Microsoft has increased security for its latest operating system, Windows 7, which was rolled out late last month.
Microsoft conducted its largest security update in late October, with 13 patches that fix a total of 34 vulnerabilities; 22 of those vulnerabilities being critical. According to security experts, Windows is claimed to be the most popular target for cyber criminals and malware attacks such as viruses, Trojans and worms.
Colin Erasmus, head of Microsoft SA's Windows business, points out that the patch release is not a kneejerk reaction to something which was discovered and needed to be fixed. “The reason for the size of the combined updates is evident, as we were covering some very old operating systems such as Windows Server 2000 and some old editions of Office XP.”
The October patch covers addresses flaws in Windows 7, Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office SQL Server, Microsoft Forefront, Silverlight and Developer Tools, as well as older versions of Windows. One update, rated as critical, addresses a security loophole in Internet Explorer 8 running under Windows 7.
Erasmus says: “As technology evolves, security exploitation opportunities become apparent and Microsoft works hard to close these doors to would-be hackers. In Windows 7, we have specific features such as network location to protect users from accidentally sharing out information.
Enhanced info control
According to Erasmus, Windows XP is almost 10 years old, and back then only 15% of devices were notebooks, while today, they make up almost 60%. He says Windows 7 is more vigilant than previous MS operating systems, and has targeted features such as network location to prevent users from accidentally sharing out information.
Erasmus adds that Microsoft is driving Windows Security Essentials, a free anti-malware service. The software requires no registration, trials or renewals and is available for download directly from Microsoft.
As part of Microsoft's strategy to boost security for Windows 7, it has added Windows Biometric Framework to support biometric authentication devices. In addition, Windows 7 has an application called Homegroup, where users can share media files between computers in a home and use online identification to authenticate between computers.
In Windows 7, enhancements have been made to BitLocker, including new group policy settings that integrate with smart cards. 'BitLocker to go' allows encryption on USB flash drives and external hard drives.
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