On May 23, CA became the first provider of free antivirus software for the Windows Vista Beta 2 operating system, which is being released by Microsoft.
This software is CA’s eTrust EZ antivirus, allowing users to download a trial version for one year. The software will receive regular updates at no cost and technical support through the website:
http://www.my-etrust.com/Microsoft/vista/default.aspx
Normally, CA charges $29.99 per year for a security product; however, this time they are offering the antivirus version for Vista for free, viewing the testing phase with the Vista Beta version as an opportunity to reach approximately 2 million potential customers who will be using Microsoft’s new generation of Windows.
Currently, there are about 500,000 people testing Windows Vista, but Microsoft hopes this number will increase in the coming weeks as the company widely announces this version of Windows.
At present, there are not many virus updates from CA specifically for Vista, but Vista can still prevent spyware and adware attacks, as well as threats to the most popular operating systems.
Last August, several viruses were created to infect the Monad scripting shell in Windows Vista; however, Microsoft recently announced that it would not use Monad in the first version of Vista, which is now scheduled for 2007.
According to Ribaudo-Muller, the product development director at CA, because Microsoft has rewritten the security mechanisms in Vista, CA’s new product requires a substantial number of software engineers for further development. It is known that Vista requires administrative rights to run computer protection software, such as antivirus programs.
KhanhDH
