Allchin defends Vista's security credentials

The argument between Sophos and Microsoft over the security of Windows Vista took another turn on Tuesday when Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin stepped in to try and calm things down.

The dispute was started at the end of November when security software vendor Sophos published its “top 10 threats” for the coming year, and included three potential threats to Vista ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù the internet worms labelled Stratio-Zip, Netsky-D and MyDoom-O.

According to Sophos, while companies running wholly Microsoft environments ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù Vista with other Microsoft software on top ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù would be secure, companies running third-party software would be vulnerable. Most organisations fall into that category, such as companies choosing to run IBM/Lotus Notes, instead of Microsoft Exchange.

Allchin argued in a blog posting on Tuesday that this is untrue, and that Vista can live happily alongside the right third-party security products. If individuals and organisations use their Vista or third-party security tools correctly, there is no reason for there to be any issues, he said.

Sophos’s claims were made on the day that Microsoft launched its business versions of Vista, and they put the software giant on the back foot.

Full article: ZDNet UK