Microsoft will omit anti-virus protection in Vista, the next version of Windows, which it plans to ship late this year. As with previous versions of Windows dating back to Windows 2000 at least, Redmond is promoting Vista as a landmark improvement in Windows security. Jim Allchin, co-president of Microsoft's platform products and services division, told reseller magazine CRN that safety and security, improved user experience, and mobility features will be key additions in Vista. But there will be no anti-virus software, the Windows development supremo said during a questions and answers session with CRN. For unspecified business (not technical) reasons, Microsoft will sell anti-virus protection to consumers through its OneCare online backup and security service.
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Member since:2005-07-17
I know you're being sarcastic, but Vista will (supposedly) require a password to install most software. Also, the registry is a fairly useful component that certain (Linux, maybe?) other operating systems need equivalents to. (Unless, of course, you enjoy having multiple "default" browsers.)
Putting the OS on a separate partition wouldn't really accomplish anything, either, considering that you would need to be able to write to the OS partition for installations of certain programs, which would result in (a) wasted space on the drive, as free space would have to be left in the OS partition in order to accommodate for this, and (b) no real security advantage, as once you'd entered the password a malicious installer would have access to the OS anyway, regardless of where it was.
You do have a valid point about the "embedded script" point, though...
Member since:2005-11-15
"Also, the registry is a fairly useful component that certain (Linux, maybe?) other operating systems need equivalents to. (Unless, of course, you enjoy having multiple "default" browsers.)"
I really don't think Linux NEEDS the Registry, well not in Microsoft model anyway.
Member since:2006-01-04
(Unless, of course, you enjoy having multiple "default" browsers.)
Maybe to see how a prospective future default browser works with some programs for testing purposes rather than having to switch system-wide defaults every time I wanted to go back to my normal default browser.
It's kind of nice to check out how Mozilla or Opera works with GAIM, for instance, as opposed to having it call Konqueror when I already know what Konq. will do in a certain situation.
"It's all about offering the user choice."
Member since:
2005-07-06
<i/>What if Microsoft made Vista require a password to install software, ditched the registry, got rid of ActiveX, put the OS on a separate partition from the users' files, and changed their "let's make every program and file format capable of running embedded scripts" design philosophy and actually made their OS secure? Would Symantec and Trend and McAfee sue them for screwing up their business model?[/i]
probably...