Gates Opens Up on Security

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bill Gates used his keynote speech at the RSA Conference here today to shout about the companys strategy of “trustworthy computing.”

No doubt conscious of the fact that vulnerabilities in Microsoft software are the cause of many a migraine for IT managers, the Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) Chairman and Chief Software Architect offered some insight into what is going on behind the scenes in Redmond.

Over the last few months, the company has kept busy snapping up security vendors, and Gates explained where these fit into the Microsoft masterplan. Last week, for example, Microsoft acquired startup Sybari Software Inc. after using the vendor’s products to protect its own communications networks (see Microsoft Snaps Up Sybari).

Gates promised that Sybari’s core technology, which protects messaging servers from the likes of spam, viruses, and worms, will reemerge later in 2005. “We’re on a path to deliver a product that includes anti-virus by the end of this year,” he said.

The company is also overhauling the infrastructure it uses to provide Windows security updates, bringing together a number of different interfaces onto a single database. This will allow users to obtain automatic updates, according to Gates. Microsoft will roll out the beta version of the new infrastructure in March, he added.Despite Microsoft's reputation for security lapses, Gates said a third of the company’s $6 billion R&D budget goes directly to security technologies.

Spyware and helping users avoid online scams are high on the Microsoft agenda. Gates promised enhancements to the forthcoming Internet Explorer 7 will deal with "phishing," where users are tricked into divulging sensitive data.

The new release, which will be available in beta around midyear, will also protect against other forms of malicious software, according to the Microsoft honcho, who said these features will be rolled into the next version of Windows, scheduled to launch in 2007.

But this isn’t the only area where Microsoft is looking to meet the spyware threat. Last year the company snapped up software vendor Giant Company Software Inc. and is now adding flesh to the bones of its anti-spyware strategy (see Microsoft Acquires Giant).

Microsoft has built on Giant’s technology to develop a new Spynet network, which enables Microsoft to obtain information from users on emerging spyware threats. “We have got more than half a million reports a day coming through this Spynet,” said Gates.Gates promised that this anti-spyware capability will be available at no extra charge to Windows users.

— James Rogers, Site Editor, Next-Gen Data Center Forum