Symantec takes second pop at Vista security

IN ORDER to pump up its credentials as a leader in the PC security industry, Symantec has issued a second report on Vista. This time Symantec investigated a security feature called User Account Control (UAC).

The whole point about UAC is that it's supposed to be a really safe mode to run the PC in under Vista. Symantec claims, however, that you can set up a hacking site and plant a malicious file onto the PC's hard disk via ActiveX controls.

Eventually it should be possible to take over the running of the entire PC. The Beast of Redmond's response to this report has been cool.

"Highlighting issues in early builds of Windows Vista does not accurately represent the quality and depth of the final functionality of User Account Control," a Microsoft spokesperson claimed.

It all forms part of an escalating battle between Symantec and Microsoft over the lucrative PC security market into which the Beast is attempting to muscle.

The INQ wonders, however, who'd be daft enough to buy a product from the Beast which claims to close the security holes in its own product - Vista?

Next up from Symantec, however, is a report looking at the Vista kernel which should be published soon on Symantec's DeepSight security intelligence service. µ

See also
Vista has security flaws

L'INQ
Deep Sight