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Seven Improvements in Security in Windows 7

Seven Security Improvements in Window 7

Jayesh Limaye, Nov 08, 2009 1000 hrs IST

Intelligent changes to security in Windows 7

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EXPERT REVIEW

Natively supported Biometric security

One of the best known methods of security authentication is biometrics, which includes the use of fingerprint scans, retinal scan, or other physiological features unique to the user to determine his/her identity. Windows 7 comes with built-in support for fingerprint readers. While you may point that Windows did have this feature earlier, and even Windows XP laptops came with such a feature, they did require a third party application to be installed to achieve this. In case of Windows 7, there is native support for this, so you do not need to install any driver or software. You can configure fingerprint readers in the Biometric Devices applet in the Control Panel.

Improved BitLocker

While Vista did come with BitLocker, it allowed you to encrypt only the drive on which the OS was present, and after SP1 came, it would allow you to encrypt other fixed drives as well. But in Windows 7, you can use BitLocker to encrypt even your removable drives. This is a great feature since it is the removable drives that are likely to get lost or stolen than your fixed hard drive. Therefore, an encryption of this kind is warranted, especially if there is important data on the drive.

To access BitLocker, all you need to do is open the BitLocker applet in Control Panel, pick the drive you want to encrypt and click Turn On BitLocker. Better still, you can even right-click on the drive icon in Windows Explorer and do this. The removable drive then appears in a section called BitLocker To Go.

PowerShell v2 - Powerful UNIX-like scripting

Windows PowerShell is a tool to automate tasks using cmdlets (commands that perform single tasks) and scripts made up of multiple cmdlets to perform complex and multi-step tasks. It is essentially a powerful UNIX-like command-line shell interface and scripting tool, as can be seen in the figure, and is for those with a penchant for programming. While this tool can be downloaded and run in Windows XP or Vista, it comes bundled with Windows 7. PowerShell v2, which is the newer version that comes in Windows 7, has an additional 240 new cmdlets and new APIs. It also has features such as the ability to invoke PowerShell scripts and cmdlets even on a remote computer. It also lets you manage various Group Policy security settings. PowerShell is considered very powerful because the cmdlets method requires fewer steps than using the GUI method.

DirectAccess

Another nifty new feature of Windows 7 is DirectAccess. This feature allows remote users to connect securely to their corporate networks over the internet without using a VPN. The administrator can apply Group Policy settings and manage the mobile computers or even update them whenever the mobile machines are connected to the internet. The user need not be logged in on these machines for this. Multifactor authentication with smart cards is also supported by DirectAccess and it uses IPv6 over IPsec to encrypt the traffic. This feature is available only in Windows 7 Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 R2.

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USER COMMENTS

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by mariyappan, madurai, on Nov 13, 2009 01:22 PM, Report abuse Reply

I'm running Vista 64 bit home premium. If I install Windows 7 will my Vista drivers work or do I have to wait for years (like with Vista) for everybody to catch up to Windows 7?

by Jack Brygidyr, Parksville BC Canada, on Nov 10, 2009 12:04 PM, Report abuse Reply

Some Vista 64 drivers may work with Windows 7 64-bit, but it is recommended that you use proper drivers meant to be used with this OS. If you use Windows Update service of Windows 7, there is a great chance that you will not have to worry about driver issues as most hardware drivers are maintained in the Microsoft repository and the appropriate drivers are downloaded and installed.

by Jayesh Limaye, Tech Labs, on Nov 11, 2009 12:14 AM, Report abuse

how i download windows 7 from internet. can u suggest me some site for downloading full version... Is there is any site for free downloading... thank u...

by Barun Kisku, Pune, on Nov 09, 2009 08:44 PM, Report abuse Reply

Please purchase a licensed Winsows 7 OS instead of going for pirated versions, do not disregard all the developers' hard work that has gone into this OS...... I would be telling u this if MS does not price Windows so high

by Saral, Bangalore, on Nov 09, 2009 09:54 PM, Report abuse