Windows 7 – a High-Performance and reliable OS Platform
Windows Vista laid the foundation of a secure and reliable platform with the introduction of features like User Account Control, that helped reduce the attack surface of the operating system, Service hardening, Bitlocker Drive Encryption, Internet Explorer Protected mode etc.
Windows 7 is an operating system that has been built to deliver high performance as well as a good level of built-in security to make it secure-by-default and secure-by-design.
Some of the new and improved security features in Windows 7 are listed here:
| IMPROVEMENT | DESCRIPTION |
| BitLocker and BitLocker To Go | Encrypts entire volumes, including system volumes, non-system volumes, and removable drives. |
| Applocker | Provides flexible control over which applications users can run. |
| Provides different firewall profiles for the physical network adapter and virtual network adapters used by VPNs. | |
| User Account Control | Gives standard users the opportunity to provide administrative credentials when the operating system requires them. For administrators, it runs processes with standard privileges by default and prompts the administrator to confirm before granting administrative privileges to a process. |
| Reduces the risk of phishing and malware attacks when users browse the Web. | |
| Auditing enhancements | Provide more granular control over which events are audited. |
| Reduces the risk of overrun attacks. | |
| Provides a uniform interface for fingerprint scanners. | |
| Smart cards | Provides a standard smart card driver interface. |
| Service accounts | Enables administrators to create accounts for services without needing to manage service account passwords. |
Windows 7 addresses Specific Security Concerns in various ways…
Security Concern |
What it means |
Windows 7 Defense-in-Depth |
| Protecting Against Bundling and Social Engineering | With bundling, malware is packaged with useful software. Often the user is not aware of the negative aspects of the bundled software. With social engineering, the user is tricked into installing the software. Typically, the user receives a misleading e-mail or browser pop-up containing instructions to open an attachment or visit a Web site. Windows 7 offers significantly improved protection against both bundling and social engineering. With the default settings, malware that attempts to install via bundling or social engineering must circumvent two levels of protection: UAC and Windows Defender. |  |
| Protecting Against Browser Exploit Malware Installations | Historically, many malware installations occurred because the user visited a malicious Web site, and the Web site exploited a vulnerability in the Web browser to install the malware. In some cases, users received no warning that software was being installed. In other cases, users were prompted to confirm the installation, but the prompt might have been misleading or incomplete. |  |
| Protecting Against Network Worms | Bundling, social engineering, and browser exploits all rely on the user to initiate a connection to a site that hosts malware, but worms can infect a computer without any interaction from the user. Network worms spread by sending network communications across a network to exploit a vulnerability in remote computers and install the worm. After it is installed, the worm continues looking for new computers to infect. |
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