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Viewing Protect Your Computer With Windows VistaProtect Your Computer With Windows Vista
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There are number of security features in Windows Vista, most of which are newly introduced in this version. Along with them, old security features are also available with some advanced protection mechanisms. Blogbuddy explains. By blogbuddy There are number of security features in Windows Vista, most of which are newly introduced in this version. Along with them, old security features are also available with some advanced protection mechanisms. UAC (User Account Control) is the most significant security update in Vista. With this feature all users, including users with administrative privileges, run in a standard user mode by default. When any action requires administration privileges - such as software installation or changing system settings - Windows Vista prompts for administrator authentication. This security was implemented in Vista to protect your computer from malware software. If malware attempts to change any settings or install any software on your system, you will be prompted for consent first. System administrators also have the option of configuring the system to require an administrator password for such occurrences. Microsoft added another layer of security ‘Windows Defender'. Windows Defender scans the system periodically to detect spyware. Additionally, it includes real time security agents, which monitor the important settings of the system to track system configuration changes caused by spyware. Windows Vista introduces several parental controls. As an administrator it is possible to lock web content and limit web browsing to only kids' websites. It also allows content control based on categories such as 'pornography' or 'chatting' and so on. Administrators can restrict other users from executing certain programs. There is also the option to restrict certain hours of the day when gaming or other activities are not permitted. Windows Vista introduces BitLocker Drive Encryption to protect data from a lost or stolen computer. There is a big threat of data theft or exposure from lost or stolen computers. Data on lost or stolen machines can often be viewed by installing a different operating system. BitLocker Drive Encryption is a hardware-enabled data protection feature that helps protect data on a PC when the machine is in unauthorized hands. By encrypting the entire Windows volume, it prevents unauthorized users from accessing Windows files and attempting the offline viewing of information on secured hard drives. The Encryption File System (EFS) is a powerful tool for encrypting information on client computers and remote file servers to protect them from unauthorized users. EFS supports storing user keys, as well as administrative recovery keys on smart cards. If smart cards are used for logon, EFS operates in a Single Sign On mode, where it uses the logon smart card for file encryption without further prompting for the PIN. The Client Side Cache, which stores offline copies of files from remote servers, can also be encrypted with EFS. Another way that malicious software makes its way onto a user’s machine is by taking advantage of buffer overruns. Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) is a defense capability in Windows Vista that makes it harder for malicious code to exploit a system function. Whenever a Windows Vista computer is rebooted, ASLR randomly assigns executables such as DLLs and EXEs to one of 256 possible locations in memory. This makes it harder for exploit code to locate and therefore take advantage of functionality inside the executables. It is very common in office environments for malware to get into one system and propagate itself from there onto other systems in the local network. To avoid those exploits, Vista introduces Network Access Protection (NAP) that performs computer health policy validation. Independent hardware and software vendors can plug their security solutions into NAP, so that IT administrators can choose the security solutions that meet their unique needs. NAP helps ensure that every machine on the network makes full use of those solutions. Windows Vista also includes the much improved Internet Explorer 7, which introduces more than a dozen new security enhancements. About the Author: For more information visit: http://swupdate.blogspot.com, http://bytestorage.blogspot.com, or http://laptopupdates.blogspot.com. Article Source: 1st Rate Articles - http://1stRateArticles.com |
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