Microsoft shares draft of Vista security hooks
Microsoft has released a first draft of programming interfaces meant to help security firms create products that work with kernel protection features in Windows Vista.
The new application programming interfaces, or APIs, will let software makers extend the functionality of the Windows kernel in 64-bit versions of Vista, Microsoft said on its Web site Tuesday. Security companies, including market leaders Symantec and McAfee, had complained that Microsoft locked them out of the kernel, a core part of Windows.
Delivery of the APIs comes just over two months after Microsoft agreed to provide them. Microsoft long maintained that a complete lock on the kernel would provide the best operating-system security and stability, but made concessions in response to antitrust concerns raised by officials in Europe and Korea.
