October 19, 2009 5:14 PM PDT
Windows 7 security in pictures
See what security features are new and improved in Windows 7 in this slideshow, emphasizing what you can do from the Action Center's security tools.
Seth peers into the deep, dark corners of software so that you don't have to. He has yet to suffer a single nightmare about OS/2. You can follow him on Twitter.
Perhaps you might want to *try* a product before dismissing it so out of hand?
Talk to me when Macs market share hit 2 digits.
She has yet to have a single security question. Weekly, she had a Vista Question.
Thus - Security isn't an issue for the "Joe" or "Josie" W7 User.
I Agree with others - Use the Product, before you complain/comment
(db)
They even renamed the security levels removing the lowest name altogether to sound more secure... who knew medium was as low as you could go??!
Install W7
No Change to Security
Run the product - still no changes to Security
Do my daily work (which includes, development, Web Searches, RDP, Documentation, and probably more tech than you want to know)
Do my evening work (Gaming, FB, Research)
The only change I ever make - to run a Developer App as the Administrator (and I set the shortcut up to do that). I have yet to touch the IE8 Security.
Yes, even a Heli-User could run the product (if he'd leave the security alone - I bet his machine would run GREAT!)
(db)
That sounds great if BitLocker will actually work at all. Every time I've tried using it, it always refused to do anything at all since none of my PCs have a TPM chip. Why it can't just use a password, a thumb drive or both, I don't know. Plus I feel MUCH more secure using open source TrueCrypt, as it doesn't have built in backdoors like the whole "NSA key" thing in XP, etc.
So if someone steals your HDD no matter what they do the drive is permently locked out. Wether they know the password or not, the HDD is disabled until reconnected and BitLocker unlocked on the original machine it was set on.
Win 7 security? It confused the hell out of me and I moved to Kaspersky security almost instantly. There, my view on a MAC REVIEW :)
Only one thing good. I wanted to move from 32bit to 64bit and Windows 7 RC was better doing it stuff than Vista.
But, let see the dark side: different Microsoft symbol at startup, but same welcome screen, same interface... hum this is nothing but VISTA SPX!!!!!
For those that wonder, I used the Windows 7 Ultimate RC (clean install) for 14 days until it screwed-up my drivers (my fault I shouldn't accept the proposed dirver's updates) and began to start-up and shut-down in 1 to 2 minutes (longer than my XP 32bit). Dumped back to Vista Ultimate for now. I hope that the actual retail product is not Windows 7 Ultimate RC without the RC.
fancy window = security
I am glad i switched from windows to ubuntu
You can only reach a certain point in security before you turn your computer into a machine on autopilot.
There has to be a responsible person in front of the screen, who does not download just about any trashware download that pops up in their browser.
Who actually reads user account control, antivirus and firewall prompts, instead of blithely confirming everything.
Who does not disable UAC "to get rid of those windows".
Who knows the basics about their computer, its software, security features and rules.
Who knows what happened, when and why.
No offence, but if you think this is all "too complicated" for you to bother with, you should probably set up a standard user account, disallow any system-wide changes and settings from your account, and give someone else, whom you trust, the password to an administrator account.
PS. Mac OS has viruses, too. But thanks to Apple's great marketing strategy for making people think otherwise.
oh! Apple will take care of me and I don't have to do anything; except handling my big bucks to them.
LOL!!
I'm glad I install norton for mac... it caught malware early this month... who knows what else could have escaped my sight?
What I mean is that people expect a computer:
- to always obey them
- to read their minds and figure out what they want (even if the user himself doesn't know what (s)he wants)
- to automatically know what is good and what isn't
- never to bother and "patronise" them about this thing called "security" (which is Apple's marketing bet, as I mentioned)
- never break, whatever the user does and installs (e.g. warez, keygen, registry "cleaners", stupid Trojan horses, ad/spyware)
The problem is that you can't have all of these things (or specific combinations thereof) at the same time, but many people still think you can.
I have not had a single virus/spyware infection. I do regular scans with BitDefender and Kapersky to confirm.
I have tryed going to the darkest places on the net on IE, including "warez" sites and other obviously malicious sites. Each time Windows steered me away from what would have eaten XP and possibly Vista alive.
With Windows 7 (and Microsoft Security Essentials for good measure) you can compare it to a Mac. Nearly no viruses.
Its like "Hmm should I rob a bank (PC/Mac) or should I rob a hot dog salesmen"
Besides its all a diffrence in numbers. Its like saying some bank in the middle of nowhere is more secure then bank of america. Obviously there is more bank of americas so obvious there is more robberies regardless of how much better the security is at Bank of America.
I know, it's not the OS that runs on 90+ % of all desktops. That also applies to Mac OS. But it's an entirely different thing with servers. There are many more Linux (or BSD) servers out there than Windows ones. They are networked and running 24/7/365, just as they should. Surely, if they were running a "POS", they would be hacked down all the time.
As for "garbage freeware", please do some serious reading-up on open source (it's not the same as freeware) and free software (it's not necessarily free as in "free beer"). Also, look up the concept of "security through obscurity", which has failed time and time again, still does, and probably always will.
Open source has produced true marvels of software, such as the Apache web server, Linux, OpenOffice, the Firefox browser you may be using and many more. Proprietary software has mostly stolen ideas from all over and incorporated them into its code. Since this code is closed (hence closed software), no one will ever get to see it except companies' programmers and any party the company chooses to share it with. This also means that you will probably never know exactly what your shiny W7 or Mac OS desktop is doing behind your back (aka phone-home).
I hope the difference will be obvious.
ARE YOU CRAZY linux runs the net
why would an attacker attack people one at a time if they could own bank info checkout info cc numbers and others by just owning 1 linux server
crash routers
crash phones
linux isnt secure HA HA
THAT MADE ME LAUGH
With every operating system, it contours to a user more, maybe the look, usability, or security, all OS's have their pro's and con's about this as will all technology we come to create as the machines we build are only as smart as their creators. With that being said, I can personally attest that Linux is one of the MOST SECURE as the fact that 1. all the code is seen and can be checked.
2. It's comand line based and without the users permission, the program won't run (Unlike windows, the possibility of a background running proccess is 99% guaranteed.)
3. Everytime you download a "Security Patch", another hole opens up to take it's place, which therefore means that it will never be fully secure as you think it already is.
4. Everyone talks about windows security like it is the best thing since sliced bread. If it is so great, then why must you have an antivirus software running along side of it with it on the highest setting it has? If it's so great, why do you still have it? And then another antivirus software program to confirm the search after that? Seems to me that this "Great Security" you speak of isn't so great when looking at it from the persepctive that you have to have multiple antivirus programs running at once. I don't have antivirus for my linux computer. Want to know why? Don't need it!!! That's right, I said it, don't need it. Yes, Linux can get viruses, it is possible, but highly unlikely cause of the great lengths that would have to be gone through to write it. Windows? HA, it's a joke, 1 line of code and the OS freaks like a scolded monkey on crack. Your quickness to saying that "PC is better" or "Mac is better" or "Linux is better" is actually all in opinion to what the user finds most comfortable. But, when facts are placed down on the table, PC runs from Linux when it comes to security, servers everywhere run linux, and pretty much the only reason why companies do not use linux as their operating system of choice is one reason! Yes, just one, they can't call a help desk and get someone in Afganistan, Pakistan, China, or some other location to tell them what to do. Reason for this is, it is open-sourced, and the linux user community is also the programmers and builders of the Linux Distro's.
So in conclusion,
Don't say that something is a POS til you try it out, cause chances are, you may end up liking it, and also, it is prolly better than what you hear. More than likely, you call it a "POS" OS because of the fact that you heard from your friends and others that they didn't like it, that it "sucked". Well, guess what my friend, they prolly came to their conclusions either the same way you came up with your opinion about it, or they didn't know how to use it correctly and they wanted the OS to do everything for them. Linux, we do the work, we see the OS, and we know what's going on in our computer. How about you? Do you really truely know what is going on behind the scenes in Windows? No. Why? Cause windows doesn't want you to know what they have going on, they don't want you to make your OS truely "Yours". It's a matter of opinion for everything, but when forming an opinion, don't listen to what everyone else thinks, make the opinion up for yourself, research, study, and know what your talking about before speaking and making assumptions.
For me Windows 7 is the new XP but as we have all probably figured out from this thread is a lot more secure and Windows 7 like XP will be around for many years.
I use and support Windows, Macs and Linux OS and they all have their place but in a business environment where you need reliability, functionality and flexibility then Windows has it won every time FACT.
The only Caveat I would put to that is in a truly Global enterprise environment where you need a server to be a dedicate one trick reliable pony then that would definitely be the Linux/UNIX domain, but now we are totally venturing off the original thread, which I will again remind everyone is about Windows 7 security which is pretty Good