This could have been prevented (Score 1)

As an IT professional I see both the need for this from Microsoft and the problems that can arise from the SAME company making the software and the software that temporarily fixes said software's problems. If Bush Administration hadn't stepped in and allowed Microsoft to be split up, Bill Gates & Co. could have just started up another entity to compete "fairly" with the likes of Symantec. To state "my opinion" for those who do not wish to read all of this post: Until Microsoft is broken up into separate entities I will not trust them to effectively and faithfully produce secure products if they are allowed to make their own AV software to be bundled with the OS.