Does 7 offer any additional security features over Vist

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  1. Posts : 29
    windows 7
       #1

    Does 7 offer any additional security features over Vist


    Hi,

    I'm curious if 7 offers any additional security features that Vista doesn't offer.

    I am learning all I can about 7 but haven't heard much about security.

    Thanks
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  2. Posts : 6,885
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64, Mint 9
       #2

    netguysc said:
    Hi,

    I'm curious if 7 offers any additional security features that Vista doesn't offer.

    I am learning all I can about 7 but haven't heard much about security.

    Thanks
    YES they do! Mostly in the form of a better UAC (less instrusive as well).

    I don't know about all that much, but others here will be able to fill you in.

    ~Lordbob
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  3. Posts : 4,573
       #3

    Take a peek at the Windows Security blog.
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  4. Posts : 627
    Windows 7 7600.16384 x64
       #4

    Yes it does. Most of the features are from Vista, but they either expanded on them (like Bit Locker on removable drives, expanded firewall policy) or lessened the annoyances (less UAC warnings)

    Here is a list of some of the Windows 7 Security Enhancements.

    Windows 7 Security Enhancements

    Windows 7 Security Enhancements
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  5. Posts : 45
    Windows 7
       #5

    There's also a substantially reduced set of .exe's that are allowed to run with Admin privs.

    Also, if you consider "not sucking" as making the system more secure (and I do) then it's VASTLY more secure. *grin*
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  6. Posts : 149
    Windows 7 Pro (MSDN)
       #6

    UAC being less annoying also makes UAC usless, because it's easy for any malware author to bypass UAC (there's a working demonstration of this). There's no way to patch this hole without making UAC as annoying as it was in Vista.

    Less annoying? Yes. But from a security standpoint, UAC is now ineffective (unless you bump up the setting so that it matches the old Vista behavior), and you might as well just turn it off (even less annoying! :)). UAC is still effective as an extra prompt to help prevent the user from accidentally doing something bad, but when it comes to malware, the ease with which they can hook into the loophole and bypass UAC makes the new UAC nothing more than a placebo, and it makes 7 technically less secure than Vista...

    (OTOH, UAC is just a part of defense-in-depth, and it's the final defense barrier before Something Bad Happens; if malware manages to get as far as UAC, then you've got other problems on your hands.)
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  7. Posts : 139
    Windows 7 x64 RTM
       #7

    DataMan47 said:
    UAC being less annoying also makes UAC usless, because it's easy for any malware author to bypass UAC (there's a working demonstration of this). There's no way to patch this hole without making UAC as annoying as it was in Vista.
    Try Anti Virus/Malware software, with HIPS enabled Firewall. Who relies on Windows protection for anything.

    Would you use Microsoft Office anti virus protection? NO its an Office suite like Windows is an OS, its primary job is not to defend against malware.

    Personally i use Avira Antivirus with Windows Firewall, and UAC off. With considerate browsing ive yet to be a victim to nasty's.
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  8. Posts : 149
    Windows 7 Pro (MSDN)
       #8

    jasjeet said:
    Try Anti Virus/Malware software, with HIPS enabled Firewall. Who relies on Windows protection for anything.

    Would you use Microsoft Office anti virus protection? NO its an Office suite like Windows is an OS, its primary job is not to defend against malware.

    Personally i use Avira Antivirus with Windows Firewall, and UAC off. With considerate browsing ive yet to be a victim to nasty's.
    Uh, that completely misses the whole point of UAC. It's called defense-in-depth. Read up on it. UAC is supposed to help hold the line when all the other lines of defense have been bypassed. Talking about AV is useless because if UAC is in a position to matter, then that means that the AV has already failed to do its job.

    As for AV, it too is just another line in the defense-in-depth. If you keep your software updated and don't do anything stupid, you don't need AV (actually, AV can't protect you against software exploits; it can only protect against user stupidity). I run with UAC disabled and no AV. I just make sure that my primary lines of defense are good enough that I can risk going without the backup lines; besides, any form of AV is mostly snake oil that makes you feel more secure by wasting CPU and churning your disk but that actually has limited value for advanced users because of their inability to proactively handle most software bug exploits (now, for clueless newbies, they're quite useful because they do help defend against user stupidity).
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  9. Posts : 152
    Windows Vista, Server 2008, Leopard, Suse
       #9

    Well I support Microsoft's position on UAC, don't disable it, you also disable file and registry virtualisation, not only good for security, but more for application compatiblity.
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  10. Posts : 627
    Windows 7 7600.16384 x64
       #10

    gurm42 said:
    There's also a substantially reduced set of .exe's that are allowed to run with Admin privs.

    Also, if you consider "not sucking" as making the system more secure (and I do) then it's VASTLY more secure. *grin*

    I think UAC was a wake up call to all bad applications out there needing admin privileges to run. Its not so much that UAC was adjusted for applications, software developers were finally forced to make adjustments in the applications and what rights were needed to do what.

    UAC pointed out these flaws to developers, and for the first time they had to make corrections.

    I believe UAC was a wake up call to developers, more than the end users. I was tired of granting users admin privileges just to launch an app....
    Last edited by 7echno7im; 19 Jul 2009 at 16:06.
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