New Microsoft security to include "active protection"
Always On network reports from the RSA Security Conference that Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced a range of new measures Microsoft will introduce in the forthcoming Service Pack 2 for Windows XP.
Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, whose company's software is often derided for being buggy and vulnerable to hackers, showed off planned features for shoring up its programs and heading off cyberattacks.
Gates showed off an upcoming Windows XP update that focuses on security improvements. Service Pack 2, which will be available later this year, includes a centralized control center where users can automatically check their computer's security status, such as whether all critical updates have been applied or whether antivirus software is running.
Unlike earlier Windows releases, Microsoft's firewall software will be turned on as part of the default installation. A firewall blocks intruders from entering a system.
In the new service pack, the Internet Explorer browser will now have a pop-up ad blocker as well as more user control over small programs embedded in some Web sites.
Beyond the Windows service release, Gates also showed off "active protection technologies" that will gird Windows computers against attacks by sensing system or network changes that indicate virus activity. If a problem is detected, the computer's firewall will dynamically ratchet up defenses.
A number of companies at the conference were showing products similarly geared toward detecting unusual activity in networks.
Gates also said e-mail spam - which often contains viruses or is sent from infected computers - is being targeted on several fronts. Besides today's antispam filters, Microsoft and other companies are developing e-mail programs that allow users to create "white lists" of people with whom they wish to communicate.