general vs onlinecommunity

  • Thread starter Thread starter DanR
  • Start date Start date
D

DanR

Curious about the intended difference between the "general" and
"onlinecommunity" groups here.
 
Intent would require an authoritative reply from Microsoft News.
I don't think intentions count. General is the lively one.
 
This is a peer group, not much authority around. My guess was that this
relates to the aspects of the product that involve the Spynet reporting
system and "community" around that feature. I've heard from some folks who
knew the Giant product well that this was one of the aspects of the product
they valued most.
 
I'd recommend it, but then I enable all that stuff (or most of it) as a
matter of course.) I refuse to install the monster app that Verizon
provides to give them feedback on how my connection is working, but I'm
willing to check off a box on code I'm downloading and running for my own
purposes.

OTOH, at this point it seems a one-way street. The data is getting used and
compiled, but there's no interface to it. Apparently there was pretty
useful information posted in Giant's time, and I hope those resources will
be visible again.
 
I think that the reporting feature to spynet is the heart of the system. It
is what sets it apart from other removal software. This allows the vendor
to see what is being removed, quarantined and ignored. It allows them to
see something removed and perhaps it is one of those strains that come back
on each reboot. They can get a handle on those strains much faster and get
new signature updates quicker. If that wasn't enough, it is an aid to the
vendor in providing support for those in the community having problems
getting spyware cleaned from their PC. The vendor does not have to provide
personal telephone support. Email will work just fine when the support side
has a scan submitted online and can see what is going on. I personally
think it is a win / win situation. It also adds to the Spynet website which
I hope returns soon.
 
In the security 360 webcast:

http://www.microsoft.com/seminar/events/series/mikenash.mspx

one of the points made about why Giant's technology was chosen by Microsoft,
was the ability to rapidly change to counter a new or mutated threat
(paraphrasing.) Part of that ability comes from this reporting
mechanism--from the loop of communication with the customer.

This has already had good results for Microsoft in terms of the various
crash report mechanisms they are using for feedback on Windows issues.

There's more to this than just checking off that box, but that's an
important part.
 
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