While I was working on several stories for our spyware issue, I had extensive discussions with affiliates, merchants and network executives who often pointed the finger at Microsoft for not doing enough to stop spyware.

Actually, most of the time they weren’t pointing that finger but rather raising it in a familiar gesture I usually reserve for motorists that lack my superior driving skills.

If you’re a Windows user you know about the damage spyware can do. It slows millions of consumer’s computers down to crawl and often steals vital personal information. And if you’re an affiliate, spyware is likely diverting a large portion of your commissions to unethical marketers.

So, you’d expect that earlier this week when Bill Gates announced at the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco that Microsoft would take a stand to protect its Windows users against spyware (and it would be free) that critics would collectively say, “finally.”

But that’s not the case. Most are claiming that Microsoft shouldn’t be trusted to protect their computers or their commissions. Some analysts say Microsoft should be working harder to fix its market dominating Windows operating system and its Internet Explorer browser rather than releasing new programs to stop attacks on them.

Windows systems are the main target of the pernicious software. Microsoft fends off those charges and says it has made big security moves to protect its users by claiming more than 170 million users have downloaded the company’s Service Pack 2, an update to Windows XP, since its release in August.

By promising to offer the AntiSpyware program at no cost, Microsoft is expected to pose a threat to lifeblood of rival software makers Symantec and McAfee. Bad for them, but good for those who don’t want to shell out $39.95. Nearly 7 million people have already downloaded the beta version Microsoft AntiSpyware, which has been available since the first week of this year.

Microsoft also officially announced its plans later this year to begin selling an antivirus package that fights viruses and worms. That software will be incorporate technology from two Microsoft acquisitions: Romanian virus scanner GeCAD, bought in 2003, and antivirus software developer Sybari Software, which Microsoft agreed to buy last week. Gates didn’t say whether or not that software would also be free.

So start blogging and tell me what you think about this issue. Is Microsoft’s approach too little, too late? Or is the company on the right track? How does Microsoft’s move to combat spyware impact you and the affiliate space?