c|net reported yesterday on our new name for our anti-spyware efforts. My buddy Kevin reported as well on his blog.

While I don’t want to be negative (I think the product kicks ass), I have never understood how Microsoft comes up with the names for our products. With a name like “Windows Defender”, it damn sure better defend my Windows install, and my Office install, and all my 3rd party apps, and anything else on my PC or it doesn’t do what it’s name implies. That is also the perception I think the public will have – even though the name is WINDOWS defender, the public will see it as MY-ENTIRE-COMPUTER Defender.

To be clear – I love the product but I don’t like the name. I have been using the Anti-Spyware beta (formerly Giant Anti-Spyware) since just after the acquisition. It is a solid product and will benefit millions of users in it’s final form. But that name basically states, “I am a product that will defend (read this as ‘protect’) your system from harm”. If there is ever an issue with this app and some damage is done, the press (read this as ‘bloggers’) will have a hey day with us based on the name alone.

But, even though I don’t like the name, I don’t there will be a major (bad) event as a result of a breakdown in Windows Defender. There will be growing pains, there will be some issues, but the product rocks. I think we have raised the bar for the bad guys. They will of course start taking jumps at that bar and someone will clear it eventually. Then the collective “we” of good guys across the industry will roll out some new protection app/mechanism and the race starts again.

If you haven’t loaded up the Anti-Spyware Beta/Windows Defender, go check it out. I run it side-by-side with SpyBot Search and Destroy and between the two of them my system (heavily used all over the web) has been spyware free since doing so months and months and months ago.

 

Cheers!