Trend Micro today released Trend Micro OS Protection beta for its Trend Micro Internet Security 2007 customers. OS protection includes Trend Micro Firewall Booster and Trend Micro Pre-Startup Scan. Rather than rail against various kernel changes within Windows Vista as Symantec and other did last fall, Trend Micro says it wanted to work in cooperation with Microsoft. Trend Micro OS Protection works on both the 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows Vista.
The chief benefit from Trend Micro Firewall Booster is Windows Vista users won't have dual firewall technologies running. Firewall Booster leverages existing Windows Vista Firewall capabilities, adding protection provided by Trend Micro. Trend Micro Pre-Startup Scan runs before Windows Vista boots, ferreting out sleeping malware such as rootkits before engaging the operating system. Pre-Startup includes a system restore checkpoint, so that a user can always roll back any changes made. The process is not automatic, allowing the user to decide when and how the scans will be done. Quick Scan takes only a few minutes and identifies rootkits and any browser-related malware. Full Scan performs a thorough scan all of the files on the system. While Full Scan can take up to a half hour to complete (all the while Windows Vista is not running), there is an option to shut down the system afterward so Full Scans can be run late at night.
Trend Micro OS Protection beta is available in addition to the existing certified by Microsoft as Windows Vista compatible firewall protection within Trend Micro Internet Security 2007. OS Protection is designed for more advanced Trend Micro users who want a more powerful firewall and is not necessary for average Internet users. Available for download from the TrendSecure site, OS Protection is free of charge to existing Trend Micro Internet Security 2007 customers.