Survey: Users Sticking With XP

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- The migration to Windows Vista is not going to happen for at least a year, according to users of Outpost Firewall Pro surveyed twice in the past six months by Russian security company Agnitum.

Agnitum's survey results track independent polls conducted by Harris Interactive(1), Computerwoche(2) and PC Welt(3), among others, concluding that users are taking a "wait and see approach" to the new operating system.

"Users are not knocking down doors to buy Vista," said Mikhail Penkovsky, global vice president for Marketing and Sales at Agnitum. "Of course they'll be upgrading when it's inevitable, but not today. Vista is the hot story of the moment. It's new. There's plenty of press coverage - and Microsoft does report millions of copies sold. But it is clear that our customers, and many other personal computer users, are deliberately waiting for the inevitable patches, fixes, service packs -- and better security."

Agnitum is developing a Vista-compatible version of Outpost, an award-winning personal firewall that protects more than a million users of Windows worldwide.

"We see no need to rush to market with something as important as a personal firewall for the new OS," said Penkovsky. "Our customers are telling us they will need a Windows XP firewall for at least the next 12 months -- and when they do move to Vista, they want a solid, fully-developed firewall to protect them. That's the most significant message for us in these survey results."

Agnitum Ltd.