A new view of security in Vista

Companies beta testing Vista have been quick to praise new security features in the operating system which is due out by year's end.

Vista will include a number of new features, especially in its graphical user interface (GUI), that are not yet completely realized in competing operating systems such as Apple Computer's Mac OS X or the open-source Linux OS.

Those features include 3-D views of windows, built-in handwriting recognition, easy real-time wireless collaboration and online file sharing, automatic alerts about phishing and other fraudulent Web sites, and even support for a "sideshow" feature that allows notebook PCs to display regularly-accessed information on a 2in screen mounted on the outside of the closed notebook case.

Microsoft plans to release a Community Technical Preview (CTP) of Vista by the end of March to companies participating in its Technology Adoption Program (TAP).

One security change will make it harder for malware or hackers to gain administrator level access -- even if they can crash Vista systems. This is a feature that already exists in Unix and Linux. Another is the ability to run Internet Explorer 7.0, which will come bundled with Vista or can be separately downloaded, in a "protected mode" that prevents trojans or hackers from surreptitiously installing spyware or other malicious programs automatically.