Windows gets tough on spam and viruses

[Zombie9920]

Microsoft on Monday will detail a future version of Windows that will make it easier to detect and isolate viruses.

Additionally, the Redmond, Wash.-based developer will show off new features in Microsoft Word 2003 and Exchange 2003 for fingering viruses and spam at the RSA Security Conference taking place in San Francisco this week.

The Windows Filter Manager Architecture is a set of application protocol interfaces (APIs) and code that will be added to Windows to handle some of the basic operational tasks of antivirus applications, such as how the application sets up an ordinary hard drive scan, according to Jonathan Perera, senior director of Microsoft's security business unit. In a sense, Filter Manager is analogous to printer drivers, he said. In the past, printer makers did their own drivers. Now, they write to a common set of APIs.

"It handles a lot of the hardware touching," he said. "This will make it easier for (antivirus) developers to get their products to market faster."

Full article

[xyle_one]

maybe microsoft should just do a complete rewrite of windows. just look at the nature of *nix based operating systems. secure from the ground up.
http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/#virus

[lazygamer]

Would a rewrite with a good compatibility mode be possible? I think people would be willing to upgrade to all new software if there was all sorts of benchmarks that could prove the rewritten wind0ze was vastly superior to the old. Problem is, hasn't Microsoft been saying each new wind0ze is awesome anyways?  
(and people listen anyways)

Anyways, this announcment is either:

1)Something to do with DRM/TCPA.

2)Proof that Microsoft plans on trying to win the war by taking away ammo from the naysayers(by making Windows better so there is less that can be validly said to discredit it).

3)Both.

[Calum]

that rewrite with back compatibility is possible, after all they built a lot of dos/win32 compatibility into NT, but i suspect that the performance of the back compatibility would suffer. the best way would be to use emulators so as to keep the back compatibility bits modular and seperate from the actual system. however it would be more expensive and time consuming than MS' usual tactic of releasing any old schlock and getting people to buy it because microsoft made it, which is what i expect this will be.

----------
off topic:
DO NOT - i repeat - DO NOT flame zombie90210. many of you post nothing but useless trolling shit on here and he has posted a valid thread. you will leave him alone until two things happen:
1) you stop posting shit
2) he starts posting shit

You know who you are.

[Refalm]

quote:Calum: crusader for peace & freedom: DO NOT - i repeat - DO NOT flame zombie90210. many of you post nothing but useless trolling shit on here and he has posted a valid thread. you will leave him alone until two things happen:
1) you stop posting shit
2) he starts posting shit

You know who you are.

Er... Ex Eleven?  

[ April 16, 2003: Message edited by: Refalm ]

[TheQuirk]

quote:Originally posted by lazygamer:
2)Proof that Microsoft plans on trying to win the war by taking away ammo from the naysayers(by making Windows better so there is less that can be validly said to discredit it).

Since when is it a bad practice to improve your product?

[ April 17, 2003: Message edited by: TheQuirk ]

[Siplus]

i don't think microsoft has enough experience in improving products, so if they try to improve, i'll end up making it worce, imo

[lazygamer]

quote:Since when is it a bad practice to improve your product?

True, but do you trust that Microsoft's products have truly improved as much as they claim? XP is probably better than W9X in theory because they had to rise to the occasion. In 2001 Linux was probably making quite the name for itself. In 2002 Linux made a bigger name for itself, in 2003 it will probably make an even bigger name for itself. Suddenly MS announces new and improved Wind0ze programming!  

I can see Wind0ze getting better Viri protection, but spam? Bullshit!

[Pissed_Macman]

ooga-booga

[TB]

Going back to the subject of spam, I had a bit of a chuckle yesterday at the Australian government's attempts to cut down on spam. One of the means by which anti-spam message is going to be spread around the country??? SPAM! I nearly fell off my chair.

[Pissed_Macman]

Yes, stopping spam is just Australia will stop all spam, I'm sure.  :rolleyes:

[Refalm]

You are NEVER going to stop spam. It's impossible.

[lazygamer]

I heard an interesting theory that spam and DOS attacks could be vastly reduced by making the internet metered(you pay for the amount of data you send/recieve, not a flat fee). I guess the idea is that the people who do such activities usually use regular internet of some sort with a flat rate.

[theangelofdeath69]

You know, it would also help if Microsoft stopped giving all our hotmail addresses to anyone with 20 cents.  Besides, Windows with built in antivirus?  Ok, totally ANTITRUST!