by Playfuls Staff |
19th May 2006
Symantec has filed a complaint about misuse of intellectual
property against
Redmond
based company Microsoft. Apparently the latter included in some of its products
(including the long-expected Vista OS) a storage technology, patented by
Symantec once with the acquisition of Veritas Inc., which Microsoft was allowed
to use, following an agreement signed in 1996, but not allowed to develop
products that compete with the licensed technology. [more] Microsoft on the other hand
claims that the integration is totally legal and even that ,,the [1996]
contract ultimately gave Microsoft the option to buy out the rights to Veritas'
code and intellectual property”.
Some might think this is a small dispute between two giants
that is going to be settled easily. Actually this is just the boiling and
starting point of a long and-up until now- silent Cold War. Past years have
shown an increased instability and a low security for Microsoft`s main product,
Windows XP. It has been the target for virus, hoax, worms and spyware that have
produced damages estimated to at least 10 billion dollars in the last decade.
Moreover, the famous BSOD (blue screen of death) that XP offered to its users
when it detected some RAM problems or driver problems has on one side generated
a huge source of humor, and on the other a massive orientation towards
alternatives like Macintosh or Linux OS distributions. The only way to survive
against Internet attacks coming from viruses or rootkits was to install
anti-virus software.
But Vista was about to
change all that. Realizing the extraordinary bad image created for its OS
because of safety and stability, Microsoft finally made a move. In 2003 the
software giant bought the anti-virus technology that was powering GeCAD’s RAV
(Romanian Anti-Virus) a popular and reliable solution for many users at that
time. Of course since that acquisition the Romanian based company was no longer
allowed to develop security technologies. Microsoft had in mind to create its own
security service which was later called Windows OneCare. The reason? Anti-virus
market is estimated today to be around 3.9-4 billion dollars per year. All this
money goes to anti-virus producers like Symantec, Softwin, Kaspersky or Panda
and not into Microsoft`s pocket. But even more dramatic than that, the need for
an anti-virus software creates the impression that Windows is a badly designed
product, and that buying it only leads to more and more costs. Redmond officials cannot accept that.
So they’ve thought at creating their own security center,
forcing anti-virus producers to virtually go bankrupt, by taking as much as
they can of their market share. Although OneCare shall not definitely solve the
virus problem (it is destined mostly to protect computers against all sorts of
malware and spyware) it shall become a serious competitor for anti-viruses like
Norton, Bitdefender or Panda, which include modules for spyware removal. The
number of spyware applications in 2005 increased by 52% compared to 2004 and
the number of sites containing spyware reached 78%. So serious threats demand
serious defensive measures. But Microsoft is not going to stop at this point.
By making its next Vista OS more secure (it is the main
reason for its delayed release in Q1 2007) MS hopes to determine customers
(corporate or home users) to revise their opinion about its main product and to
rethink their cost forecasts, including renouncing almost completely at buying anti-virus
software.
This is actually the core of Symantec-Microsoft war. The
anti-virus industry was build upon Windows` weaknesses. Now that Windows grows
stronger the industry sees its existence threatened and tries to fight back.
Only time will tell how powerful Vista shall
be and how this war will end. If it’s ever going to …
