* Anti-virus tools should still be your front-line defense
Last week on “Patch Tuesday” Microsoft also released a malware removal tool based on products it acquired in the purchase of Romanian anti-virus company GeCAD. It’s built on three separate tools that Redmond released last year.
As with everything Microsoft does, though, the release of the removal tool has generated some controversy.
Predictably, some of the anti-Microsoft crowd has weighed in decrying the need for the tool. “It’s all Microsoft’s fault,” is their cry, blaming the company for the malware that plagues all computers. They lambaste Bill Gates and company for not doing more, sooner.
But there has also been a few blaring press releases from traditional anti-virus companies, and that seems rather strange to me. The gist of their remarks is that the new tool isn’t a replacement for anti-virus protection (Microsoft didn’t claim it was) and anyway, it’s only updated once a month (on Patch Tuesday, of course) rather than the sometimes daily updates that come forth from McAfee, Symantec and other anti-virus vendors.
Microsoft took great pains to reassure anti-virus vendors that this new tool was not competition for their virus scanning products. “The Microsoft Windows malicious software removal tool is designed to augment traditional anti-virus solutions,” said Mike Nash, vice president of Microsoft’s Security Business and Technology Unit. It is not intended as a replacement.
This isn’t a front line utility, it’s a backup. You should continue to use your traditional scanning tools, which do an excellent job of protecting your network and its systems. But there are times when you get infected, anyway. Use your anti-virus software to find and identify the problem and do the initial cleanup. If it’s one of the bits of malware that Microsoft’s tool can eradicate, then run that tool also. You can never be too rich, too good looking, or have too much protection.
