Stepping up its fight against computer threats at the risk of alienating security businesses, Microsoft announced Tuesday it will give away a program to combat privacy-stealing and PC-clogging spyware and other virtual pests.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates also unveiled plans to release antivirus tools for consumers and make a major security upgrade to its Internet Explorer Web browser. At the same time, he showed off new software for businesses to combat security threats.

The moves are part of a wide-ranging effort by the world's largest software maker to improve the security and reliability of its Windows operating system and other programs, which have become favorite targets of hackers, virus writers and other malware creators.

Gates said Internet Explorer 7.0, with new anti-spyware features, will be released for preliminary testing this summer.

The move comes three years after Microsoft, the world's biggest software company, launched a major initiative to improve the reliability and security of its software, which runs on about 90 percent of all personal computers.

jeje seems that billy is getting afraid of the whole community of the open source specially to the firefox and mozilla community. I havent seen an open sorce antispyware but i am pretty sure one (if there is not yet) will be submitted in sourceforge as one of the main leaders in taking open source to the next level.

Microsoft's antispayware doesnt have unique features, there are betters and well the only problem Microsoft must solve is this big and ugly problem of adwares and spywares, because of the use of his OS we should be given highly protected software and not patches as they have been doing, i hate when they say "ho! IE has some security holes, but if you download this software that slows down to your computer we ensure that you wont have any problems at least for some days till we release another patch" and they just keep saying about security and then you realize that you should have a bunch of programs to in order have a "real" protection.

What i think Billy should do is to contract these guys from Mozilla working for him and Firefox takes the place of IE, sounds crazy but it is a little beter than having firewalls, antispywares, antiviruses and so on when all can be solved with a fully preotected browser.

Oh yay, another chance to jump on the 'Microsoft Sucks LOL' bandwagon.

Notice how old this thread is? You should probably try and find more recently active threads to participate in. Anyway, I have never used Microsoft's anti-spyware solution(s?), so I can't really comment on it with any authority - but I would imagine that since they created Windows, they would know more about the operating system than any other software development company, and therefore could target areas of weakness which other developers do not yet know about.

And the man's name is not 'Billy'. I'm not a huge fan of Microsoft or their policies either, but it irritates me when people thinks it makes them special to throw petty insults at the company or the co-founder.

There are so many better programs other than those provided by microsoft. Also many people use firefox and the such because it is so much better. I personally only use one microsft program and that is windows and even that gives me problems, imagine a anti-spyware program, it most probably helps spyware get in.

Someone has to be really crazy to trust in a Microsoft product to deal with spyware. To me it seems like an april´s fool joke but unfortunately I am used to the Bill Gates´special sense of humor. Oh yeah... I think I´ll try it... in my worst enemy´s computer.

Maybe it will turn good, but don't know how much. Think of it... Windows has so much of lacking in security... and now Anti-Spyware comes from it? Maybe a joke, but maybe a new step to perfection. Who knowS?

Personally I think they are wasting their time, there are pleanty of other programs on the web that probably do a better job, I think microsoft should concentrate more on making their operating systems better and more stable.

I dont even use anti virus software or firewalls as I think there is no point, I havent being using them for a while now as they just get in the way and my system is fine

you might have been plain lucky...
Virus/Spams cause a terror! I have a nice firewall and anitvirus setup at my home.

Microsoft...anti-spam? I know what software will be the latest target of viruses...

mhh was it not that microsoft was one big spyware os and that you needed a program to remove all inbuild spyware tools?

Sprnknwn: i realy lought at your post
but its true... everything is like that.
I would rater install some trojan horse and known that im vulnerable then using that M$ thingie and dont know
you get the point.

btw its free... lol they are not stupid, who will use such program and pay for it.