July 13, 2009, 10:10 AM — Is a netbook less secure than a notebook? Not necessarily, although one security vendor is warning that it may take more work to ensure that a Netbook is as secure as a notebook.
In a recent blog post, security giant McAfee said that because most users don’t get the distinction between lower-end, less functional Netbooks and traditional, full-featured notebooks, they might end up disappointed when purchasing the former. The vendor quotes survey results from research firm The NPD Group that says 60 percent of consumers who purchase netbooks expect them to perform and behave like notebooks.
IDC predicts 26.4 million Netbooks will be sold around the world in 2009. McAfee urges Netbook vendors to effectively manage buyers’ expectations by position these devices as companions to full-fledged notebooks in the first place.
Why is McAfee weighing in on the issue? The vendor says Netbook buyers expect their applications – such as McAfee’s security suites -- will run as fast on these new machines as on traditional notebooks.
“From a security perspective, netbooks running on a Windows OS need the same level of protection as regular notebooks running on Windows. However, the challenge is to deliver the same level of protection on these netbooks without any significant performance impact,” reads the blog.
Sounds like the company is defending itself in advance should someone complain that its software runs slow on netbooks.
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