Anti-virus software vendor Kaspersky has expressed concerns about the security mechanisms built into Windows Vista. According to ZDNet, the firm says Vista's User Account Control system, which asks for confirmation whenever users change system settings or install new programs, is so annoying that users will disable it. And with UAC disabled, the firm says Vista is less secure than Windows XP. Worse yet, Kaspersky chief executive Natalya Kaspersky told ZDNet that her analysts have already found five ways in which malware could bypass UAC.

Kaspersky also added her voice to Symantec and McAfee complaints that PatchGuard, designed to protect the Vista kernel, is hindering security companies' work. "PatchGuard doesn't allow legitimate security vendors to do what we used to do," said Kaspersky. Symantec has claimed that PatchGuard is hurting security vendors more than it was hurting malware writers. Bruce McCorkendale, a chief engineer at Symantec, said: "There are types of security policies and next-generation security products that can only work through some of the mechanisms that PatchGuard prohibits."