Microsoft counters report of Google's dumping Windows

On the heels of a report that Google will phase out Windows in its workplace over security concerns, Microsoft on Tuesday stood up for its operating system.

Microsoft's counterattack was a turnaround from earlier in the day, when the company declined to comment on a story published Monday by the Financial Times. The newspaper cited several unnamed Google employees who said the company is dumping Windows because of worries about security.

Google has reason to fret about security. In January, Google announced that Chinese hackers had broken into its network and stolen confidential information, an incident that led the company to move its Chinese search operation to Hong Kong and out of reach of Chinese government censors. Security researchers later said hackers had targeted Google and other companies with an exploit of a then-unpatched vulnerability in Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6.

Rather than Windows, Google is offering workers the choice between Macs running Apple's Mac OS X and PCs running Linux, the Financial Times said.

"When it comes to security, even hackers admit we're doing a better job making our products more secure than anyone else," said Microsoft spokesman Brandon LeBlanc in a post Tuesday afternoon to the company's Windows blog.

"And it's not just the hackers; third party influentials and industry leaders like Cisco tell us regularly that our [security] focus and investment continues to surpass others." LeBlanc added.

:story: Full story: Computerworld