Microsoft has taken the first step toward addressing complaints made by security vendors Symantec Corp. and McAfee Inc., which had feared that the software giant"s upcoming Vista operating system would harm their customers. On Monday, Microsoft released API (application programming interface) code that will allow security vendors to disable the Security Center management console that will ship with Vista. Symantec and McAfee had complained that without the ability to disable this software, Vista users who had purchased their products would receive duplicate and confusing security messages.
The APIs are being released via several of Microsoft"s security partner programs, including the SecureIT Alliance and the Microsoft Security Response Alliance, said Adrien Robinson, a director with Microsoft"s Security Technology Unit.