Locking Windows For Safety
Office computers running the latest Windows operating systems could get a new degree of protection against snoops and intruders from a partnership announced Tuesday by Microsoft Corp. and RSA Security Inc.
Instead of only making users type in passwords to log on to a computer, users of the RSA "token" system also enter a random number that appears on their so-called SecureID, a keychain fob or plastic card they carry with them.
The number changes every minute, generated by an algorithm that also resides on a server inside a company's computing center.
The new agreement, announced at RSA's annual security conference in San Francisco, would protect Windows-based computers with the token scheme, whether they are portable or attached to a corporate network.
Currently, signing onto Windows requires no more than typing a user name and password.
RSA's chief executive, Art Coviello, said the system offers a smart alternative because intruders can currently, with relative ease, steal or figure out passwords.
Also, the companies noted that because the RSA system logs each attempt someone makes to use a computer or a corporate network, it can help companies comply with new government regulations surrounding the privacy of health care records and other personal data.
Bedford, Mass.-based RSA, which says it serves 14,000 companies, said it expects the Windows-locking tokens to become available in the third quarter.
The tokens would work only on personal computers running Windows 2000 or Windows XP or on servers running Windows Server 2003.
In other news, European regulators may give Microsoft some leeway as they wrap up an antitrust investigation against the software giant.
Wary of provoking a copyright battle, they may leave it to the company to work out how to meet demands that it release more programming code.
A source close to the case says the regulators have already prepared a draft decision that finds Microsoft violated European Union competition law on two counts. First, by bundling its media player into its Windows operating system, and by failing to provide competitors with enough data so their products work as well with Windows as Microsoft's own.
Just yesterday, EU Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said that he had set a date for deciding the long-running case but that a settlement was still possible.
Monti is expected to fine Microsoft for past abuses and is considering requiring it to either sell Windows in the EU without a media player or include products made by rivals.