Is the Windows 7 UAC as Secure as Vista's?
Maybe it's just the jet-lag talking (we've been traveling all day), but this is the funniest thing we've heard in weeks: At least one researcher thinks Windows 7's revamped User Account Control (UAC) has been "neutered" and should be set to a more Vista-like level of aggressiveness. Um, wasn't the aggressiveness of Vista's UAC the source of endless complaints about the OS? Wasn't UAC the poster child for what was wrong with Vista? And now security types are suggesting that it was doing its job and Microsoft shouldn't have mucked with it? Well, sort of. The Sophos researcher who made the claim did a few informal tests on a Windows 7 system with no other security software installed. Here's an excerpt: [The researcher] acknowledged that the test was just a quick-and-dirty exercise that didn't accurately portray how secure Windows 7 was overall -- or how well it would withstand attack if it was protected by even a basic antivirus tool like Microsoft's free Security Essentials. If nothing else, it's interesting reading. And once you've finished, answer us this question: What do you think of the "new and improved" UAC? Is it better? Worse? A pain in the neck? A necessary evil? |
