Microsoft in recent years has taken a
lot of heat from the IT industry over it's perceived lack of serious efforts to
make Windows a more secure platform. Well, in part to answer those
critics, and in an attempt to further branch out into the security software
market, Microsoft is rolling out a technology called PatchGuard, a piece of code
that protects core parts of the Windows against attacks.
However, this being Microsoft, it turns out that this new feature does more
to hinder security companies in their attempts to run their antivirus or
firewall applications on customer PCs. Companies like antivirus seller and
security services provider, Symantec, are
claiming that this new feature is doing more harm to security vendors than it is
to hackers, who have more options in circumventing system rules. Already
rumblings are being made over Microsoft potentially using it's leverage with
Windows to take over the security products area.
Microsoft defends this action saying that PatchGuard is a protective
technology only for 64-bit systems. That it's an attempt to protect
against exploits inherent in the new architecture.
Outsiders argue that as the world moves from 32 to 64-bit computing, that
this will pose a significant hurdle for third parties trying to run and sell
their products to the end-user.