Malware is any program or file that is intended to be harmful to your computer. Microsoft has become more dedicated in protecting computers against malware attacks as in evident in the release of Vista.

Vista includes several technologies, that when used together, enhance protection against various forms of malware. These technologies include:

• User Account Control
• Windows Defender
• Malicious Software Removal Tool
• IE 7 security
• Windows Firewall
• Security Center

User Account Control
User Account Control (UAC) is the feature that enables Vista to be able to run more reliably without giving the user local admin rights to the system. This does result in some additional dialog boxes and warnings that pop up for users but in the end it reduces the damage that malware can do to a computer.

User Account Control is enabled by default in Vista. Microsoft recommends leaving it enabled to protect against the installation of malicious software. The Security Center will indicate whether UAC is turned on.

Further to enabling/disabling this feature, you can control the behavior of UAC through the local computer policy. Open the Local Computer Policy and navigate to the following locations: Local Computer Policy \ Computer Configuration \ Windows Settings \ Security Settings \ Local Policies \ Security Options. The following settings can be used to control UAC:

User Account Control: Admin Approval Mode for the Built-in Administrator Account.

The default value for the UAC policy setting is Disabled for new installations and upgrades when the built-in Administrator is not the only active local administrator account on the computer.

User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators in Admin Approval Mode.

This security setting determines the type of prompt an admin-level user will receive when they attempt to perform an admin-level task. The default value is Prompt for Consent. You can increase security by setting the value to Prompt for Credentials. Doing so means the admin-level user will need to enter their admin-level username and password.

User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for standard users.

This security setting determines the type of prompt a standard user will receive when they attempt to perform an admin-level task. The default value is Prompt for Credentials.

You can increase security by setting the value to Automatically deny elevation requests. Standard users will then have to perform admin-level tasks using the Run command or by logging in with an admin-level account.

In the next installment of this article, we’ll look at how Windows Defender and the Malicious Software Removal tool work to protect your computer against malware.