BetaNews has slapped the headline Allchin Suggests Vista Won’t Need Antivirus on an interview with Microsoft’s Jim Allchin, in which he describes new security features in the OS. Hunh? Well, read what he says:
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,” he added. “That is quite a statement. I couldn’t say that in Windows XP SP2.”
Sure. If you can’t load anything on a computer, then the chances of a viral infection are dramatically reduced. Moreover, with the new Address Space Layout Randomization feature Allchin also talks about in the interview, they’ve made it even tougher for a pathogen to infect your machine.
But run without AV? Right. Let’s get rid of seatbelts in cars while we’re at it. After all, airbags are now mandatory equipment.
Alec Saunders is the Vice President of Developer Relations for BlackBerry make Research in Motion. This is his personal blog, with his personal viewpoints. Prior to this Alec was the CEO and co-founder of Calliflower — the easiest way to hold a meeting, online, on a conference call, or on the go. A double-decade veteran of product management and marketing, he spent nine years at Microsoft where he helped launch Windows 95, the first two versions of Internet Explorer, the Universal Plug and Play initiative, the push into home markets, opt-in email marketing and what might well go down in history as the very first direct email list ever.
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I run my Mac without virus protection, and I run my Linux machines without virus protection. I am willing to accept the possibility, as remote as it is, and as much as it contradicts all previous experience, that the new architecture of Vista renders all previous viruses inoperable.
Of course, having said that, it seems monumentally unlikely, as that would require making such significant changes that all existing Windows software would no longer run either, and that seems … ahem … somewhat problematic.
But, what do I know. I'm not a kernel programmer.
Do you do all your own writing? Or do you outsource some of it? I'm looking for some similar content for my blog! These are great posts!
It's all me, all the time.
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