By Claire Ayles
Microsoft admitting there are flaws in its software isn't really a big deal anymore. In fact, the company has been praised in the last year or two for its glasnost PR approach - being open about the problems, rather than trying to hide them. Because let's face it, we all use Microsoft software so we all know it isn't perfect.
However, one has to feel for the poor PR charged with convincing the world that Microsoft is a serious and dependable security player, when the people actually responsible for developing its flagship consumer security product – the amusingly named OneCare - are all too eager to point out its failings.
For example, at this month's German techfest, CeBIT, no lesser figure than Microsoft's European security product manager confessed that its security software has "bits and pieces missing". And just in case anyone was in doubt about this, a blogger from the anti-malware engineering team confirmed that detection rates need to "gradually and steadily increase until they are on par with the other majors in this arena".
It's hard to work out where exactly these comments fit into Microsoft's strategy to achieve worldwide domination of the consumer security market.
However, what's interesting here is the play-off between a 21st century corporation's desire to be touchy-feely - spearheaded by the growth of company blogs and the like - and the need to actually grow market share. Personally, I'm surprised that, given Microsoft's poor reputation for security and the vast investment it's made into cracking this market, OneCare has been fumbled so badly by the Redmond spin machine.
Of course, lying that your product works when it doesn't would also be a very bad thing - but that's no reason for Microsoft to shout from the rooftops that its product has shortcomings…
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