Microsoft Morro, FUD, and Coming Late to the Party

Today, over on his column at the ZDNet website, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes speaks of an outcry from some about the upcoming release of Morro, codename for the (ostensibly) free antivirus product, taking the place of Windows OneCare.

He calls this FUD, indicating that the FUD vector begins with the public. Here I think he is very late to the party, for as those of us who know the long history of FUD, it was originated, and perfected, by Microsoft.

What we have in the examples he cites are the outcries of those with natural reticence to be bothering to download, or put to use, something that Microsoft is putting out to cover up the holes in its own software. AKH believes that the complaints come from users that don’t get the fact that the offered security is free; what he doesn’t see is the biggest picture, that allowing Microsoft to protect their system is equivalent to giving George Bush another crack at the presidency, with the logic that, since he screwed things up so badly, he knows all the nuances of how to repair the damage.

This simply doesn’t pass the Homer Simpson ‘Doh!’ test, in either case.

Allowing Microsoft to try to protect one’s  system is letting the bad guys get another crack, and saying that, because George will work this time for free, it is a bargain.

This kind of thinking doesn’t benefit anyone, and makes the sheeple who trust this upcoming program that much more vulnerable, thinking that they have a degree of protection. It also means that Microsoft gets another swipe at competitors, and means less people will use the more established products, incorrectly thinking that Microsoft has more knowledge of the system.

§

○