New preview of Vista ... security enhancements rule

According to Silicon.com, a new preview version of Vista is out this week .  This go round it's interface, performance,and security on the must-try list.  Here are some of the newsecurity features:

• Windows Defender, an update to Windows AntiSpyware, is designed toprotect Windows PCs against spyware, rootkits and other threats.Windows Defender has improved detection and removal capabilities as well as a new user interface which, according to Microsoft, is simpler and fits better with Windows Vista.

• BitLocker Drive Encryption is meant to protect data on computers when lost or stolen. The full disk encryption featureis designed to work with a chip called the Trusted Platform Module, or TPM, which offers protected storage of encryption keys, passwords anddigital certificates.

• Tighter control over removable storage deviceslets system administrators centrally block the installation of, for example, USB flash drives and external hard drives. This feature is designed to help prevent corporate intellectual property or sensitivedata from being compromised or stolen.

• Parental controls designed to let parents limit and monitor computer usage, including setting time limits, restricting websites that can be visited and generating reports on computer usage.

Nice.  Very nice.  Clearly Microsoft is trying, at least, to make computer security an important facet of Vista. My gut tells me that it's going to be security and performance, not really other features, that will be the marketing push for Vista.  Personally, I think that it isn't goo-gaws that people are interested in, it's making their machines easier to use and safer.  One friend I know needed to have a computer expert (not me) spend four hours cleaning spyware off her machine.  Bets are on the teenage daughter for being the culprit.

Personally, my daughter is restricted to Firefox on a restricted (no IM, no installs) account.  I'm looking forward to better parental controls in Vista.  Next question ... how much will it cost and can my current machines handle it?  That's a good question.

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