Microsoft anti-spyware product handed out free.
After a lengthy beta period,
Microsoft
‘s free anti-spyware product, renamed
Windows Defender
halfway through its beta cycle, has been given its official release. Originally simply entitled ‘
Windows AntiSpyware
‘, the product has been available for free trial as a beta since January 2005, and had its image revamped in November last year.
Defender
is now fully available as a free download, with two free support incidents included in the package. The product claims to find spyware ‘quickly and easily’, and to be able to block or remove the bad stuff with ‘minimal interruption’ to normal system operation. It only supports
Windows XP SP2
and
Windows Server 2003 SP1
, and will not work on older or unpatched systems.
The anti-spyware functionality is also integrated into
Microsoft
‘s paid-for security product
Windows Live OneCare
, and is planned to be included in the forthcoming
Windows Vista
.
The main
Windows Defender
site is
here
.
Posted on 25 October 2006 by
Virus Bulletin
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