PC Security :

Viruses, hacker attacks and other cyber threats are now a part of daily life. Malware spreading throughout the Internet, hackers stealing confidential data and mailboxes flooded with spam are the price we pay for computing convenience. Any unprotected computer or network is vulnerable.

Your computer is not secure

Home users can lose valuable personal data with one click to the wrong website. Children trading games also exchange viruses unknowingly. You receive an email requesting an update to your payment details, and a hacker gains access to your bank account. A backdoor is installed on your machine, and your PC becomes a zombie, spewing out spam.

Address the risks

It's not just home users who suffer. For businesses of all sizes, the risks are manifold. Crucial data distorted by viruses, financial data misappropriated by cybercriminals, and mountains of spam reducing ROI on human and technological resources. An effective risk management strategy is essential for business success.

New technologies — new solutions

As cyber threats have evolved, so has software to deflect such threats. Sophisticated antivirus solutions capable of detecting the most complex new viruses are now availabe. New anti-hacker programs, designed to identify the stealthiest hacker attacks, can hide your computer on the Internet. And the latest anti-spam products filter out up to 99% of unsolicited mail, protecting computers from malicious code and saving time and resources.

Vista security: a few key points

To start, we need to look at Vista as a whole. Microsoft has redesigned and improved the user interface, added 3-D windows, and simplified the way in which users can search for files, documents and applications. All of these modifications will make computers more approachable for new users, at the same time offering improved usability for those with more experience.

Microsoft has also introduced a number of new and enhanced security features in Windows Vista.

This new technology is known as User Account Control. This will ask the user for confirmation before any action that would require higher privileges is performed. User Account Control is designed to prevent events from taking place without user consent, a feature which was absent from previous versions of Windows.

Windows Vista also offers a protected mode for Internet Explorer 7.0 to make web surfing safer. In this mode, the browser works with a certain set of system restrictions that prevent malicious code from modifying key system areas. This does not protect against all types of attack, but reduces their likelihood. Internet Explorer 7.0 is also available for Windows XP, but without the option of protected mode.

Currently, Microsoft offers two solutions that provide protection against malware. Windows Defender, integrated into Windows, only protects against spyware. Microsoft OneCare is a standalone solution that does protect against viruses, Trojans and other threats, but it is not part of Vista. OneCare is a separate product and has to be purchased separately, like any other antivirus solution.