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Microsoft To charge for antispyware utility

kdawg

kdawg

macrumors regular
Original poster
Dec 14, 2004
166
17
An article posted in the Informatiojn Technology adviser states that microsoft will soon charge for their spyware removal tool (Currently in Beta for free Via microsoft.com/downloads)

Isn't that great.... Release a crapy OS, then charge you to keep it working
 
Ad-Aware, Spybot, AVG, CWShredder, Hijack This, and WinTasks Pro will do just fine thank you very much.


I'm not going to rely on a company that makes crappie, buggy software to fix it. **** that ****.
 
i use this antispyware thing its actually pretty good. somehow it almost functions as a virus remover too. im shocked that microsoft is able to make something that is fast and efficient but for how long?
 
This has been covered here before. And actually, I couldn't get rid of spyware that norton was picking up on my girlfriends computer. I tried S&D and Adaware.Microsoft did the job. I was stunned. I wouldn't pay for it though.
 
I read about this too. Once the beta period is over, and Microsoft is selling its tool, maybe somebody can go into business selling antidotes to bugs that show up in the antispyware application! On second thought, Microsoft will probably do that themselves, charging you an upgrade fee.
 
Doctor Q said:
On second thought, Microsoft will probably do that themselves, charging you an upgrade fee.
Click to expand...
Sure wouldn't surprise me :p

I had a good time breaking the news to my PC-using friend who was trying to convince me that Microsoft wasn't such a bad company, releasing an Anti-Spyware program that was free and worked well.

Turns out it's not free, and M$ didn't even write the dang thing :rolleyes:
 
Honestly this thing is close to useless for removing the world's spyware problem.

I went to install it on my son's Windows ME computer, and discovered that that only 2000 and XP are supported.

Last I saw the vast majority of windows machines were still Windows ME or earlier, so this won't make a dent in the installed spyware base.
 
stcanard said:
Honestly this thing is close to useless for removing the world's spyware problem.

I went to install it on my son's Windows ME computer, and discovered that that only 2000 and XP are supported.

Last I saw the vast majority of windows machines were still Windows ME or earlier, so this won't make a dent in the installed spyware base.
Click to expand...
Tsk, tsk, tsk... you shouldn't make fun of Microsoft because their AntiSpyware program only runs on Windows 2000 and Windows XP, with no support for Windows ME.

After all, iTunes doesn't support Windows ME, either. :rolleyes: (A friend of mine received an iPod for Christmas... he couldn't use it with his Windows ME, and had to upgrade to Windows XP.)
 
clayjohanson said:
Tsk, tsk, tsk... you shouldn't make fun of Microsoft because their AntiSpyware program only runs on Windows 2000 and Windows XP, with no support for Windows ME.

After all, iTunes doesn't support Windows ME, either. :rolleyes: (A friend of mine received an iPod for Christmas... he couldn't use it with his Windows ME, and had to upgrade to Windows XP.)
Click to expand...

He should have upgraded to Apple. Lesson not learned.
 
clayjohanson said:
After all, iTunes doesn't support Windows ME, either. :rolleyes: (A friend of mine received an iPod for Christmas... he couldn't use it with his Windows ME, and had to upgrade to Windows XP.)
Click to expand...

Uhh, but not running iTunes (as far as I am aware) is not a security and/or privacy problem.
 
I might like point out WIndowsME is coming out on pretty long for contiune support. after about 5 years or so support for the older OS gets droped. They quite updating it. Windows ME is coming close to the end of it life plus it had a very short life span so een fewer people have it.
 
Timelessblur said:
I might like point out WIndowsME is coming out on pretty long for contiune support. after about 5 years or so support for the older OS gets droped. They quite updating it. Windows ME is coming close to the end of it life plus it had a very short life span so een fewer people have it.
Click to expand...

I don't believe MS has EOL'ed WindowsME/98 yet, have they?

Until MS has EOL'ed these products, I would expect them to be updated security wise. No, we don't need games and MP3 players, but if security / privacy is their focus, they need to focus on it, not just do it on the easiest part of the family.

Last I knew (I notice stats are kind of hard to find now) the 9x family was still quite widly used, so this is a big issue for the attacks on the network infrastructure that are supposedly being adressed by this product.
 
stcanard said:
I don't believe MS has EOL'ed WindowsME/98 yet, have they?
Click to expand...
IIRC They EOL'd it, then changed their minds, since there were a lot of businesses, and a lot of non-westernised countries still using it for some fairly mission-critical stuff.
 
stcanard said:
Until MS has EOL'ed these products, I would expect them to be updated security wise
Click to expand...

Microsoft's first line of advice to those running 95/98/ME and want security updates is to upgrade to XP and then make sure you install SP2. :eek:
 
stcanard said:
Uhh, but not running iTunes (as far as I am aware) is not a security and/or privacy problem.
Click to expand...
You missed my point. Microsoft isn't the only company producing software that doesn't run on Windows ME; Apple does the same thing.

Windows ME was a good idea, but very badly implemented. Better that everyone should move on to Windows XP (or 2000, if you must).
 
stcanard said:
I don't believe MS has EOL'ed WindowsME/98 yet, have they?

Until MS has EOL'ed these products, I would expect them to be updated security wise. No, we don't need games and MP3 players, but if security / privacy is their focus, they need to focus on it, not just do it on the easiest part of the family.

Last I knew (I notice stats are kind of hard to find now) the 9x family was still quite widly used, so this is a big issue for the attacks on the network infrastructure that are supposedly being adressed by this product.
Click to expand...

They drop support for windows 98 back in earily 2003. It been 2 years since then and that would put windows ME at the same age if it is dropped this year Add in the fact that ME only had a 6 month self life (shortest of any OS ever made I read that windows ME became pretty nice for a 9.x line after they got the bug fixes done but I had quite using it by then)
 
clayjohanson said:
You missed my point. Microsoft isn't the only company producing software that doesn't run on Windows ME; Apple does the same thing.
Click to expand...

You missed my point. There's a difference between critical security infrastructure and entertainment programs (not to mention the difference between third party and manufacturer).

Does the fact that Microsoft hasn't written a version of MovieMaker for Jaguar excuse Apple from putting out security fixes for Jaguar?

Windows ME was a good idea, but very badly implemented. Better that everyone should move on to Windows XP (or 2000, if you must).
Click to expand...

Great, are you volunteering to buy my son the extra RAM he needs to run 2000 or XP? And the cost of Windows XP?
 
I might like ot point Doom3 was not released for anything below windows 2000. (otehr wise you had to run windows NT system). Software has just stop development for 9.x so support for the OS is the next thing to go.

Also Windows ME is at the end of life for support and the archtechure of windows 9.x is very diffent that NT 5.x so it prouble was not worth the money or time to deveplope the program for a 9.x based system if they are going ot drop support with in a year or 2.


OS life spans are 3 years on average. Support is about 5-6 years. XP and windows 2000 going will both go beyond that but their is no replacement for them for at least 2 years. Support needs to go on for a few years after a replacement comes out. ME has had a replacement out for 4+ years. It is at the end of its life.
 
Well, since Windows ME was officially dropped from mainstream support on December 31, 2003 (over a year ago), no one should realistically expect Microsoft to release any new software for that platform. That's why the Microsoft AntiSpyware software doesn't work on ME.
 
Isn't this like an automaker issuing a recall and when you show up you they fix your car and give you the bill?

I mentioned this spyware thing to a co-worker and all I got was a blank idiot stare.
 
Inspector Lee said:
Isn't this like an automaker issuing a recall and when you show up you they fix your car and give you the bill?

I mentioned this spyware thing to a co-worker and all I got was a blank idiot stare.
Click to expand...
No... because the OS isn't broken. They release free OS updates (and free program updates) all the time. Spyware is not something that just appeared out of nowhere... it's malicious software that was written by someone to take advantage of the design of a system. A Windows user also has the flexibility to use Microsoft's solution, or Lavasoft's, or Norton's... you get the idea. (And Lavasoft's is free.)

By your logic, all utility software (AV, anti-spyware, disk recovery, etc.) should be free.
 
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