MS mulls charging for anti-spyware app
Microsoft is leaving its options open on charging for full versions of anti-spyware and virus disinfection tools. Speaking in London yesterday, Detlef Eckert, chief security adviser for Microsoft EMEA, revealed there will be a second beta of Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware application. However, the company remains unsure how the product will evolve from then on. "It could evolve into a consumer or enterprise product. There could be a basic and plus version," he said.
The first beta of Windows AntiSpyware is free of charge, as is recently-released Microsoft Windows malicious software removal tool. Will users be prepared to pay extra for tools from Microsoft to clean up the malware mess that is almost the exclusive preserve of the Windows desktop? Eckert thinks that they might - although he emphasised that Microsoft has made no firm decision. "Users value investment and there is a willingness to pay for it," he said.
