Microsoft also bent to demands from security vendors and the EU's antitrust agency that it change its Vista plans for Windows Security Center, the operating system's security dashboard. It will not entirely disable the dashboard, as it allowed third-party vendors to do with the same-named feature in Windows XP, but will let security rivals program their wares to eliminate alerts from Security Center that duplicate ones issued by the vendor's own console.
Even so, Symantec remained skeptical. "Microsoft has the interface to turn off the Security Center," said Paden. "They've sat on it. Why haven't they provided that already? That makes us wonder do they, or do they not, have APIs for PatchGuard?"
Microsoft made the two moves, it said Friday, after the EU's Competition Commission -- which is lead by Dutchwoman Neelie Kroes -- "advised Microsoft that it should make additional changes in three remaining areas of the product," said a Microsoft spokesperson. "The company agreed to make each of these changes."
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