Archive for the 'Malware' Category
Security architecture of Windows Vista, Part 2
Thursday, January 24th, 2008Part 1 did not cover how processes generally acquire their permissions and integrity levels. According to the Windows security model, which is known from Vista predecessors, a child process normally inherits the access token of its parent. Vista adds one bit to this process in the access token, TOKEN_MANDATORY_POLICY_NEW_PROCESS_MIN, which is set for normal users [...]
Security architecture of Windows Vista, Part 1
Thursday, January 24th, 2008The mainstay of a secure operating system is access protection - the undesirable activities of malware (from the internet etc.) can only be blocked by preventing a free-for-all. With the user account control of Windows Vista, Microsoft is attempting to make it more palatable for the user to work with restricted rights. But even the [...]
Vista attacked by 13-year-old virus
Thursday, September 20th, 2007A batch of laptops pre-installed with Windows Vista Home Premium was found to have been infected with a 13-year-old boot sector virus. Those of you with a long memory will vividly recall the year 1994: Nirvana’s lead singer Kurt Cobain died, South Africa held its first multi-racial elections, and Tony Blair became leader of the [...]
Windows Vista gets Ad-Aware
Wednesday, September 5th, 2007Lavasoft now has Vista-compatible versions of its Ad-Aware 2007 anti-spyware line. The Free, Plus and Pro versions all now work with the 32bit version of Microsoft’s new OS. You can download the new version from the PC Advisor’s sister title PC World’s Download centre. Or, if you already have Ad-Aware installed, fire it up and [...]
Vista Malware: Fighting Malware with Vista Tools
Tuesday, May 1st, 2007Before we get into how Microsoft’s new products can help you reduce the threat of malware, it makes sense to discuss prevention and response first. As mentioned earlier, staying secure is a two-step dance. You need good software that protects you, and the mindset to protect your surfing habits. Protecting systems and networks from the [...]
Vista Security Held Firm Under Attack
Saturday, April 28th, 2007Microsoft Corp.’s Vista operating system took some of its first punches when a dangerous vulnerability was disclosed earlier this month, but the OS held strong, a security analyst said Tuesday. At least two exploits were targeted at Vista, trying to circumvent a new security feature designed to thwart malicious software attacks, said Mikko Hypponen, chief [...]
Russinovich: Malware will thrive, even with Vista UAC
Saturday, April 28th, 2007Despite all the anti-malware roadblocks built into Windows Vista, a senior Microsoft official is lowering the security expectations, warning that viruses, password-stealing Trojans and rootkits will continue to thrive as malware authors adapt to the new operating system. Mark Russinovich, technical fellow in Microsoft’s Platform and Services Division, used the spotlight of the CanSecWest security [...]
Can a Rootkit Be Certified for Vista?
Friday, March 23rd, 2007Forget what Microsoft says about Vista being the most secure version of Windows yet. More to the point, what do the hackers think of it? In a nutshell, they think it’s an improvement, but at the end of the day, it’s just like everything else they dissect—that is, breakable. "Not all bugs are being detected [...]
Vista SideBar and gadgets the new frontier for malware
Saturday, March 10th, 2007While security features in Windows Vista will make it harder for malware coders to develop worms that target operating system vulnerabilities, Symantec is tipping that malware coders will turn their attention to other vulnerabilities, like Vista’s new Windows SideBar and gadgets. “(Worms that target core operating system vulnerabilities were) largely responsible for the majority of [...]
Symantec: Vista Blocks Almost All Malware, for Now
Saturday, March 3rd, 2007On Wednesday, Symantec Security Response released several white papers on security in Windows Vista, concluding that the operating system isn’t secure, just more secure. The paper also noted that the 64-bit version of Vista adds an additional security feature. The main paper, titled "Microsoft Windows Vista and Security," is a bit long but eminently readable; [...]
