ID: IRCNE2011091255
Date: 2011-09-17
According to "techworld", Windows 8 will ship with a number of small but important security tweaks Microsoft hopes will make it a harder target for the viruses, worms and Trojans that were able to subvert older versions of the operating system.
Most of the security features mentioned by Windows president Steven Sinofsky at this week’s Build conference extend design features that appeared in Vista and Windows 7 and have gradually been added through updates.
These include Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), which will be used more extensively in Windows 8, as will a new feature that protects the core of the OS from what are called ‘kernel-mode NULL dereference vulnerability’, basically a way for an attacker to elevate privileges once on the system.
Probably the biggest security addition is Windows 8’s support for UEFI 2.3.1 secured boot technology (which requires BIOS support), which stops early-booting malware from interfering with antivirus products before they load into memory.
None of these changes are particularly radical but they continue the design policy of restricting as far as possible what applications can do on the platform without upsetting the OS.
Sinofsky did however remind developers of the importance of the company’s Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), the coding, testing and design system.
Microsoft’s biggest security challenge with Windows 8 remains the same one the company had with Windows 7 – a core of stubborn users refuses to upgrade from older operating systems, especially XP.
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