Check Point expects to release a Vista-compatible update in a few months, the spokeswoman said. But, she added, some of the features in the new version may differ from Check Point's current release "due to the different needs and functionality" in Vista.

F-Secure expects to release a Vista version of its flagship Anti-Virus 2007 software in May. Par Andler, a spokesman at Helsinki, Finland-based F-Secure, said the product is arriving later than Vista itself did because the company wants to make sure it gets enough customer feedback on a beta version of the antivirus tool.

"As the volume of Vista installations worldwide has been very low so far, it has been difficult for any vendor to ensure a high enough volume of external technology-review testers," Andler said. He added that F-Secure thinks it can complete a sufficient level of testing during the spring.

Even top vendors like Symantec are admitting to some difficulties. Symantec has ported its most popular products, including Norton AntiVirus and Norton Internet Security, to Vista. On Tuesday, the company also released a new bundle called Norton 360 that combines its security and data backup tools and runs on both Vista and Windows XP.

But it still has about 10 products that remain unready for use with Vista, including its Norton SystemWorks and Personal Firewall tools.

"We intend to have our entire list logo-certified" for Vista, said Lily De Los Rios, vice president of product delivery at Symantec, although she wouldn't specify when she expects to achieve that. She added that some of Symantec's products haven't been adapted or certified for Vista yet because the certification requirements "are relatively new, and the interpretation still can be somewhat unclear."

Perhaps the most Vista-compliant security vendor at this point is Trend Micro. The latest versions of its AntiVirus, Client Server Security Agent and PC-cillin Internet Security products not only work on Vista but have been certified as such by Microsoft. No other leading security vendor has received Microsoft's "Certified for Windows Vista" designation for any products thus far.

Security products that have been awarded the lesser "Works with Windows Vista" designation include Absolute Software's Computrace laptop recovery tool, Avast Antivirus from Alwil Software A/S and Radialpoint's Security Services, Security Cleanup and Servicepoint Agent technologies.

Gregg Keizer contributed to this story.