Opinion by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Microsoft, please stop doing things for our own skillful

Kaspersky claimed Microsoft has been disabling its antivirus software in Windows 10. Microsoft replied it was its duty to brand sure antivirus protection was 'always on.'

Computerworld |

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Pixabay (Creative Commons BY or BY-SA)

For over 20 years, Microsoft stomped on its competitors and then defended itself against the resulting antitrust lawsuits. Merely with desktop Windows waning in importance and its desktop software rivals largely gone, Microsoft seemed to take turned a new leafage. Or had it?

In the i software sphere left where it yet has rivals — antivirus and security software — Microsoft is up to its one-time anti-competitive tricks. Belatedly last yr, Eugene Kaspersky, founder of the eponymous antivirus company, said, "When y'all upgrade to Windows 10, Microsoft automatically and without any warning deactivates all 'incompatible' security software and in its place installs… you guessed it — its own Defender antivirus. But what did it expect when contained developers were given all of i calendar week before the release of the new version of the OS to make their software compatible?"

Kaspersky did more than just web log about it. First, he complained to the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service, which opened a case against Microsoft for "abusing say-so." His company, Kaspersky Lab, followed up this June by filing more antitrust complaints against Microsoft, with the European Commission and the High german Federal Cartel Office.

Kaspersky claimed in his blog, "Microsoft uses its dominant position in the estimator operating system (Os) market to fiercely promote its own — inferior — security software (Windows Defender) at the expense of users' previously self-chosen security solution. Such promotion is conducted using questionable methods, and we want to bring these methods to the attending of the anti-contest authorities."

That sounds like business as usual for the Evil Empire.

Microsoft replied with garden-variety public relations pabulum: "Microsoft'due south primary objective is to keep customers protected and nosotros are confident that the security features of Windows 10 comply with competition laws."

But now Microsoft has taken a new tack. Information technology admitted that it turned off rivals' antivirus software. Rob Lefferts, Microsoft'south partner managing director of the Windows & Devices Group, Security & Enterprise, said, aye, Windows 10 Creators Update disabled third-political party antivirus products — but only in a few circumstances, and for a brusque time.

Specifically, since "AV software tin be deeply entwined within the operating system, nosotros doubled down on our efforts to aid AV vendors exist compatible with the latest updates. … For the small number of applications that all the same needed updating, nosotros congenital a feature merely for AV apps that would prompt the client to install a new version of their AV app right after the update completed. To do this, we first temporarily disabled some parts of the AV software when the update began. We did this work in partnership with the AV partner to specify which versions of their software are uniform and where to direct customers after updating."

Somehow, I don't recall Kaspersky, who hasn't replied yet to Microsoft's latest move, agrees that Microsoft is working as a partner with antivirus providers. I'm certain he sees this as proof of his assertions that Microsoft's "Daddy knows best" mental attitude is meant only to promote Microsoft Defender over all other antivirus programs.

Microsoft's justification? It must human action to protect users from the recent plague of WannaCry ransomware and similar fast-moving malware attacks.

To me, this is proof that the old Microsoft, which wanted accented command, and thus turn a profit, is withal alive and well in the Windows division.

If y'all're OK with Microsoft calling all the shots, that's fine. I volition remind you, though, that WannaCry wouldn't have existed in the first identify if Microsoft had properly secured its Server Message Block network protocol.

I've always thought that competition leads to improve, more than secure software. That's ane reason to hope Kaspersky continues to hold Microsoft'south feet to the fire for this latest attempt to create a monopoly.

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