Microsoft Software to be Worm Proof
 

Intrinsa's product, known as PREfix, analyzed the code created by developers and flagged potential errors. The software giant found the program so helpful, it bought the company for $60 million in 1999. Today, a handful of other developers of similar products hope to convince customers that they should be using their programs to spot-check security.

For Microsoft, such tools have become an integral part of its Trustworthy Computing Initiative, which aims to make Windows computers more reliable. The software maker trains 20,000 developers annually in secure programming, but the tools enforce discipline on a daily basis, said Michael Howard, security program manager for the company.

"We are not seeing the same (security) issues as five years ago," he said. "We have educated people, so they understand these issues, and the tools are a lot better. People are not writing bad code. They are writing better code in the first place."

A handful of other companies have started to sell tools similar to the static source code checker used by Microsoft. Although the tools have been developed mainly by academicians intent on collecting data about software flaws, these companies think the programs are mature enough for commercial applications. Moreover, with corporate information technology managers fed up with security flaws, many are ready to adopt the technology.

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Yeah. I'll believe it when I see it.