Experts agree that Microsoft's Windows Vista is relatively well-protected but its security features such as User Account Control (UAC) have been highlighted by security experts as one reason why the operating system is far less popular than its predecessor, Windows XP.
Around 70 percent of Windows Vista on home systems are infected with malware, according to PC Tools, which claims the figure is so high because UAC is very annoying and users are disabling the security feature.
Scott Charney, head of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing division, admitted this week that Windows Vista's User Account Control (UAC) prompts are not intuitive and confuse users.
Shortly after the 9/11 bombings, Microsoft hired Scott Charney, a federal prosecutor for the US justice Department, to head up its Trustworthy Computing division. At AusCERT 2008, ZDNet.com.au caught up with Charney to hear his thoughts on how those events changed the security landscape and what he thinks about the current state of IT security.
All the news and highlights from Australia's largest IT security conference, taking place in the Gold Coast this week.
I was waiting for the UAC-based security problems to occur after Windows 7's release but alas that was not to be, for problems have occurred in the beta version of Windows 7.
Windows 7 will be one of Microsoft's greatest operating systems, if it fulfils the promise shown by the unofficial beta version we have been testing for the past couple of days.
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Scott Charney, who heads up Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing division, admitted this week that Windows Vista's User Account Control (UAC) prompts are unexpected and not intuitive.
User Account Control (UAC), the 'annoying' security feature in Windows Vista, will not stop malware from infecting PCs, according Roger Grimes, a member of Microsoft's software security team.
George Stathakopoulos, general manager of product security at Microsoft, tells us how Windows XP SP2 came about and why the company is not yet ready to talk about XP SP3. He also explains that UAC in Windows Vista is designed to be part of a 'defence in depth' strategy and not a standalone security solution.
Windows 7 looks like the operating system that we've all been waiting for. Despite its imperfections, it shows a lot of promise for the future while presenting a stable platform that can compete comfortably with OS X.
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MSI's EX720 isn't a bad laptop, but it certainly strikes as one with too many shortcuts taken. Still at AU$1,649 it's affordable, and if you're budget and technically minded you'll likely get some decent mileage out of this laptop.
Ubuntu is very user-friendly but not right for everyone. Oddly, both casual and advanced users will find this operating system wonderful, while day-to-day users may rail against Ubuntu's incompatibility with certain popular software applications.
Windows Vista Home Basic is essentially warmed-over Windows XP, Windows XP SP3. If you're currently happy with Windows XP SP2, we see no compelling reason to upgrade. On the other hand, if you need a new computer right now, Windows Vista is stable enough for everyday use.
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