The truth about Windows Vista security

Time and again we were told by Microsoft that Vista is the most secure operating system the company has ever produced. But just recently, Microsoft technical fellow Mark Russinovich is lowering the security expectations built into Vista. So, what’s the truth about Vista security?

Early testing suggests Vista is significantly more secure than previous versions and this obviously the truth. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean an end to Microsoft’s security headaches.

One of Windows Vista’s most lauded security enhancements is the User Account Control (UAC) which aims to address a long-standing flaw in the way Windows handles user permissions. This feature will allow a user to change computer settings while running as a standard user, instead of requiring administrator privileges to perform most tasks.

However, Russinovich made it clear that the feature will stop malware from making changes to the operating system but it’s not a security boundary.

Microsoft has added numerous other features to Windows Vista besides UAC, many of which are intended to increase the overall security of the OS.

New features include:

Windows Service Hardening (WSH) allows you to harden the security posture of your host system by limiting the amount of damage an attacker can do if a Windows-based service is compromised.
Network Access Protection (NAP) can help verify that each computer connected to the network is malware-free; if it is not, it will not be allowed to connect to the network and further infect other systems. Until the system checks out as malware-free, it will not be allowed to use the network or its services. .
Internet Explorer 7, comes with Windows Vista by default as the built-in Web browser, includes many security enhancements that protect users from malware attacks such as phishing and spoofing, and it uses a new mode, called Protected Mode, to further secure the user’s browsing experience.
Updated Windows Firewall comes with the new outbound filtering feature for more granular control over traffic traversing it.
Windows Defender utility detects malware on your system.
Technological advances within the OS bring real security benefits and Vista does represent a significant security improvement over Windows XP. But the bottom line remains the same. Vista is not immune to attack.

Russinovich said that in time hackers will become familiar with Vista, and will develop new exploits, so that viruses, password-stealing Trojans, and rootkits will continue to thrive and be a menace to Windows users.