IE7 Protected mode
I love how Microsoft can do what everyone else did years ago, and speak about it as if they are doing something different. Awesome.
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Actually, that satatement is quite incorrect. The lower-privelage mode of the new IE/Vista is new and unique.
I also find it kind of funny:
- Your first link points to a page of API-level architectural changes.
- Your second link points to a page highlighting “RSS integration” and how you can “save and email web pages”.
The two links are not in any way comparable.
Myron A Semack on February 11th, 2006 6:09 pm
I was pointing to the announcement, and then to Safari as a whole since it does this. And that lower-privilege thing is not unique in the least. IM me when you get a chance.
Colin D. Devroe on February 11th, 2006 6:11 pm
The Protected Mode features being added to Vista/IE7 ARE entirely unique.
The idea of not running as root/Administrator is not unique, and has existed on Windows (and other platforms) for decades. However, this is unrelated to what is being discussed for IE7.
Myron A Semack on February 11th, 2006 7:00 pm
I’m with Colin here. Microsoft is inventing new names and new fixes for issues every other browser has had licked for years.
I mean, really, oh-my-gosh, Microsoft figured out how to restrict access to a user’s favourites. And it looks like Windows trojans and browser helper objects can now be tricked into creating fake registry keys instead of over-writing the real ones. Absolutely incredible stuff coming out of Redmond these days.
Paul D on February 16th, 2006 11:53 am
I’m sorry, but no browser “has this licked”.
The problem stems from the fact that the browser plug-in mechanisms are exploitable. They give you the permissions of the application as it executes. If you install a malicious plug-in under FireFox, it can do just as much damage as an IE ActiveX plug-in.
Arguably, IE’s plug-in mechanism is MORE secure, because it’s digital signature system is more sophisticated.
What the new authorization system of Vista lets you do is to run the web browser with the minimum privelages necessary (e.g. a guest account). This means that a mis-behaving plugin can only touch a fraction of what the user can. Currently, a bad IE or Firefox plugin can destroy anything a user can touch.
What’s truly amazing is that Microsoft has done this without breaking backwards compatibility, which is HUGE. Backwards compatibility is the whole reason the PC and Microsoft platforms have been successful.
Myron A Semack on February 16th, 2006 8:53 pm