A Closer Look at Windows Vista

Malware refers to any software that secretly infiltrates and damages a computer system without the informed consent of the owner. Despite the use of anti-virus and anti-spyware software, malware can still affect even careful users. One of the stated goals of the Microsoft Windows Vista release is to greatly improve the overall security of the Windows operating system and curb the impact of malware. To this end, Microsoft redesigned both the least user and administrative accounts on Vista; the result is perhaps the most secure version of Windows in the age of the Internet.

The concept of least user or standard user accounts has been a part of Windows releases for many years. However, interacting with the Windows operating system as a standard user has historically been difficult. Standard users cannot install or uninstall software, change security settings, or even perform seemingly innocuous tasks such as adjusting computer power settings or time zone.

In addition, many software applications created over the past decade require administrator access to run because they access protected directories and registry keys, such as C:Program Files, C:Windows, or HKEY_Local_Machine. Security-minded individuals who attempted to run Windows XP or previous versions of Windows using only standard accounts quickly realized that it was an exercise in futility.

As a result, most users of Windows XP or earlier Windows versions run as members of the Windows Administrators group. This is problematic because providing a user with complete control of a computer also provides every application and service on that computer with the same amount of access. If a computer is compromised by malware, that malevolent code has complete access as well; this is one of the chief reasons that Windows computers have long been susceptible to external attack.

Vendor:: National Instruments
Posted:: Feb 8, 2021
Published:: Feb 19, 2008
Format:: PDF
Type:: White Paper

Already a Bitpipe member? Log in here

Download this White Paper!

Corporate Email Address:
You forgot to provide an Email Address.

This email address doesn’t appear to be valid.

Please provide a Corporate Email Address.

This email address is already registered. Please log in.
First Name:
You forgot to provide your first name.
Last Name:
You forgot to provide your last name.
Company Name:
You forgot to provide a company name.
Job Title:
You forgot to provide a job title.
Seniority:
You forgot to select your seniority.
Job Function:
You forgot to select your job function.
# of employees:
You did not select the number of employees at your company.
Industry:
You did not select which industry you are in.
Sub-Industry:
You did not select which industry you are in.
Address 1:
You did not provide a full local address.
Address 2:
City/Town:
You did not provide a full local address.
Country:
You did not select the country you are from.
State/Province:

You did not provide a full local address.
Zip/Postal Code:
You did not provide a full local address.
Phone:
You forgot to provide a phone number.

This phone number format is not recognized. Please check the country and number.
- I agree to TechTarget’s Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and the transfer of my information to the United States for processing to provide me with relevant information as described in our Privacy Policy.
Please check the box if you want to proceed.
- I agree to my information being processed by TechTarget and its Partners to contact me via phone, email, or other means regarding information relevant to my professional interests. I may unsubscribe at any time.
Please check the box if you want to proceed.