Microsoft Responds to Google Dumping Windows: Our OS Is Secure

After recent rumors that Google is internally abandoning Windows and switching to Linux because of security concerns, Microsoft fires back at critics, claiming it’s doing more than its competitors when it comes to security.

“When it comes to security, even hackers admit we’re doing a better job making our products more secure than anyone else. And it’s not just the hackers; third party influentials and industry leaders like Cisco tell us regularly that our focus and investment continues to surpass others,” Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc says in a blog post.

He also lists some facts to support his claim, citing several security improvements in Windows (Windows) 7, like Parental Controls, Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), BitLocker disc encryption and an enhanced Windows Firewall. Furthermore, Microsoft ships software and security updates “as soon as possible through Windows Update and Microsoft Update to keep our customers safe,” he says.

LeBlanc is, however, careful not to say (at least not outright) that Windows 7 is the most secure OS out there. The reason is simple: Microsoft’s Windows operating systems have historically had far more security-related issues than, say, Mac OS.

It all boils down to the old question: Are hackers and malware writers targeting Windows because it’s not secure enough, or because it’s the biggest target out there? It’s a very tough question to answer, and while Microsoft’s attitude towards security has improved tremendously in recent years, critics will continue to use this argument against it. Who would have thought that having a 91% share of the OS market has its downsides?

Bing Cashback Is No More

After two years and multiple iterations, Bing Cashback is being shut down due to a lack of adoption.

Cashback first launched in May 2008 as Live Search CashBack. The program was simple: search for deals using Microsoft’s search engine. Buy products from search results with the coin icon and you received a bit of cash back from your purchase. It gained some traction after it launched, enough that Microsoft brought the program to Bing.

However, Cashback hasn’t picked up in popularity like Microsoft hoped. In a blog post earlier today, the company announced that it is nixing the program:

“In lots of ways, this was a great feature – we had over a thousand merchant partners delivering great offers to customers and seeing great ROI on their campaigns, and we were taking some of the advertising revenue and giving it back to customers. But after a couple of years of trying, we did not see the broad adoption that we had hoped for.

So we are taking all the learning from the effort and putting it into some new programs for you and our advertisers designed to provide amazing shopping experiences for consumers and great opportunities for advertisers. ”



Bing Cashback will remain operational until July 30th. After that, the program will be shut down, although Cashback users will have a full year to redeem their rewards.

The idea was solid one — offer incentives for searchers to buy through Bing’s (Bing) partners — but it just never picked up steam. As some have pointed out, things could have been different if Microsoft had tried something like group buying, which has become a multi-billion-dollar trend.

We barely knew you, Bing Cashback.