The following is part of a white paper from Microsoft. It explain some of the changes in IE in Vista Security Advances in Internet Explorer 7 To perform a broad range of functions in the computing environment, Web browsers must do many things well. They must be open and flexible enough to enable users to interact with multiple data sources across a global array of systems while simultaneously protecting users privacy and personal information and preventing unwanted application behaviors. Managing the balance between these objectives is a top priority for Microsofts customers and for Microsoft. Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista represents a major step forward in browser security and privacy protection. Through a robust new architecture, Internet Explorer 7 offers security features that have two primary security objectives: Giving customers more confidence in the security of their browsing activity and helping to prevent the installation of malicious software, including worms, viruses, adware and spyware. Protecting users personal data from phishing attacks and fraudulent Web sites while enabling safe and secure legitimate e-commerce. Protections Against Malware Internet Explorer Protected Mode: Internet Explorer Protected Mode in Windows Vista enables a robust Internet browsing experience while helping to prevent malicious hackers from taking over a users browser and executing code through the use of administrator rights. In Protected Mode, Internet Explorer 7 runs with reduced permissions, so it cannot modify user or system files or settings without the users explicit permission. The new browser architecture also introduces a broker process that helps to enable existing applications to elevate out of Protected Mode in a more secure way. Any scripted actions or automatic processes are prevented from downloading data or affecting the system. Protected Mode also helps protect against malicious downloads by restricting the ability to write to any local machine resources other than temporary Internet files. URL handling protections. Microsoft has significantly reduced the internal attack surface of Internet Explorer 7 by defining a single function to process URL data. This new data handler ensures greater reliability while providing more features and increased flexibility to address the changing nature of the Internet as well as the globalization of URLs, international character sets and domain names. ActiveX Opt-In. Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista offers a powerful new security mechanism for the ActiveX platform to deter malicious developers from writing applications that steal users information and damage their systems. ActiveX Opt-In automatically disables all controls that the developer has not explicitly identified for use on the Internet. This mitigates the potential misuse of preinstalled controls. In Windows Vista, users are prompted by the Information Bar before they can access a previously installed ActiveX Control that has not yet been used on the Internet. This notification mechanism enables the user to permit or deny access on a control-by-control basis, further reducing available surface area for attacks. Web sites that attempt automated attacks can no longer secretly attempt to exploit ActiveX Controls that were never intended to be used on the Internet. Protection against cross-domain scripting attacks. New cross-domain script barriers help ensure that user information is seen only by those to whom the user has intentionally provided it. This adds further protection against malware by limiting the ability of malicious Web sites to manipulate vulnerabilities in other Web sites and initiate the download of undesired content to a users PC. Fix My Settings. Most users install and operate applications using the default configuration, so Internet Explorer 7 ships with security settings that provide the maximum level of usability while maintaining controlled security. There are rare instances when a custom application might legitimately require a user to lower security settings from the default, but it is critical that the user reverse those changes when the custom settings are no longer needed. The Fix My Settings feature warns users with an Information Bar when current security settings might put them at risk. Clicking the Fix My Settings option in the Information Bar instantly resets Internet Explorer 7 security settings to the Medium-High default level. Advanced protection against spyware with Windows Defender. Windows Defender enhances security and privacy protections when used with Internet Explorer 7. Building on the protection against malware at the browser level, Windows Defender helps prevent malware from entering the machine via piggyback download, a common mechanism by which spyware is distributed and installed silently along with other applications. All downloads received through Internet Explorer 7 are run through Windows Defenders spyware scanners, which look for malicious content in the download. Although the improvements in Internet Explorer 7 cannot stop nonbrowser-based spyware from infecting the machine, they help provide a solid defense on several levels, when used with Windows Defender. Personal Data Safeguards Most users are unaware of how much personal, traceable data is transmitted with every click of the mouse while they browse the Web. It is also difficult for most online users to discern a valid Web site from a bogus and potentially malicious imitator. Security Status Bar. The new Security Status Bar in Internet Explorer 7 helps users quickly differentiate authentic Web sites from suspicious or malicious ones by enhancing access to digital certificate information that helps validate the trustworthiness of e-commerce Web sites. The new Security Status Bar also provides users with clearer, more prominent visual cues indicating the safety and trustworthiness of a Web site, and it supports information about High Assurance certificates for stronger identification of secure sites (such as banking sites). Microsoft Phishing Filter. Phishing is a technique used by many malicious Web site operators to gather a users personal information without consent, by masquerading as a legitimate person or business. The Phishing Filter in Internet Explorer 7 helps users browse more safely by advising them about suspicious or known phishing Web sites. The filter works by analyzing Web site content for known characteristics of phishing techniques, and by using a global network of data sources to assess whether a Web site should be trusted. Developers of phishing and other malicious activities thrive on lack of communication and limited sharing of information. Using an online service that is updated several times an hour, the new Phishing Filter in Internet Explorer 7 consolidates the latest industry information about fraudulent Web sites and shares it with Internet Explorer 7 customers to proactively warn and help protect them. The Phishing Filter combines client-side scans for suspicious Web site characteristics with an opt-in online service. It helps protect users from phishing scams in three ways: It compares the addresses of Web sites a user attempts to visit with a list of reported legitimate sites that is stored on the users computer. It analyzes sites that users want to visit by checking those sites for characteristics common to phishing sites. It sends the Web site address that a user attempts to visit to an online service run by Microsoft to be checked immediately against a frequently updated list of reported phishing sites. Even if the site is unknown to the Phishing Filter service, Internet Explorer 7 can examine the behavior of the site and report to the user if that site is doing anything suspicious, such as collecting user information without an SSL certificate. In this way, the Phishing Filter helps to prevent a site from collecting user information before it has been officially reported. The Microsoft Phishing Filter is already available as a free add-in to the MSN Search Toolbar and is included in the beta versions of Windows Vista and Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP.

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