Microsoft Fixes Security Bug In Vista

Microsoft as it approaches the ‘RTM’ date of its new client OS Windows Vista seems to be taking no chances. Zdnet has reported that Microsoft has quietly gone and patched Windows Vista to prevent it from being hacked. The hack had been demonstrated, at a security conference a couple of months ago, by Jonanna Rutkowska a Polish researcher, who works for a Singapore-based company called Coseinc. Ms Rutkowska had figured out a method, for bypassing an inbuilt security method in Windows Vista 64 bit, which was designed to prevent any device drivers, which were not signed by Microsoft as authentic from running.

The bypass discovered by Rutkowska, had shown that under certain conditions, unsigned drivers could be installed. This was a grave discovery, as malware makers, could easily use this exploit, to install Trojans and completely compromise a PC’s security. Device drivers, normally have access to the subsystems of an OS and therefore this hack took on a critical rating.

Taking note of this fact, Microsoft seems to have fixed this shortcoming in its current version of Windows Vista RC2 64 bit. When the current version was tested by Ms Rutkoswka, it was found to be immune to her hack.

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