24 Mar 2003 09:29
Microsoft claimed in an advertisement that its software is so secure, it will make hackers extinct. As it turned out, it was the ad which bit the dust.
South Africa's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has ordered the software giant to withdraw what they termed an "unsubstantiated and misleading" print commercial last week following official complaints from freelance journalist Richard Clarke, according to a report in South African technology news site ITWeb.
This controversial advertisement, which was published in the November issue of Time magazine and tech digest ITWeb Brainstorm, featured three extinct animals -- a dodo, a woolly mammoth and a sabre-toothed tiger -- as well as a caricature of a hacker.
The caption said Microsoft's software offers better data protection than a bank safe as it blocks authorised access and viruses. This is "tragic news for hackers", the advertisement claimed.
Clarke described this marketing effort as "laughable" as company's software was "littered with vulnerabilities".
Microsoft responded with some security documentation and argued its advertisement was merely tongue-in-cheek. But the ASA was having none of it and ordered Microsoft to pull the ads on the grounds that the claims have not been evaluated by an independent entity.
According to the report, the advertisement was also scheduled to run in a number of South African business publications.
Microsoft has chosen to highlight its software security in its marketing efforts during a time when that very issue has put the company's products under constant scrutiny.
Despite several initiatives to secure the Windows operating system and other applications, bugs continue to plague its software, making patches an almost weekly occurrence.
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