It has been a few weeks since the last update, and the A/S team needed some work to do so we decided that we should release build 615 to the web. Actually, we wanted to correct an issue found with the signature update mechanism and we wanted to get an updated build out there this week. Starting in the next hour or so, beta testers will be able to download the updated build from the web (http://www.microsoft.com/spyware) or wait for the automatic update to the software. Also addressed in this release is an improvement on how Windows AntiSpyware beta provides information to the user about processes running on a PC. Because of a limitation in the installer, users will have to reboot as soon as they update the package. We are working on reducing the reboot requirement for beta 2. We have been testing this new build for about a week now and it does resolve the signature update issue. Please post to the newsgroups if you see any issues or have any comments on this new build.
-steve
Claria has been receiving a lot of news lately, and so I figured I would re-post what is going on over here in regards to this. We put the following statement on our website as well (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/claria_letter.mspx):
"This week we received some questions around Microsoft's classification of Claria software in our Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta). We wanted to take this opportunity to clear up any misconceptions and explain our current policies and practices.
As you may know, the analysis of software is based on a single set of objective criteria, which can be found on our web site: Windows AntiSpyware (Beta): Analysis approach and categories.
Microsoft offers all software companies the opportunity to request a review of how Microsoft classifies their products through our vendor dispute process. In January, Claria filed a request for Microsoft to reevaluate some of its products. Upon review of their software against our criteria, we determined that continued detection of Claria's products was indeed appropriate. We also decided that adjustments should be made to the classification of Claria software in order to be fair and consistent with how Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) handles similar software from other vendors. At the end of March, we communicated to Claria the result of our analysis through our standard process.
We take software analysis for Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) very seriously and handle all vendor requests in the same manner. All software is reviewed under the same objective criteria, detection policies, and analysis process. Absolutely no exceptions were made for Claria. Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) continues to notify our users when Claria software is found on a computer, and it offers our users the option to remove the software if they desire.
Microsoft is committed to helping protect our customers from spyware and other unwanted software by providing guidance and technology solutions. We firmly believe that people should have complete control over what runs on their computers.
Today, anti-spyware vendors use different approaches, definitions, and types of criteria for identifying and categorizing spyware and other potentially unwanted software. This has limited the industry’s ability to have a broad, coordinated impact in addressing the problem. That is a key reason Microsoft is a founding member of the Anti-Spyware Coalition, a group of technology companies and anti-spyware companies working alongside public interest groups to address key spyware issues.
Meanwhile, Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) is an initial beta release and we continue to receive valuable feedback from customers, which is helping our development of the final version of Windows AntiSpyware. We encourage people to provide feedback at WASFeed@microsoft.com and stay up-to-date on the latest developments on Windows AntiSpyware at Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware (Beta) Home."
Please do give us feedback in the newsgroup or in the e-mail alias as we are making decisions for future builds based on this feedback.