Qihoo 360 Founder Says Microsoft Is Copying Their Antivirus

Microsoft security software is becoming an integral part of the experience not only on Windows but also on other devices.

But as far as Windows computers are concerned, Microsoft has made its security software the top offering, with fewer customers obviously interested in third-party solutions.

There’s no doubt Microsoft’s security offering has improved substantially lately, but according to the co-founder of a Chinese security vendor, it’s all happening because the software company is copying their ideas.

Zhou Hongyi, the co-founder of Chinese internet security firm Qihoo 360 Technology, made these remarks at the 10th Internet Security Conference in late July, telling the audience that Microsoft “is copying Qihoo 360, imitating the Qihoo 360 Safe Center, and creating a Microsoft computer butler.”

Further remarks were shared to the media after the event, with Pandaily citing Zhou as explaining that Microsoft is looking at Qihoo’s software to improve its offering.

“As a technology giant, Microsoft draws lessons from Qihoo 360’s security concept in the security field, which also proves that our security concept is relatively advanced and is on a correct path,” Zhou reportedly said.

“There are always peers misleading the public and the government, saying that C-end security companies can’t do enterprise-oriented business, and the data is useless. This is complete jealousy of us. Security companies that only do enterprise-oriented business can’t see it because they don’t have big data on the whole network,” Zhou said.

In a later post on Weibo, Zhou went on to explain that Microsoft is actually doing a terrific job when it comes to its focus on the C-end.

“I have to clarify that I am not bombarding Microsoft, but actually expressing my appreciation for the company. In the digital age, only companies from the C-end can do a good job of security because they have numerous users and can put big data into the cloud for security analysis. I think Qihoo 360 and Microsoft are both future-oriented companies,” he said.