Community Technology Preview shows off security and performance enhancements
Microsoft has unveiled a new Community Technology Preview of its forthcoming Windows Vista operating system.
The release includes enhancements to security, performance and the user interface, claimed Shanen Boettcher, a senior director with Microsoft's Windows Client Group, in a conference call with reporters.
The preview includes an updated version of Windows Defender, formerly known as Windows AntiSpyware, offering better detection and removal of spyware and malware and an improved user interface.
It will also run on a standard user account in Windows rather than requiring access in administrator mode.
Microsoft has also made available an updated version of its firewall software that now features bi-directional filtering. This enables the software to monitor the data that a system is receiving from the internet as well as data that it is trying to send, potentially blocking worms or spyware from connecting to their masters.
Internet Explorer will provide better notifications when a user visits a spoofed website set up to steal confidential information such as credit card numbers.
Microsoft had already revealed that the browser will use a list of known spoofing websites and turn the address bar red when a user visits such a site.
Boettcher said that Internet Explorer will also look for uncommon characters in the website's URL, based on the system's language settings. The software will, for example, issue a warning when an English user visits a website with a foreign character in the URL such as an 'รถ'.
For enterprises, the software adds support for the IPSec standard for data encryption or authentication. Another feature courting enterprises enables IT administrators to control or block the use of USB memory keys through group policies.
"This has been a great concern in terms of data leakage, in files being copied on to these devices and then taken home or potentially lost," explained Boettcher.
Consumers, meanwhile, can start testing the software's new parental control features that enable parents to monitor and control their children's computer use by blocking certain websites.
It can also prevent access to games based on the ratings set by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, and allows parents to set a timer for the maximum duration of computer use.
The December Community Technology Preview will introduce a new feature dubbed Bitlocker, which uses a technology that Microsoft refers to as Secure Start-up.
Bitlocker will encrypt the contents of the hard drive on a laptop computer, preventing data leaks when the device is lost or stolen.
New performance features include Superfetch, which was unveiled at the Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles in September.
The technology uses external memory, including USB memory keys or flash memory chips, to boost system performance by preloading commonly accessed data and applications into the memory.
Testers can also expect to start seeing some of Vista's new designs for the user interface, including transparent windows and an updated interface for Media Centre editions.
The preview will be made available to about 500,000 developers and IT professionals through Microsoft's technical beta, MSDN and TechNet programmes.
Windows Vista is the first version of Microsoft's operating system for which the company is using its Community Technology Previews.
Microsoft promised the monthly updates in September, although it skipped the November release. Each preview is centred around a certain theme, indicating to testers when they can expect to start looking at certain functionalities.
Microsoft issued a first beta of Vista in July. A second beta has been promised for early 2006, and the final product is scheduled for the second half of 2006.
Microsoft has unveiled a new Community Technology Preview of its forthcoming Windows Vista operating system.
The release includes enhancements to security, performance and the user interface, claimed Shanen Boettcher, a senior director with Microsoft's Windows Client Group, in a conference call with reporters.
The preview includes an updated version of Windows Defender, formerly known as Windows AntiSpyware, offering better detection and removal of spyware and malware and an improved user interface.
It will also run on a standard user account in Windows rather than requiring access in administrator mode.
Microsoft has also made available an updated version of its firewall software that now features bi-directional filtering. This enables the software to monitor the data that a system is receiving from the internet as well as data that it is trying to send, potentially blocking worms or spyware from connecting to their masters.
Internet Explorer will provide better notifications when a user visits a spoofed website set up to steal confidential information such as credit card numbers.
Microsoft had already revealed that the browser will use a list of known spoofing websites and turn the address bar red when a user visits such a site.
Boettcher said that Internet Explorer will also look for uncommon characters in the website's URL, based on the system's language settings. The software will, for example, issue a warning when an English user visits a website with a foreign character in the URL such as an 'รถ'.
For enterprises, the software adds support for the IPSec standard for data encryption or authentication. Another feature courting enterprises enables IT administrators to control or block the use of USB memory keys through group policies.
"This has been a great concern in terms of data leakage, in files being copied on to these devices and then taken home or potentially lost," explained Boettcher.
Consumers, meanwhile, can start testing the software's new parental control features that enable parents to monitor and control their children's computer use by blocking certain websites.
It can also prevent access to games based on the ratings set by the Entertainment Software Rating Board, and allows parents to set a timer for the maximum duration of computer use.
The December Community Technology Preview will introduce a new feature dubbed Bitlocker, which uses a technology that Microsoft refers to as Secure Start-up.
Bitlocker will encrypt the contents of the hard drive on a laptop computer, preventing data leaks when the device is lost or stolen.
New performance features include Superfetch, which was unveiled at the Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles in September.
The technology uses external memory, including USB memory keys or flash memory chips, to boost system performance by preloading commonly accessed data and applications into the memory.
Testers can also expect to start seeing some of Vista's new designs for the user interface, including transparent windows and an updated interface for Media Centre editions.
The preview will be made available to about 500,000 developers and IT professionals through Microsoft's technical beta, MSDN and TechNet programmes.
Windows Vista is the first version of Microsoft's operating system for which the company is using its Community Technology Previews.
Microsoft promised the monthly updates in September, although it skipped the November release. Each preview is centred around a certain theme, indicating to testers when they can expect to start looking at certain functionalities.
Microsoft issued a first beta of Vista in July. A second beta has been promised for early 2006, and the final product is scheduled for the second half of 2006.
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