Security provider Trend Micro yesterday announced a brace of Microsoft-based strategies, rolling out improvements for its combo offering on Vista and proclaiming that it will handle antivirus for Hotmail/Live webmail services for a further year.

Users running Trend Micro Internet Security on Vista platforms get two enhancements, Trend Micro Firewall Booster and Trend Micro Pre-Startup Scan. Trend says that Firewall Booster takes advantage of Vista Firewall capabilities, requiring "no customer interaction." Pre-Startup Scan "finds and eliminates rootkits before Windows starts," though it also creates a restore point in case of any snags.

Meanwhile, the 280 million active users of Live Hotmail can rest assured in the knowledge that Trend will continue providing "real-time antivirus scanning and cleaning protection," which will help to "ensure a security-enhanced Internet experience."

Microsoft will pay Trend for minding Hotmail Live, of course. As for Firewall Booster and Pre-Startup Scan, the huge swarms of tech-savvy, security-aware users upgrading to Vista are bound to snap those up.®

Related stories

• Trend Micro buys leak prevention firm (25 October 2007)
• Hackers prowl for Trend Micro vuln (23 August 2007)
• Webmail-creating Trojan targets Gmail (15 August 2007)
• The slow death of AV technology (8 June 2007)
• Trend Micro overhauls EMEA channel programme (26 April 2007)
• Trend Micro to kick butt on botnets (26 September 2006)
• Trend Micro CEO in SEC probe (5 July 2006)
• Trend Micro to create over 100 jobs in Cork (19 June 2006)
• Trend Micro sees resellers grow (12 June 2006)