Microsoft Renames Beta AntiSpyware Pack "Defender"

Microsoft has renamed its still-in-beta Windows AntiSpyware as "Microsoft Defender," a company official disclosed Friday, who also said that new spyware definitions would be pushed to users via Windows Update when the product goes final.

The new name, said Jason Garms, the group program manager for Microsoft's anti-malware team, "is about what Windows will do for customers, defending them from spyware and other unwanted software." Garms announced the new brand name on the team's blog.

"We’ve always said we will provide visibility and control, as well as protection, detection and removal from other potentially unwanted software, including rootkits, keystroke loggers and more," added Garms.

New anti-spyware signatures will be delivered using Windows Update, Microsoft's one-stop update service for individuals and small businesses, and pushed to enterprises using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), he said.

Defender will be part and parcel of Windows Vista, the next operating system from the Redmond, Wash.-based developer, and offered as a free add-on to Windows XP.