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MICHAEL J. MILLER
An Open Letter
to Security Vendors
To: John Thompson, CEO, Symantec
George Samenuk, CEO, McAfee
Eva Chen, CEO, Trend Micro
Laura Yecies, General Manager, Zone Labs
McAfee Internet Security’s antivirus and firewall
modules have worked well for me, but its antispam
module is very slow and inadequate. In addition, the
privacy control is very annoying, and it doesn’t offer
parental filtering.
Trend Micro has all the right tools in the box, but
its antispyware component is a major disappointment.
One of my children downloaded a Tetris game that
came with spyware, and I spent days removing it.
In my testing, ZoneAlarm Security Suite has been
the most stable, with good antivirus and antispam
modules in addition to its best-in-class firewall, but
its antispyware is weak. And many of the people I talk
ALL OF YOU HAVE REASON TO
worry about the prospect of
Microsoft entering the security
market this summer with a
new service called OneCare.
But you’re focused on the
wrong problem. Instead of
focusing on Microsoft, you need
to take a good hard look at the effectiveness of your
own wares. I’ve talked with a lot of computer users
lately, and the conclusion is inescapable: Your products
just aren’t good enough.
Some of your products don’t do a complete job;
others are packaged in ways that customers don’t understand;
parts of some software don’t work properly,
and other programs are so big that they cause the very
problems customers want to avoid.
It starts with marketing. Many of you promote
single-solution products—typically your antivirus
software—as if they provided enough protection. So
people install Norton Antivirus or McAfee VirusScan,
or get computers with these products preinstalled, and
they think they’re protected. Yet we all know that’s not
true. Most of the threats these days are blended, so
people need multiple defenses: antivirus, a firewall,
spyware protection, and an antispam program.
True, each one of you now offers suites that cover all
the bases. But you haven’t clearly told your customers
that the standalone solutions aren’t enough protection.
Even for the most technical of us, running separate programs
can lead to conflicts and confusion. And most
users don’t want the hassle of multiple interfaces.
I’ve installed each of your products on at least one
of my systems and have had problems with every one
of them. Norton Internet Security is bloated and occasionally
messes up my machine. When I upgraded
it this year, my Web browsers stopped working, and I
spent two hours on an Internet chat to get the Registry
patch to fix it. The software still sometimes interferes
with my Internet access for no apparent reason. make everyone a better computer user.
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You haven’t clearly told your customers that
the standalone solutions aren’t enough.
with who have tried ZoneAlarm are confused by its
messages. The same goes for Computer Associates’
eTrust, which also includes the ZoneAlarm firewall.
Still, each of you continues to believe you’ll be able
to compete against OneCare because you offer better
software. So far we haven’t been completely thrilled
with the beta versions of OneCare (particularly its antispyware),
but Microsoft will continue to improve it.
And though many people will avoid a Microsoft add-in
because they want an outside vendor, I know others
who just trust Microsoft because it makes Windows.
OneCare changes the model to a pure subscription
service, something you all like. But you need to do
more. All of you have been more active than Micro soft
in getting fixes out and alerting customers to security
threats. This needs to continue. But you also have to
build products that are easier to use, by making their
messages and help systems clearer and by making your
products work better with the software most people
run. And you need to make them easier to keep up to
date, perhaps requiring fewer reboots.
Between now and when Vista ships in early 2007,
I hope and expect that you’ll focus on improving your
products so they’re more stable, functional, easier to
upgrade, and simpler to run. Not only is that the best
way to fend off Microsoft, but it’s also the best way to
MORE ON THE WEB
Read Michael J.
Miller’s insights daily
on his blog, at
blog.pcmag.com/miller.
MAY 9, 2006 PC MAGAZINE 55