Microsoft has announced that it will set up two security centers in Ireland and Japan. Together with a team from home base Redmond, the centers must be able to respond to security problems 24 hours a day.
The research and response centers will be responsible, among other things, for distributing the so-called signatures, with which Microsoft’s antivirus software can recognize threats. “In the past, it took days and sometimes even weeks for Microsoft to respond to a virus outbreak,” said Andreas Marx, a malware researcher at the German University of Magdeburg. “However, it will be months before their service reaches the level of established powers like Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro.” Andreas Clementi of AV Comparatives called that a very optimistic estimate: he thinks it could easily be another five years before Microsoft plays a significant role in the antivirus market. ‘At the moment, OneCare is at most a handy tool for backups; the virus detection is below par compared to the performance of competitors.’
However, the nearly a year old OneCare will soon be joined by Microsoft’s Forefront software, as well as the Malware Protection Center-portal A preview was put online this week. The computer security products market is worth billions, and Microsoft is determined to become a major player. “Some customers find this contradictory, and think we better tackle the problems at the source,” CEO Steve Ballmer agreed this week. “Unfortunately, the bad guys are getting smarter too, and we have to respond dynamically to new problems and threats.”
However, Natalie Lambert of Forrester believes the software giant still has a long way to go: “Microsoft recognizes more and more viruses, but there are also other threats that are less well responded to. They haven’t even put an email scanner in OneCare, the checks for malicious web pages are virtually non-existent and heuristic security is a bridge too far. For now, companies are better off with full suites from McAfee, Symantec or Sophos.” To better compete in the security market, Microsoft appointed some heavyweights to lead the new centers: In Tokyo, former McAfee employee Dan Wolff will hold sway and the Dublin department will be headed by Katrin Tocheva, which comes from F-Secure.