OneCare needs some nursing, Microsoft blogger says

A Microsoft honcho admitting that a product isn’t as good as its rivals? Blimey.

Jimmy Kuo over at the Security Research & Response team has posted a refreshingly straightforward blog, in which he acknowledges that the antivirus code in OneCare needs work.

Kuo, who moved to Microsoft in the footsteps of fellow former McAfee salary-earner Vincent Gullotto, promises to improve on the dismal performance of OneCare’s anti-virus tool in tests, saying “recent detection numbers were not stellar”.

“You will see our results gradually and steadily increase until they are on par with the other majors in this arena,” he says, after outlining what steps the anti-malware team is taking to tackle the problem.

It’s a breath of fresh air to get such acknowledgement that the software isn’t up to scratch—and ultimately, a savvy one, when it comes to customers. Most buyers would rather know exactly what’s going on when glitches arise, and honesty builds trust. There are some pretty feisty incumbents in antivirus, and even a company like Microsoft can’t afford to overlook any advantage it can get.

As Kuo says, “We know that we are in a service industry”. Amen to that.