I believe you have seen a lot of articles about difference
between Windows 8 and Windows 7. Now I summarize three major differences
between them. Hope it could make you
become more familiar with two present popular Windows operating systems, Windows
8 and Windows 7.
Windows 8 provides four different versions, Windows RT,
Windows 8 Standard, Windows 8 Professional and Windows 8 Enterprise. Windows RT
is designed for tablet, and other three versions are available for PC
Up to now, a lot of people still think that Windows 8 is the upgrade version of Windows 7. Actually, it is not true. So what’s the difference between Windows 8 and Windows 7?
Up to now, a lot of people still think that Windows 8 is the upgrade version of Windows 7. Actually, it is not true. So what’s the difference between Windows 8 and Windows 7?
1st Difference: Version difference between Windows 8 and Windows 7
When Windows 7 was released, it is divided into several versions, including Home Premium, Ultimate and Pro. Why Microsoft divides Windows system into so many versions? The most important reason is in order to satisfy computer users’ especial demand. Just like the four versions of Windows XP, Microsoft also divides Windows 8 into four versions.
Windows RT will be installed in tablet or PC with ARM
processors. And Windows 8 Enterprise is mainly in the face of enterprise and
their employees, which bound to a large number of enterprise applications. Therefore,
for general computer users, if they want to upgrade Windows 7 to Windows 8,
Windows Standard and Pro are the best choice.
2nd Difference: Design Difference between Windows 8 and Windows 7
If you have tried to use Windows 8, you should know design of Windows 8 is so different from previous Windows systems that we may think it should not be Windows OS for computer.
1. Compared to Windows 7, Windows 8 preview keeps the
similar layout of the traditional interface.
Status bar of desktop still keeps the Aero Glass Affection. And
the default background takes Beta fish into use which couldn’t show technology
period feel.
2. Start button
is cancelled in Windows 8 at last.
3. Windows 8 will split the Control sidebar in the left button. And the traditional left button
of the desktop will become a quick entrance to Metro surface.
4. Compared with developer preview, the consumer preview of
Windows 8 enlarges button in control sidebar, which makes touch-based operation
convenient.
5. In Windows 7, the composite keys of Win and Tab let us know
about the layout of 3D effect. But in Windows 8 consumer preview, the page
switch mode of the keys combination changes.
6. In the design of Ribbon
sidebar, Windows 8 consumer preview make options more easy-to-use and rich
like Office, at the same time, the developer version will become easier to use
too.
7. In Windows 8 consumer preview, when users are ready to
delete something, the system will not give users a hint just like Windows 7 to
make a final decision. Instead it will be made by Empty Recycle Bin. This improves effect of Windows system.
8. In Windows 8 consumer preview, the label page of external
device, such as USB, connecting with computer is similar to Metro UI experience.
9. During the process of copy and paste in Windows 8, computer
user could decide suspend the process, which becomes more humanized than in
Windows 7.
10. Windows 8 consumer preview improves task manager by integrating
simplify with graphicalization.
3rd Difference: Security Difference between Windows 8 and Windows 7
This part mainly talks
about 6 more advanced security settings in Windows 8 than Windows 7.
Whatever you think of it, Windows 8 isn’t just a new
interface slapped on top of Windows 7. Windows 8 has seen a lot of security
improvements, including an integrated antivirus, an application reputation
system, and protection from boot-time rootkits. There are also quite a few
low-level security improvements under the hood. Microsoft hasn’t spelled out
all of them, but Windows 8 manages memory in a more secure way and includes
features that make security vulnerabilities harder to exploit.
1. Integrated Antivirus
Windows 8 finally includes an integrated antivirus program. It’s
named Windows Defender, but the
interface will be immediately familiar to anyone that’s ever used Microsoft
Security Essentials – this is Microsoft Security Essentials with a new name.
You can easily install any other antivirus you prefer and Windows Defender will
be automatically disabled if another antivirus is running, but the integrated
antivirus is a capable product. Best of all, this ensures that all Windows
users will finally have antivirus protection out-of-the-box.
2. Early Launch Anti-Malware
In Windows 8, antivirus products can start earlier in the
boot-up process to scan the system’s drivers for malware. This helps protect
against rootkits that start before the antivirus program and hide from it.
Windows Defender starts earlier in the boot process out-of-the-box, and
third-party antivirus vendors can also add the Early-Launch Anti-Malware (ELAM)
feature to their products.
3. SmartScreen Filter
Previously used only in Internet Explorer, the SmartScreen
filter is now implemented at the operating system level. It will be used to
scan EXE files you download from Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google
Chrome, and other programs. When you download and double-click an EXE file,
Windows will scan the file and send its signature to Microsoft’s servers. If
the application is known-good, such as the installer for iTunes, Photoshop, or
another popular program, Windows will allow it to run. If it’s known-bad, perhaps
if it contains malware, Windows will prevent it from running. If it’s new and
Windows doesn’t know what it is, Windows will warn you and allow you to bypass
the warning.
This feature should help less-experienced users from
downloading and running malicious programs from the Internet. Even new pieces
of malware will be detected by the SmartScreen filter as an unknown new program
that should be approached with caution.
4. Secure Boot
On new Windows 8 computers that use the UEFI firmware
instead of the old-style BIOS, Secure Boot guarantees that only specially
signed and approved software can run at boot. On current computers, malware
could install a malicious boot loader that loads before the Windows boot
loader, starting a boot-level rootkit (or “boot kit”) before Windows even
launches. The rootkit could then hide itself from Windows and antivirus
software, pulling the strings in the background.
On Intel x86 PCs, you’ll be able to add your own security keys to the UEFI firmware, so you could even have your system boot only secure Linux boot loaders that you’ve signed.
On Intel x86 PCs, you’ll be able to add your own security keys to the UEFI firmware, so you could even have your system boot only secure Linux boot loaders that you’ve signed.
5. Memory Management Improvements
Microsoft has made a lot of under-the-hood improvements to
the way Windows 8 manages memory. When a security hole is found, these
improvements can make the security hole harder or even impossible to exploit.
Some types of exploits that function on earlier versions of Windows wouldn’t
function at all on Windows 8.
Microsoft hasn’t spelled out all of these improvements, but they have mentioned a few:
Microsoft hasn’t spelled out all of these improvements, but they have mentioned a few:
- ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) has been extended to more parts of Windows, randomly moving data and code around in memory to make it harder to exploit.
- Mitigations that were once applied to Windows applications are now also applied to the Windows kernel.
- The Windows heap, where Windows applications receive their memory from, includes additional checks to defend against exploit techniques.
- Internet Explorer 10 includes improvements that make 75% of the security vulnerabilities reported over the last two years more difficult to exploit.
6. New Apps Are Sandboxed
Apps for Windows 8’s new Modern interface (formerly known as
Metro) are sandboxed and restricted in what they can do on your computer.
On the Windows desktop, applications had full access to your system. If you downloaded and ran a Windows game, it could install drivers on your system, read files from everywhere on your hard drive, and install malware on your computer. Even if programs run with limited credentials thanks to UAC, they typically install with Administrator privileges and can do anything they want during installation.
Windows 8 apps function more like web pages and mobile apps on other popular mobile platforms. When you install an app from the Windows Store, that app has limited access to your system. It can’t run in the background and monitor all your keystrokes, logging your credit card number and online banking passwords like applications on the traditional Windows desktop can. It doesn’t have access to every file on your system.
Apps for Windows 8’s new Modern interface are also available only available through the Windows Store, which is more controversial. However, users can’t install malicious Modern apps from outside the store. They’d have to go through the Windows Store, where Microsoft has the ability to pull them if they’re discovered to be malicious.
On the Windows desktop, applications had full access to your system. If you downloaded and ran a Windows game, it could install drivers on your system, read files from everywhere on your hard drive, and install malware on your computer. Even if programs run with limited credentials thanks to UAC, they typically install with Administrator privileges and can do anything they want during installation.
Windows 8 apps function more like web pages and mobile apps on other popular mobile platforms. When you install an app from the Windows Store, that app has limited access to your system. It can’t run in the background and monitor all your keystrokes, logging your credit card number and online banking passwords like applications on the traditional Windows desktop can. It doesn’t have access to every file on your system.
Apps for Windows 8’s new Modern interface are also available only available through the Windows Store, which is more controversial. However, users can’t install malicious Modern apps from outside the store. They’d have to go through the Windows Store, where Microsoft has the ability to pull them if they’re discovered to be malicious.
Windows 8 is definitely more secure than Windows 7. An
integrated antivirus and application reputation system, along with a tamed app
ecosystem that replaces the wild-west nature of previous versions of Windows,
will probably make the most difference for inexperienced users that may not
have ran an antivirus or knew which applications were safe to install on
previous versions of Windows. Low-level improvements to the way Windows manages
memory will help everyone, even power users.
Security part refers to: 6
Ways Windows 8 is More Secure than Windows 7
Related Articles:
No comments:
Post a Comment