January 2007 - Posts

Security Features vs. Convenience
24 January 07 10:17 AM

Jim Allchin has a great blog post about some of the design issues we went through and tradeoffs we made in Windows Vista around DEP, UAC, IE and so on. It's a long, but worthwhile read . Read More...

Postedby michael_HOWARD | 1 Comments    

Filed under: Security, Vista

A couple of interesting security blog posts
19 January 07 02:09 PM

Jeff has an uncanny ability to dig into details that most folks gloss over: Exposed? : Examining Secunia Unpatched Warnings - Part 3 I have to concur with Kai: People like this just frost me: Security considered a burden for users Read More...

Postedby michael_HOWARD | 9 Comments    

Filed under: Security, Rant, Vista

How not to write secure Web apps - and get to see Steve Jobs for Free!
13 January 07 11:20 AM

This blog post outlines a bug in the macworld.com web site that allowed the blogger to get a Platinum Pass into MacWorld to see the Jobs' keynote. I'm assuming the story is true! If it's not, it is still a fascinating read about insecure code. Read More...

Postedby michael_HOWARD | 1 Comments    

Filed under: Security

Why Windows Vista is unaffected by the VML Bug
10 January 07 07:43 PM

MS07-004 does not affect Windows Vista, even though the coding bug is there. Why? The bug is an integer overflow calling C++ operator::new, but the affected component vgx.dll is compiled with the C++ compiler available in Visual Studio 2005 that automatically Read More...

Postedby michael_HOWARD | 12 Comments    

Filed under: Security, Vista

Windows Live OneCare v1.5 is released to manufacturing
05 January 07 11:51 AM

This is great news. OneCare is one of my all-time-fave products. I love it because it was built knowing that the target user is no security expert. It wasn't built by geeks for geeks. Everyone in my immediate family uses OneCare because (to quote my 70 Read More...

Postedby michael_HOWARD | 5 Comments    

Filed under: Security, Vista

My Take on Visual Studio 2005 SP1 and Windows Vista
04 January 07 02:51 PM

Over the last couple of days, many people have asked for my take on the fact that Visual Studio 2005 SP1 requires admin privileges to run on Windows Vista, and pops up a dialog saying so when it starts up. So, here’s my take, and I don't work for the Read More...

Postedby michael_HOWARD | 11 Comments    

Filed under: Security, Rant, Vista

Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 Update for Windows Vista Beta Available
01 January 07 08:51 PM

From the blurb: During the development of Windows Vista, several key investments were made to vastly improve overall quality, security, and reliability from previous versions of Windows. While we have made tremendous investments in Windows Vista to ensure Read More...

Postedby michael_HOWARD | 14 Comments    

Filed under: Security, Vista

eXPired Poster Available!
01 January 07 05:54 PM

First, a very Happy New Year to you all...! Second, due to incredibly popular demand, I managed to find the eXPired poster. I have added it as an attachment at the end of this blog post. Enjoy. Read More...

Postedby michael_HOWARD | 28 Comments    

Filed under: Vista

Attachment(s):eXPired.zip