Security vendors are charging that Microsoft's pending anti-virus product and upgrades to its next-generation operating system, Windows Vista, won't be enough to guard against rising threats from viruses and criminal malware.

In June, Microsoft is set to release Windows OneCare Live, a product that combines anti-virus, anti-spyware, PC tuning and back-up capabilities. It will retail for $49.95 per year, a price that puts the product squarely in competition with a range of anti-virus software products.

Additionally, Microsoft says it has bolstered the security of its Windows Vista operating system, due for release later this year. Microsoft said the OS will have a two-way firewall, the ability to take away administrator control from users and Windows Defender, a free anti-spyware product.

But anti-virus vendors interviewed at the Cebit conference are looking with a cynical eye towards both Vista and OneCare, perhaps because the software giant's efforts in the latter area is encroaching on crowded territory.

Windows Vista will be more secure than Windows XP and XP Service Pack 2, said Eugene Kaspersky, head of anti-virus research for Kaspersky Lab. But it could have problems, he said. "Still, it is possible to develop different types of malicious code for Vista," Kaspersky said.

Kaspersky said he welcomed Microsoft to the anti-virus world but felt the company's entry would not hurt Kasperksy's strong enterprise customer base. Microsoft will be competing with companies such as Kaspersky, which has grown a very focused business on virus detection and fast reaction times to emerging threats, said Natalya Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky.

"This gives us an advantage which I don't believe such a big company like Microsoft could set up in a short period of time," she said. "I think after Microsoft appears on the market... they (malware writers) will switch their attention to specifically break Microsoft's security."

Risto Siilasmaa, CEO of F-Secure, a security company based in Helsinki, Finland, said he also welcomed Microsoft to the security field. Microsoft's strength, he said, is the ability to embed security into its products. But Siilasmaa said there is no guarantee if other security vendors disappear how Microsoft may change its pricing for security products. "Let the best product win," Siilasmaa said.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.

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