Filed under: Internet, Security, Windows, Microsoft
Windows 7 security defeated by 8 out of 10 malware applications
by Sebastian Anthony Nov 9th 2009
Leading up to its release, there was a lot of concern regarding Windows 7's default User Account Control (UAC) settings. Namely: it doesn't actually provide any damn security. Alas.
Basically, Microsoft went ahead and reacted to the public outcry regarding the Vista security confirmations. I think we can all agree that they were really annoying (and most power-users turn UAC off because of how irritating they are). As a result, there are significantly fewer UAC warnings in a default Windows 7 installation -- hooray! The problem is that the new default setting in Windows 7 leads you to falsely believe that you have a secure installation right out of the box. Sadly, this is not the case.
It's no surprise then that 8 out of 10 malware applications defeated the default Windows 7 UAC setting in tests.
So practice safe surfing (duh!) or go and hoik your UAC settings up to the most secure -- and annoying -- setting. Ars Technica has a great guide on patching up your UAC for new Windows 7 users -- or even an experienced user like myself that falsely believed the default setting to be secure.
[via ZDNet]
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