Microsoft completes purchase of Klez
Posted by Michael on Saturday January 25, 2003 @02:45AM
from the viral-marketing dept.
Michael writes: Microsoft announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Klez LLC, maker of the Win32.Klez.H virus and several variants. Microsoft plans to use these newly-acquired technologies to enhance the security of Windows systems.
“Klez leveraged the peer-to-peer power of Outlook to achieve #1 status in 2002, and we’re proud to make it part of the Microsoft team,” said Bill Gates in a press conference. “We want to make it clear that the days of Klez causing problems on the net are over, because Klez is no longer a virus. It is now a proactive component of our Trustworthy Computing Initiative.”
Gates described how the company will use Klez technology to replace the current Windows Update feature with a more “prescriptive” approach. “We’ve found that users just don’t want to worry about security fixes. Klez will use ‘push’ technology to bring you the fixes whether you ask for them or not.” Gates also announced that a Linux version of Klez will be available next month as part of their Linux Software Initiative.