Taking a Business Centric Approach to Service Level Compliance
Business reliance on ever more complex computer systems increases every year. These systems are at the heart of business success
ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Security / Security Management
Microsoft anti-spyware buy hits hurdles
Topics
NEWS
A software company that Microsoft acquired this week to help beef up computer security may come with a bug of its own.
Sunbelt Software on Friday confirmed reports that it has exclusive rights over certain aspects of the anti-spyware programs Microsoft gained in its acquisition of Giant Company Software on Thursday.
The exclusive rights claimed by Sunbelt mean only Sunbelt can legally create and distribute software development tools for Giant's programs. If legitimate, the claim means Microsoft would need permission from Sunbelt before letting software partners build links to Giant's programs, which are designed to combat spyware and spam. Without such links, the software may not work well with programs from third parties.
Sunbelt president Alex Eckelberry said he and executives from Microsoft are in cordial talks about a number of "business and technical issues" relating to the Giant acquisition. So far, the companies have had no disagreements or disputes, he said.
Microsoft issued a statement on Friday saying it will be the sole owner of all new versions of the Giant anti-spyware system that it develops, regardless of previous legal agreements between Giant and Sunbelt.
"There's nothing about these pre-existing commitments that will prevent us from bringing to market the product we think is needed and is right for our customers," said Amy Carroll, director of product management in Microsoft's security business and technology unit.
In addition, the company does not expect Sunbelt to restrict its ability to let other software developers tap its programs, Carroll said.
"We're very comfortable we will be able to offer software developer kits without running afoul of these agreements; we don't see that as an issue at all," she said.
Microsoft plans to honour a Giant contract and furnish Sunbelt with special updates through mid-2007 that enable Giant's programs to spot new kinds of spyware.
When it announced the acquisition, Microsoft said it planned to use Giant's technology to block spyware from infecting Windows PCs. Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser is a favourite target of spyware developers.
Programs from Giant, a 12-person company based in New York, can scan a person's PC for spyware and remove it. Microsoft intends to incorporate the technology into its products and expects to release a new version of the Giant product next month.
Some reports have said that Microsoft may eventually charge customers to use the tools to clean spyware off Windows, but the company has not yet made any announcement about pricing.
Related stories
Post your comment
In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in
Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below
By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ
ZDNet UK Live
Well, it’s amazing. The miracle has been done. Hat’s off. Well done, as we know that “hard work always pays off”, after a long struggle...
5 hours ago by mgibs17 on Salesforce chief: Enterprise tech lacks innovation Well, it’s amazing. The miracle has been done. Hat’s off. Well done, as we know that “hard work always pays off”, after a long struggle...
6 hours ago by mgibs17 on Govt to review US extradition treaty omg!!!! I been using read hat linux for a while sience 1998 and i recently got tire of that distor and tryed slackware 13.1.... i no longer want...
10 hours ago by OpenSourceLinux on Slackware Linux 13.1 omg!!!! I been using read hat linux for a while sience 1998 and i recently got tire of that distor and tryed slackware 13.1.... i no longer want...
10 hours ago by OpenSourceLinux
Speaking purely from observation, I've seen only a handful of people actually using netbooks (and have one myself). None of them were running...
11 hours ago by Tezzer on While PC shipments will grow to a million per day, netbooks are in decline Imagine how stupid ZDnet must feel considering it takes about 10-30 seconds to load their stupid webpage filled with ads from other sites. While...
11 hours ago by WasteOfTime on Google’s Buckyballs doodle costs people money, drives users away
Unfortunately AnAmericanFellow you seem to be in the minority. ;)
12 hours ago by SeanTheMac on Google’s Buckyballs doodle costs people money, drives users away
@manek - No, I'm saying that there are concrete statements from netbook manufacturers and REPUTABLE analysts that indicate the Linux share of the...
13 hours ago by J.A. Watson on While PC shipments will grow to a million per day, netbooks are in decline
Mary : Being familiar with both Windows and Linux extensively, I would be curious to know what kinds of learning issues there were with Linux...
13 hours ago by apexwm on While PC shipments will grow to a million per day, netbooks are in decline I always thought that Wave was ideal for machines and lousy for humans...
13 hours ago by sbisson on Forcing Things Social
Any news on when we'll see the putative benefits? It would be nice to see an uninterrupted data connection - even a 2G one - on a a train journey I...
13 hours ago by manek on Ofcom pumps up the volume for 3G networks So you're saying that some 25 percent of netbook buyers throw away a copy of Windows they've paid for and install Linux instead. If netbook users...
13 hours ago by manek on While PC shipments will grow to a million per day, netbooks are in decline Jamie, you bring up a good point. There hasn't been much news regarding netbooks in a while, especially on what they are running. Jack doesn't...
15 hours ago by apexwm on While PC shipments will grow to a million per day, netbooks are in decline On behalf of all Americans, I would like to apologise for the twit that insisted on the American spelling of 'realized'. Some of us are aware of...
16 hours ago by AnAmericanFellow on Google’s Buckyballs doodle costs people money, drives users away IE 7? It uses all that CPU just to open a tab. Really, I saw those claims, really, most of them are, simply put, just full of BS. My machine isn't...
17 hours ago by feaband
Mmm. Google could do with something like this. It would be brave of them - in fact, they could call it Google Brave. Or Cave. Or something like that.
17 hours ago by Rupert Goodwins on Forcing Things Social "Linux being a disastrous failure in the netbook marketplace. (Linux went from 100% market share to less than 5%" Obviously untrue. Here is...
18 hours ago by J.A. Watson on While PC shipments will grow to a million per day, netbooks are in decline > just want my default browser to load quickly so I can then as effortlessly as possible type > the URL I do want to go to and be done with it. In...
18 hours ago by Chris Rankin on Google’s Buckyballs doodle costs people money, drives users away I always use Google as a home page for any PC I work on as I just want my default browser to load quickly so I can then as effortlessly as possible...
18 hours ago by eldridgep on Google’s Buckyballs doodle costs people money, drives users awayLatest in Security Management
Featured white papers
Double-Take Workload Portability:X2X Sever and Storage Migration Solutions
Double-Take Move provides migration functionality that dramatically reduces the impact and risk of migrations in the data center..
The Intelligent Company White Paper
Accounting and other business systems are packed with useful, and often critical, business information which can be turned to competitive
