Allchin Suggests Vista Won't Need Antivirus

[dbarrow]

http://www.betanews.com/article/Allchin_Suggests_Vista_Wont_Need_Antivirus/1163104965

By Scott M. Fulton, III, BetaNews
November 9, 2006, 4:26 PM

During a telephone conference with reporters yesterday, outgoing Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin, while touting the new security features of Windows Vista, which was released to manufacturing yesterday, told a reporter that the system's new lockdown features are so capable and thorough that he was comfortable with his own seven-year-old son using Vista without antivirus software installed. ...

[mylanta]

Oh great!!! Well I'll plan to be much busier in about 9 months!

[fleamailman]

Yes, he is right because his seven year old son is unlikely to do anything remotely connected to the things that give your system malware, P2P, girly stuff, gambling, banking, etc...., have to be quite advanced kid I believe

[Tortanick]

KACHING!!! KACHING!!! KACHING!!!

Oh wait, I don't work as tech support or for the Anti-virus/spyware industry :(

Enjoy the extra cash if you're in the right job.

[Dan18960]

Darn,

Looks like we will HAVE to hire a new tech!

[dbarrow]

Allchin Backs Off Antivirus Remarks

http://www.betanews.com/article/Allchin_Backs_Off_Antivirus_Remarks/1163201739

*backpedal!

[Seth]

From the link (my underline):

"My son, seven years old, runs Windows Vista, and, honestly, he doesn't have an antivirus system on his machine. His machine is locked down with parental controls, he can't download things unless it's to the places that I've said that he could do, and I'm feeling totally confident about that," Allchin said. "That is quite a statement. I couldn't say that in Windows XP SP2."

Not only is that quite a statement, it's quite a bull$hit statement. Virtually all malware enters a system from users downloading habits. This has nothing to do with the operating system.

[Tortanick]

I think he was saying that the parentual controls are so good his son can't download viruii.

[Seth]

I think he was saying that the parentual controls are so good his son can't download viruii.

I guess this Microsoft co-president hasn't heard of XP's Limited Account:D.

[Terry Hanushek]

With Jim Allchins retirement from M$, I'm sure that he has a bright future .... as John Kerry's speech writer!

His initial statement neglected to qualify his claim that Vista did not need an AV giving a completely different (and incorrect) impression from what he allegedly. His subsequent clarifications make his observation a better statement for the Vista parental controls than a judgment on the the necessity of an AV. Very reminiscent of Kerry's 'botched joke'.

When I saw the original statement, I just imagined red lights going on at Symantec and McAfee. What better way to fan the paranoia at the leading AV developers when their relations with M$ are already strained over the release of Vista.

Terry