Vista Aims to Stop Hackers' Social Engineering Ploys

Microsoft maintains that by addressing the social aspect of IT attacks, the portion that can dupe even the smartest users into launching malware-laden attachments or clicking unknown URLs, Vista will improve PC security significantly.

Microsoft says the Windows operating system software is not the weakest link in desktop security, and contends that Windows Vista will help limit the greatest vulnerability of all?users' bad decision-making.

While previous iterations of Microsoft's dominant operating system hit the market with an abundance of security loopholes that left users open to many different forms of attack, Microsoft officials said new features offered in Vista will not only make it harder for malware writers attack the OS, but will also make it more difficult for users to hang themselves out to dry.