Anti-virus software vendor
Kaspersky has expressed concerns about the security mechanisms built into
Windows Vista.
According to ZDNet, the firm says Vista's User Account Control system, which
asks for confirmation whenever users change system settings or install new
programs, is so annoying that users will disable it. And with UAC disabled, the
firm says Vista is less secure than Windows XP. Worse yet, Kaspersky chief
executive Natalya Kaspersky told ZDNet that her analysts have already found five
ways in which malware could bypass UAC.
Kaspersky also added her voice to Symantec and McAfee complaints that
PatchGuard, designed to protect the Vista kernel, is hindering security
companies' work. "PatchGuard doesn't allow legitimate security vendors to do
what we used to do," said Kaspersky. Symantec has claimed that PatchGuard is
hurting security vendors more than it was hurting malware writers. Bruce
McCorkendale, a chief engineer at Symantec, said: "There are types of security
policies and next-generation security products that can only work through some
of the mechanisms that PatchGuard prohibits."