Windows 7 officially launched on October 22nd, which offers so much value and ease of use that even my wife can use it, which is a great testimonial to Microsoft. But apart from all the speed and GUI improvements there are a plethora of Security enhancements too.
And we thought we would highlight a few of them here:
There are a LOT of new and improved security capabilities with Windows 7. Some are completely new – like AppLocker and BitLocker To Go. Others are improved over what shipped with Windows Vista (like BitLocker), but are new to XP users.
Here’s a list of the prioritized features discussed in the note (I’m sure there are more, these are the major ones that I get questions on):
- AppLocker
- User Account Control
- BitLocker
- BitLocker To Go
- Internet Explorer Version 8 Security
- DirectAccess
- Windows Services Hardening
- Windows Firewall
- ASLR, DEP and Safe Unlinking
- USB Device Control
- Kernel Patch Protection (formerly called PatchGuard) and Signed Device Drivers With 64-Bit
- Windows 7 Network Access Protection
- Windows Defender
- Domain Name Systems Security Extensions Support
- Windows Audit Function
- Rights Management Services Client
One important note: Because many of the more popular security features such as BitLocker, BitLocker To Go, AppLocker, DirectAccess and so on require EA/SA, the cost of EA/SA must be factored into any cost-benefit analysis of migration. .