There's a software product coming that has the potential to demote spyware from a security priority to an afterthought: Windows Vista.
Spyware has become a serious security problem for users of Microsoft's operating system over the past years, giving rise to a host of third-party tools to fight the insidious software. But perhaps the best defensive program has yet to ship, some analysts believe.
Microsoft later this year plans to release Windows Vista, the long-awaited successor to Windows XP. The operating system is being designed to shut the door on spyware. It will introduce important changes at the heart of the operating system, as well as to Internet Explorer, and include Windows Defender, an anti-spyware tool."The spyware threat will definitely shrink or shrivel" as Vista gets adopted, said John Pescatore, an analyst with Gartner. "We got a handle on spam. It still gets through, but it is such a small percentage now, we know how to deal with what gets through. That same thing will happen to spyware. It will be under control."
While Microsoft was working on Vista, spyware grew into a security nightmare. Experts believe the malicious software, which pops up ads on screens or spies on PC users, has been surreptitiously put on more than three-quarters of PCs. In an FBI survey published earlier this year, 80 percent of businesses reported spyware trouble, making it the most common security woe after viruses, worms and Trojan horses.
Every new version of Windows offers some security improvements, but Vista more so, said Rob Enderle, an analyst with the Enderle Group. "Vista, because it was pretty much conceived during the toughest times for Microsoft with regards to malicious software, has the most protection in it compared to any of their platforms," he said.
Vista takes on spyware
Microsoft is taking a three-pronged approach with Windows Vista to reduce the threat of spyware.
User Account Control
By default, Windows Vista will run with fewer
user privileges. The privileges control how a user can interact with the
software. Most Windows XP users have "administrator" privileges, which could be
abused by malicious software to install itself on a computer.
In Windows Vista, users will have to invoke administrator rights to perform certain tasks, such as installing software.
Internet Explorer
7
IE 7 will run in "protected mode." This mode will prevent silent
installs of malicious software by stopping the Web browser from writing data
anywhere on the PC except in a temporary files folder without first seeking
permission.
Windows
Defender
Microsoft's anti-spyware tool will block and clean up any
infections that do make it through. The tool scans for spyware, adware, rootkits
and other malicious code, but does not include antivirus technology.
Spyware and its less-noxious cousin adware are widely despised for their sneaky distribution tactics, unauthorized data gathering and slowing of PCs. The unwanted software does not typically land on a computer the way a virus or a worm does. Instead, it creeps onto a system by tricking the user into clicking on a malicious link on a Web site or in an instant message. Alternatively, the distributor may secretly bundle it with an innocuous application that the user does want, such as a free application for file sharing.
Though spyware has been able to haunt users of XP, it won't be as easy for miscreants to get their malicious software onto machines that run Vista, said Austin Wilson, a director in the Windows Client group at Microsoft.
"We have taken out a significant number of the attack vectors that spyware authors use today," said Austin Wilson, a director in the Windows Client group at Microsoft. "We're not saying that spyware will be gone because of Windows Vista. We do think we will make a significant impact."
Microsoft is taking a multipronged approach to fight spyware. Unlike XP, Vista will run by default with fewer user privileges. People will have to invoke full, "administrator," privileges to perform tasks such as installing an application.
Also, Internet Explorer 7, included with Vista, will prevent silent installs of malicious code
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