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Mossberg Slaps Symantec's Wrist
Doug Caverly
Staff Writer
2006-06-02
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Although computer users are concerned about security, they're not willing to go to too much trouble to ensure their safety. That's the conclusion reached by Walt Mossberg and the heads of Symantec and RSA Security at the Wall Street Journal's D: All Things Digital conference.
Mossberg, named by Newsweek as "the most powerful arbiter of consumer tastes in the computer world today," took the security companies to task over their products. He referred to the frequent pop-ups and alerts of Symantec's software as "annoying," which didn't exactly please Symantec CEO John Thompson.
"I didn't know I was going to get a public appraisal here," Thompson retorted, but he also discussed his company's plans to address the issue. Art Coviello of the RSA, which sells digital security tokens, also wants to make security easier on customers. Both corporations hope to work with businesses whose clients are most at risk (like banks) to help combat phishing and other forms of cybercrime. "There is an increasing crisis of confidence, and banks can't stand that," said Coviello.
Thompson claimed the next version of Symantec's security suite will be more automated, and also spoke of the company's plans to launch a service that will help users discern the safety and reliability of Web sites they visit. And according to Coviello, the RSA intends to shut down rogue sites involved in fraud.
Mossberg's calling-out of Symantec may truly help get things done. Described as "one of the most powerful men in the high-tech world" by the Washington Post, he's the kind of person even powerful CEOs pay attention to. And so if security software becomes any more user-friendly, you may have Walt Mossberg to thank for it.
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Technorati: Mossberg, Symantec
About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for SecurityProNews, InternetFinancialNews, SearchNewz, and WebProNews.
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