Microsoft on Wednesday warned developers at its WinHEC conference that changes continue to be made in the security technology component it plans for next-generation PCs. Responding to reports that it had decided to scrap plans for a security-focused architecture for Longhorn, its next version of Windows, the software giant stressed that it still aims to get major features into the OS.

"I can't speak to what (the features in) Longhorn will be," Mario Juarez, a product manager for Microsoft's Security Business and Technology Unit, told CNET News.com via phone on Wednesday. "I can tell you that...we are definitely aiming to have these features in the Longhorn time frame." Longhorn is set for release in the first half of 2006. Working with hardware makers such as IBM and Intel, Microsoft aims to develop next-generation hardware and software that can better protect data from attackers, viruses and digital pirates. The architecture, referred to as trusted PC, generally promises to do four things: secure input from devices such as the keyboard, protect application data from modification, encrypt storage and allow for attestation, which lets organizations that "own" content on a person's computer ascertain whether the data or software has been modified.