What to Expect with Vista: Anti-Spyware
Microsoft is including an anti-spyware tool known as Windows Defender in Vista. The tool is designed to detect potentially unwanted programs by monitoring several different system characteristics, including IE configurations and downloads, browser helper objects, auto-start programs, as well as application registration and execution. Windows Defender also provides an option for sending information to Microsoft about potentially unwanted programs. Dubbed, SpyNet, participation is optional.
While there will be concerns about privacy, there is something to be said for the ability to collect data on the distribution and types of spyware that is on the Internet. It is difficult to get reliable statistics on malware and spyware infections. Surveys such as the annual CSI/FBI security surveys provide some information but the scope is limited and the results are so high level that they provide little more than trending information.
I for one would like more concrete data on malware but I can't see how to get it without crossing some privacy lines. This looks like yet another area where we need to find some middle ground.
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