Symantec has accused Microsoft of withholding key information about its upcoming Vista operating system in an attempt to gain an advantage in the security market. The security specialist said this week that Microsoft is refusing to hand over the application programmable interfaces (APIs) for Windows Defender, the spyware product that will be included in Windows Vista. Without the APIs, Symantec contends that it"s unable to ensure that its own security products are compatible with the update.
"Microsoft is affirmatively introducing bottlenecks to funnel customers to their products," said John Brigden, Symantec senior vice president for Europe. "It"s all about control and dominance. They are deliberately delaying giving us the APIs." Microsoft responded to Symantec"s concerns on Wednesday, and said it had made the APIs for Defender available earlier this week.