Sophos takes a stab at Windows 7 UAC
Have you jumped to Windows 7 yet? And have you loaded an anti-virus yet? It might be a good idea to do so according to a recent study, even with the security features that Windows offers.
Sophos, an acclaimed world leader in IT security and data protection, recently tested the effectiveness of the Windows 7 Users Account Control, a security feature Microsoft debuted in Vista. A feature that prompts users for consent before allowing various tasks to be executed, the UAC helps keep an eye on programs that may be running potentially infected files. The Windows 7 UAC was modified to create less interruptions in efforts to smother user complaints. Can Microsoft listen to its customers and still help them? “We wanted to know if UAC was going to be effective in Windows 7,” said Chester Wisniewski, a senior security advisory with Sophos. “So we grabbed the next 10 [malware] samples that came in and tried them out.”
The 10 samples were loaded onto a clean computer running Windows 7 without anti-virus software. Wisniewski then launched the samples to resemble a user accidentally stumbling upon these files (as if a user launched a file attachment or surfed to a malicious site). You know, the typical situation where when it occurs too often, drives you into a state of paranoia in regards to anything you do on your computer? Is that just me?
Only two of the samples would not operate correctly in Windows 7. But Wisniewski continues, “User Account Control did block one sample; however, its failure to block anything else just reinforces my warning prior to the Windows 7 launch that UAC’s default configuration is not effective at protecting a PC from modern malware.” For those who have recently jumped to Windows 7, be forewarned that “you still need to run anti-virus on Windows 7.” Might I suggest a Sophos product? I mean, they are ahead of the curve by the looks of the security information they seem to always be releasing. And SophosLabs also responds “quicker to virus outbreaks than any of our major competitors.”
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