Gates: Microsoft to offer anti-spyware
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Gates said Microsoft will offer software to detect malicious applications and that the company will keep it up-to-date on an ongoing basis. He did not say when the software would be available or whether Microsoft would charge for it.
Although progress is being made against spam andviruses, Gates said the adware and malware problem isgetting worse.
"This malware thing is so bad," he said in a speechat the Computer History Museum here. "Now that's theone that has us really needing to jump in."
It's also a problem that has affected Gates personally. He said his home PCs have had malware, although he has personally never been affected by a virus.
"I have had malware, (adware), that crap" on some homemachines, he said.
Gates' comments came at the end of a
Microsoft has been testing a for-fee antivirus product, though the company has not announced details of how it will offer it. The company purchased technology from Romanian antivirus firm GeCad in 2003.
A Microsoft representative did not immediately havefurther details on the company's plans.
Another looming problem, Gates said, is the password.
"People hate changing their password," Gates said."They pick very guessable passwords."
The industry will have to move to smart cards or somekind of biometric recognition for authentication.
"It will take five or six years," he said. "There's nodoubt that has to come."
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