Microsoft's partners are continuing to cry foul over the decision to lock down the Windows Vista kernel with a feature called PatchGuard, claiming an announcement about sharing security APIs is simply a "red herring" to fool the press.
The contentious issue revolves around the ability of security vendors to write applications that essentially "patch" the Windows kernel to protect it from viruses and other malware. With PatchGuard, Vista attempts to do this on its own, in turn thwarting both protectors and attackers.
While partners such as Symantec, McAfee and Sunbelt Software understand the intentions of PatchGuard, they allege that Microsoft is actually making the operating system less secure by locking out third parties. These companies say that patching the kernel is of critical importance to security software, especially when new threats surface.
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