Microsoft rebrands anti-spyware tool

Windows AntiSpyware is dead; long live Windows Defender!

 
 
Microsoft is giving Windows AntiSpyware a makeover.

The tool, designed to protect PCs against hidden software, has been renamed "Windows Defender" and
is getting a new look as well as capabilities to detect rootkits, keystroke loggers and other
threats. The news of the revamp came in a posting to a new Microsoft corporate blog dealing with
malicious software.

The updated application will be part of Vista, the successor to Windows XP that is expected to
launch by the end of next year.

Microsoft will also release Windows Defender for XP users. It will be released as an update to the
current edition of Windows AntiSpyware, which has been available in a beta version since January.

The changes were expected. In October, Microsoft said that the tool would undergo significant
changes before Windows Vista ships. The expanded detection and removal capabilities were also in
the cards.

The program is designed to protect PCs against spyware, which is software that is installed on a
system to watch the user's activity without his or her knowledge. The addition of rootkit
protection means Windows Defender can detect and remove rootkits, hacker tools designed to go
undetected by security software. Rootkits are generally used by hackers to lock down control of a
computer after an initial attack.

Microsoft has changed how it delivers signature updates for the anti-spyware application. The
signatures, used to pinpoint which software is malicious, are now distributed through Windows
Update, instead through of a separate tool particular to the program.

Microsoft said Windows Defender isn't a finished product. Vista testers are likely to be the first
to get their hands on the updated tool, a company spokesperson said Monday. "We expect Windows
Defender to appear in the next Windows Vista Community Technology Preview release," expected by
the end of 2005, the representative said.

It is unclear when Windows Defender will be available to Windows XP users. Microsoft had planned
to deliver a Beta 2 version of Windows AntiSpyware by the end of the year. That release is
expected to be the debut of Windows Defender for Windows XP, but the delivery date might change,
the Microsoft spokesperson said.

"The timing for Beta 2 has not been determined. The internal goal for us is 31 December, but that
is flexible," the representative said.