Security in Windows Vista

Windows Vista takes security seriously.Very seriously –it has been touted as the most secure Windows OS yet.While that might not be saying much,the changes made to the system are indeed far –reaching and ,well secure

Back when Bill Gates was Chief Software Architect under Microsoft .he called on employees to make security the primary focus of present and future Microsoft products.The announcement was made in the atmosphere of distrust towards the organization’s products ,as every day seemingly brought new exploits and malware to the Microsoft ecosystem .Windows XP SP2 was the first step to rectifying this problem.Microsoft also made a series of changes to the internal structure and to the manner in which the company developed software.A security –focused engineering process called Security Development Lifecycle(SDL) was established within Microsoft to move security into the very essence of software design: all widely deployed Microsoft products must follow these guidelines.

Windows Vista is the first large project to the launched under the aegis of SDL.It includes new or upgraded inbuilt security technologies that actively work to detect and prevent security threats.Theses changes include the new User Account Control feature,volume encryption using BitLocker,code integrity verification,Windows Defender ,Windows Firewall,and a new Security panel.Let’s take a closer look at each of these elements and understand how they project the OS,and what changes they bring.

The Different Versions Of Windows

Microsoft released Windows XP in two different versions:
Window home edition and windows XP Professional Edition.It was readily apparent that the Pro version was the more feature-packed, a point underlined by its higher cost. But soon enough, Microsoft added further versions to the XP stable- the many iterations of Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition; and then there were spin-offs such as XP Starter Edition and XP Embedded.
With Vista, things are much complex. The most confusing aspect with Windows Vista is deciding which version is right for your needs, and for your budge.It is not clear why microsoft decided to break up Vista into multiple software units, but the decision has been made:Windows Vista comes in a variety of versions which offer different sets of features in accordance with the market they targeted at.

Microsoft has created six Vista product editions- targeted at everyone from the entry-level to high- end ,premium customers.Plus there are version specific to national markets such as the N editions for the European Union (EU) and the K editions for South Korea.Add to this 32-bit &varients,and the total tallies up to more than 15different versions of Vista!
Our task is therefore to clearly list out the various features and quirks of each of these editions, with a view to better understanding just which Vista is the right one to go with.
At least one point becomes very clear –if you want the version that it has all,you need to pick up Wndows Vista Ultimate.Vista Ultimate is also the only version that ships with both 32-bit and 64-bit versions inside the same package.For Home Basic,Home Premium and Business Editions,you need to order a 64-bit version separately(you only need to pay for the shipping and handling costs)
Now that we have a better matrix on what the versions of Vista are like,let’s take a closer look at the product matrix and see if we can whittle down the versions, filtering to the best option for you.
Windows Vista Starter Edition:This version is for specific set of countries and regions-markets so price sensitive that cutting costs calls for an extremely cut-down and basic varient of Windows Vista :the Starter Edition .Note that since this cannot be purchased at a retail store,so this is filtered out of the product matrix.