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Nov. 17, 2005 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that three new data providers, Cyota Inc., Internet Identity and MarkMonitor Inc., will be regularly providing Microsoft with information on confirmed phishing Web sites as part of efforts to help enhance the protection offered by Microsoft® Phishing Filter and Microsoft SmartScreen™ Technology. Microsoft Phishing Filter, introduced in July 2005, helps protect customers from phishing scams when they are browsing the Internet and is available via the Phishing Filter Add-in for the MSN Search Toolbar, which launched in final release today, and the upcoming release of Windows® Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista™ and Windows XP Service Pack 2, both currently in beta 1 testing. The phishing information provided by the phishing data providers will also be used to help Microsoft SmartScreen Technology detect phishing scams in e-mail sent to MSN® Hotmail® and Windows Live™ Mail beta customers. This cooperation underscores Microsoft’s goal of continuing to work with a number of organizations to employ an effective mix of data sources and other resources to help protect customers.
Today at the annual IT Forum, Microsoft Corp. launched Windows® Desktop Search enabled for enterprise deployment, which allows corporate information workers to quickly find and retrieve precisely what they’re looking for on their personal computers, in e-mail and on network file shares from a single starting point. Launching Windows Desktop Search for enterprise deployment is another step toward achieving Microsoft’s vision for enabling a complete enterprise search experience with search across the PC and e-mail through Windows Desktop Search, across the enterprise intranet environment with Microsoft® SharePoint® Portal Server 2003, and across the Web with MSN® Search.
The new offering of Windows Desktop Search is easy for IT managers to deploy, customize and manage across all Microsoft Windows XP-based or Windows 2000-based PCs in a corporate environment. This supports a powerful and intuitive search experience that can be integrated with familiar environments such as Microsoft Office, SharePoint Portal Server and other third-party enterprise products.
Windows Desktop Search had been available to end users via the MSN Toolbar, but this offering is customized for enterprise users:
The new enterprise version of Windows Desktop Search takes the consumer version of the product offering — which provides fast search capabilities to locate information across e-mail, the desktop or shared network drives — and provides a simple way to deploy and manage this product across the enterprise environment.
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Enterprise customers have the option to deploy the MSN Search Toolbar, which provides a new beta feature that gives people the ability to see integrated Windows Desktop Search results within Microsoft Office Outlook®. IT managers can customize Windows Desktop Search and the MSN Search Toolbar to allow users to easily switch the scope of their search experience from their desktop to the Web or to a corporate intranet, all from one ubiquitous search box.
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IT professionals can easily deploy, customize and manage these search capabilities via Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 or third-party deployment tools. IT professionals can also extend Windows Desktop Search to index additional information sources and file types using IFilters and protocol handlers that are extensively documented on the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN®) Web site, http://msdn.microsoft.com. Enterprises can tap into additional product assistance through Microsoft Product Support Services.Currently supported in 15 languages, with others available soon, Windows Desktop Search for the enterprise can be downloaded for free with a Windows License at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/desktopsearch/enterprise.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Google Desktop 2.0 (with desktop search) left beta on November 3 and has both end user and enterprise flavors.
Update (11/16): Chris Kraeuter and Rachel Rosmarin at Forbes survey the enterprise search market.
It was just last week that Microsoft announced the release of API’s for a number of MSN centered technologies including the MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search. Well, today their first taker announced – Watson 2.0 Sidebar Now Available for MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search Users:
Intellext(TM) ( http://www.intellext.com ), the “Intelligence in Context” software company, today announced the availability of its Watson 2.0 personal research assistant as an Add-in for Windows Desktop Search. The free 30-day trial of Watson 2.0 and the Add-in is available to download at http://addins.msn.com.
Windows Desktop Search Add-ins enable people to find precisely what they want and seamlessly access the information they care about. Powerful enhancements like Watson 2.0 for MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search are part of the MSN long-term commitment to deliver services that enable people to improve their searching and browsing experience.
The Watson 2.0 personal research assistant proactively brings users the information they need from the sources they choose. Since Watson understands the context of users’ work, it is able to proactively find information that’s relevant to what they are doing in real-time. There’s no need for users to interrupt their work by typing search words or visiting separate Web sites and search boxes. Instead, Watson delivers relevant search results to users’ desktops in its non-intrusive sidebar while they work in Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Outlook, and Internet Explorer.
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“MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search is a key component of our broader strategy to help people find precisely what they need easier and faster — on the Web and beyond,” said Dane Glasgow, general manager for MSN. “Watson helps deliver on this vision by bringing contextually-relevant information to users from sources most important to them, all within an intuitive sidebar.”
More info is available from Elinor Mills at CNET and Howard Wolinsky at the Chicago Sun Times. Note that beyond the free trial, Watson 2.0 is priced offering – $99.95/year or $239.95 for a permanent license.
MSN today unveiled two new MSN® Search Toolbar Add-ins, enabling people to customize their toolbar to their specific interests and providing a smarter searching and browsing experience. These latest add-ins for MSN Search Toolbar include a beta of the Microsoft® Phishing Filter Add-in, which helps protect customers from potential risks of phishing Web sites and online identity theft, and the Games Add-in, providing one-click access to some of the Web’s most popular online games via MSN Games.
The additional MSN Search Toolbar Add-ins are part of MSN’s long-term commitment to deliver services that enable people to improve their searching and browsing experience. Add-ins are available to download for free at http://addins.msn.com, and consumers can obtain the free MSN Search Toolbar at http://toolbar.msn.com. The latest add-ins are currently available in the U.S. only.
Also in MSN Toolbar news (via Bink.nu) – MSN Toolbar Roaming Favorites First Look:
Released to beta testers earlier today, the MSN Toolbar Roaming Favorites Add-In Beta 1 is Microsoft’s first attempt at allowing users to access their internet bookmarks (a.k.a. Favorites) remotely without having to be signed up to the MSN Internet service. Because the MSN Toolbar is free, anyone will be able to install this addition once it’s released.
