Microsoft enters the health care business
Your intrepid blogger draws some politically incorrect parallels between Microsoft's Security Essentials and the push toward universal health care
751 RecommendationsIs Microsoft's Security Essentials the new "universal health care" for Windows? I ask because every time I hear the company talk about its motivation for delivering MSE -- the millions of unprotected PCs being exploited by all manner of malware -- I can't help but draw comparisons to one or more Obama administration policy speeches.
[ For the latest security insights, read Roger Grimes' Security Adviser blog and Security Central newsletter. ]
Consider:
1. Universal health care is often described as a "single payer" system. In other words, the government pays for everything and you do your part by absorbing a hefty tax hike (assuming you pay any taxes to begin with -- many of the people who will benefit from universal health care don't).
Likewise, MSE is a single-payer system in that Microsoft is offering the tool for "free," though you and I will undoubtedly pay for it down the road when the true cost is rolled into future licensing fees and upgrades.
2. It offers a basic level of service. Universal health care isn't about delivering the best possible medicine to a majority of people; it's about delivering inadequate medical care to everyone, including the indigent. And, of course, those with the means to do so can always seek out the exceptional service of the old system through private doctors and clinics -- often in foreign countries (I hear India is a popular choice).
Likewise, MSE provides a basic level of protection. By all accounts, it gets the core functions right -- detecting and quarantining threats -- and even throws in some preventative medicine in the form of thrice-daily checks to the signature repository. And if you feel this level of care is inadequate, you can always shell out for one of the myriad third-party tools.
3. It's targeted at the neediest among us. The faces of the universal health care propaganda are typically the poor, often struggling single parents or recent immigrants (legal or otherwise) -- basically, the people clogging up your local emergency room on the weekends. The pitch is that many of these costly (to the taxpayer; see item 1 above) ER visits could have been prevented had they received regular care from a qualified medical professional.
White Paper
D2D Virtual Tape Library Replication Primer
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
White Paper
An Alternative to Virtualization for Datacenter Cost Savings
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
White Paper
Why Your Firewall, VPN, and IEEE 802.11i Aren't Enough to Protect Your Network
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
White Paper
Bringing the Edge to the Data Center
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Randall --
What you seem to forget, and where your analogy breaks down, is that there are already free antimalware and firewall and predictive security solutions out there. Microsoft is pitching a bad product into an already occupied sales space. Consider Avast, AVG Free, Zone Alarm Free, Comodo and Comodo CIS, AdAware, Spybot Search And Destroy, PC Tools Threatfire, Jettico Firewall, F-Secure Blacklight (a must for AVG Free users, as AVG stripped out anti-rootkit from their free product two versions ago), and a host of on line on-demand scanners, some of which actually remove what they report. Not to mention browser plug-ins for added security -- all free.
Unlike health insurance, there is already a well-developed community of free and low-cost security products out there. Microsoft is trying to reinvent the wheel, and they are coming up with a square wheel. There is no affordability crisis in PC security for home or small business users, if one does just a little research.
Please stick to topics on which a common end-user cannot run circles around you.
Sign up to receive InfoWorld Resource Alerts
