Ten ways to improve the security of Windows Vista

Although Windows XP has been Microsoft's preferred desktop operating system for a long time, this record cannot be exceeded so far, but it also brings a very painful experience to software giants. Windows XP is full of Security Vulnerabilities and vulnerable to viruses and viruses. When Microsoft develops Windows Vista, its primary goal is to solve all these security problems that have long plagued Windows XP.
Although the security of Windows Vista is much higher than that of Windows XP, even if it runs in an out of the box configuration, in order to maximize the effectiveness of Vista, you also need to know how to use some of its new security features. Next, we will introduce several tips on Vista security to help you build a truly secure Vista platform.

1. Use Network Access Protection (NAP) to keep the Network environment clean

Network access protection NAP is actually a built-in function in Windows Server 2008. It allows you to create a network health policy that defines what conditions should be met if a Windows Vista workstation is considered healthy. For example, you can require a Windows Vista workstation to enable the Windows Firewall or install a security patch. When a user attempts to log on to your network, NAP checks the user's machine to see if it meets the health standards you have set. If it does not meet the health policy, you can perform repairs on site and allow it to access the network, or directly reject the user's access to the network. NAP health policy settings are particularly complex, but I think it may be the best security feature provided by Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

2. Enable the Phishing Filter)

Make sure that all your computer's malicious website filters are turned on. Malicious website filters are designed to help users distinguish between legitimate websites and fraudulent websites. Fraudulent Websites are often installed as a popular website. Unfortunately, the website database for malicious website filters is not very comprehensive, but it includes enough legitimate websites and fraudulent websites, which makes it very useful to protect computer security. Be sure to train your users to learn how to use malicious website filters.

3. Keep your Vista installed with the latest patch

Although the Windows Vista beta version has been launched for a long time, other errors and security vulnerabilities will be gradually discovered over time, which is inevitable. Once a security vulnerability is disclosed, numerous hackers will soon exploit it to attack your system. That's why you always need to update your Vista patches to make sure they are all up-to-date. Otherwise, you will be caught by hackers, causing heavy losses. Do not mistakenly think that because Windows Vista is designed for security, it does not need to be patched frequently.

4. Know how to check update history

It is important to know how to query which patches have been installed in your Vista system. The specific method is to open the Control Panel and click the Programs and Features link. Then, click VIEw Install update VIEw Installed Updates () to see which patches have been Installed on your machine.

5. The Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller Used)

Group Policies have been the most important security mechanism on the Windows operating system platform for many years. Therefore, Windows Vista contains hundreds of group policy settings that do not exist in Windows XP, Which is expected. You can always apply these group policy settings at the local computer level, but if you want) to manage these Vista proprietary group policy settings, you need to use a Windows Server 2008 Domain Controller on your network.

6. Use Network Profiles)

Before the release of Windows Vista, the Windows operating system treats all network connections equally. However, Vista has changed this traditional approach. You can use the Network and Sharing Center to specify a Network as a Public Network ), private Network or Domain Network ). When a user's computer logs on to a domain using a network, the network is automatically designated as a domain network.

Selecting a suitable Network profile is actually very important, because the Windows platform installs various security features based on the Network type you are connected. For example, if you connect to a public Network, the Network Mapping function is disabled in Vista. In addition, ia also includes network-specific profile settings.

7. Unlike Windows XP's firewall, Vista's firewall has a dedicated management console.

I always think that I do not know enough about Vista. One of the things is that Vista's Windows Firewall looks almost identical to Windows Firewall in XP. The fact is that if you use the control panel to configure Windows Firewall, the configuration options you can select are very limited. However, Microsoft provides a dedicated management console for Vista, allowing you to configure Vista's Windows Firewall in more detail.

8. Use the 64-bit Vista version

So far, the 64-bit Vista version is much more secure than the 32-bit version. The 64-bit version includes a new security feature, the so-called Address Space Layout randomness generator (Address Space Layout Randomizer), which can generate a random starting position during system file loading. This means that different from 32-bit Vista systems, 64-bit Vista system files are rarely loaded to the same memory location. This random file loading mechanism successfully blocks many malicious programs and viruses that are often used to attack Windows XP.

Another unique security feature of 64-bit Vista is Data Execution Prevention ). This function limits executable code to run in a certain area of the system memory, effectively organizing the cross-border operation of the program. The 32-bit version of Vista also contains the Data Execution Prevention function, but the function is much simpler. It is intended through software. The 64-bit Vista Data Execution Prevention function is executed on the hardware level.

9. Do not use encryption before you understand the logical relationship.

Hundreds of people send me emails every week asking me about their technical problems. So far, the most frequently asked question is how to restore encrypted data when data encryption keys are lost. Unfortunately, if you accidentally lose the encryption key, there is no simple and effective data recovery method. In many cases, data recovery is impossible. In the face of this fact, my advice is: before figuring out how the data encryption process works and how to protect your data from loss, you 'd better not use EFS encryption BitLocker encryption technology.

10. Do not underestimate the features of Windows guardian

Windows Defender is an anti-DDoS application software of Microsoft. It is pre-installed in Windows Vista. For a long time, Microsoft has been impressed by the fact that the application software provided by the Windows operating system generally has very limited functions. System Administrators usually think that Windows applications are usually not competent at critical times, so they usually choose to use third-party applications.

However, Windows Defender is a perfect exception. Although not perfect, based on my own experience, I think Windows Defender is well qualified for my job, it can protect your machine from almost all of the most serious spyware attacks.