But Wait, There’s More

In addition to the features discussed previously, Microsoft has improved a number of security features that debuted in previous Windows versions, too. Most of the features don’t require any user interaction. They simply work in the background, ensuring that Windows 8 is as secure as it can be.

Figure 12‑20: Task Manager now helps you disable boot‑time applications.

A small sampling includes the following:

• Credential Manager: Windows has long included a Credential Manager interface–previously called Windows Vault–that helps you combine the usernames and passwords for the local network and for websites with your Windows user account. New to this release is that you can now tie these other sign‑ins with your Microsoft account for the first time, since most people will be signing in to Windows 8 with that account type.

• Windows kernel: The innermost part of Windows has been shored up with protection technologies that were curiously available only to other Windows components in previous OS versions.

• ASLR: Since Windows Vista, Windows has employed a technique called address space layout randomization (ASLR) to randomly load code and data into different memory addresses at run time, cutting down on an entire class of memory‑based attacks. In Windows 8, ASLR has been improved with even more randomness. And it’s been extended to even more Windows components.

• Memory: Modern Windows versions have of course always included various forms of protection against memory‑based attacks, and the move to isolated Metro‑style apps will help in this and other regards. But Windows 8 also includes new protections against “use after free” vulnerabilities, where rogue or malicious applications are able to examine and exploit freed up memory that still includes valuable data or other code.

There’s still more, but you get the idea. While many Windows 8 security features are in your face when required, some simply work behind the scenes, tirelessly keeping you safe without you doing a thing. What’s missing is the “security theater” that used to dog older Windows versions, where the security features were purposefully made to be overly chatty and interruptive, providing you with a sense that something good was happening.