SEATTLE (Reuters) - As Microsoft Corp. prepares to ship new software to protect its Windows operating system, a top target for malicious programers and hackers, the world's largest software maker also faces another threat -- the scrutiny of antitrust regulators fearing the monopolist could choke off competition. If Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft ties its new anti-virus software, expected out later this year, too closely to Windows or prices it steeply below anti-virus software offered by vendors such as McAfee Inc. (MFE.N) and Symantec Corp. (SYMC.O), antitrust regulators could turn their attention toward the company again.þþ``Aggressive entry into the established anti-virus market, especially to the extent Microsoft bundles its solution into the operating system, is almost certain to draw regulatory scrutiny, especially in the EU (European Union),'' Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Charles Di Bona said in a recent note to clients.þþMicrosoft is facing pressure to deliver better ways to protect its software products, three years and three acquisitions after promising to boost the security of its software in a companywide memo by Chairman Bill Gates.þþAt the RSA computer security conference in San Francisco this week, Gates announced that Microsoft's anti-spyware software, which protects computers against programs that snoop on a user's activities and record keystrokes, will be offered for free download after the current trial period ends.þþ``It's a challenging area, and new threats seem to emerge all the time,'' Gates said in his speech, ``but I'm optimistic that ... we will be able to mitigate the security problems.'' þþUNDER PRESSUREþþMicrosoft has indicated it will charge users for its anti-virus software, although the company hasn't made clear whether users would pay a regular fee or pay once upfront.þþShares in Symantec have lost a third of their value from highs seen late last year, while McAfee's stock is down by a quarter.þþMicrosoft's massive effort in the latter half of the 1990s to build its own Web browser and displace Netscape's Navigator sparked the U.S. government's landmark antitrust lawsuit against the company. The Justice Department found that Microsoft had abused its dominant position in the operating system market and reached final settlement with the company in 2002.þþ``The antitrust lawsuit has absolutely changed Microsoft's behavior,'' said Joe Wilcox, analyst at Jupiter Media.þþJohn Thompson, chief executive of Symantec, applauded Microsoft's steps at the security conference and said that they ``are very necessary, but, in my opinion, not sufficient for large enterprises.''þþThompson said the real battleground for security software and services is in the corporate systems market, where technology managers have to grapple with multiple technologies and need help from companies like Symantec that have specialized expertise in computer security.þþWilcox argued that while Microsoft may avoid putting too much pressure on security companies in the short term, it will be very hard for all but the largest companies to remain competitive in the longer term.þþ``I believe eventually there will be fewer security software companies,'' Wilcox said.þþ
Source: NY Times
