of things in their favor on this one though. First, this is just a beta. Betas are often full of problems. That's what they're for, to help work out bugs in the system. The other issue is Microsoft's already updated their definitions list to fix the anti-spyware from calling Symantec's product a password stealing Trojan.
There are multiple sides to this issue though. While Symantec is a powerhouse in PC security, not everyone likes Symantec. It often chews up CPU space and it's often difficult to run other programs while it runs. It can easily affect performance. Also, Symantec has had problems recently with their own rootkits and they've been talking to the EU about Microsoft's ventures into PC security.
While this probably wasn't intentional, it's not the first time these companies haven't seen things eye-to-eye and it probably won't be the last. After this little faux pas, one must wonder about the love in their relationship.
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About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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