
Despite 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.
"There is no guarantee that malware can't hijack the elevation process or compromise an elevated application," Russinovich said after providing a blow-by-blow description of how UAC works in tandem with Internet Explorer (with Protected Mode) to limit the damage from malicious files. Even in a standard user world, he stressed that malware can still read all the user's data; can still hide with user-mode rootkits; and can still control which applications (anti-virus scanners) the user can access.
Member since:
2005-07-06
Well, the thing is, they have the marketing muscle and in alot better position than Apple when they bought out MacOS X. The fact that these companies don't have Linux versions of their applications makes the situation even easier.
Strip this backwards compatibility, then simply drag these companies through the mud who refuse to provide free updates and make their next versions based around these superior secure API changes - basically make the market and consumers know that these companies are refusing to update because they put their sort term profits ahead of doing things to benefit their end users.
Microsoft will come off as the concerned company who has moved mountains to make their system secure, and basically those companies who software refuses to run are simply money hungry organisations who don't have the interests of the end user at heart.
As for corporate's, they'll eventually move, even if it is 6months later than what they do today; but ultimately if Microsoft provides all the tools necessary, offer free upgrades and documentation for companies to port their internally written applications and provide free upgrades for those third parties who refuse to maintain their software.
Hence the reason I don't sit in the same pool as those who think that Windows is so broken that the whole thing needs to be thrown out and started again; Windows technologically has a better footing than most operating systems, what holds it back is the layers of crap they've kept holding onto for the sake of compatibility.
Years and years ago, they might have had a valid reason, but now they have a valid reason to get rid of it - for security reasons.