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Windows 7 includes new and improved security features that make it easier for developers to improve, use, and manage the security of their applications. It comes with a variety of new security features that not only help protect against threats but also limit the damage that attackers can do if they gain access to a computer.
Enhancements to the Windows Filtering Platform allow developers to create applications that interact with the packet processing in the networking stack of the operating system. Network data can be filtered and also modified before it reaches its destination.
Also, due to changes to the Windows privilege model, system security is more manageable by both developers and their end users. New improvements make it easy to identify critical prompts to ensure that users can access the applications and features they need without compromising their systems.
Windows Filtering Platform
In Windows 7, the Windows Filtering Platform has been enhanced to give developers more control over firewall functionality. The level of filtering has been increased and ISVs can now plug in custom protection and detection at lower levels. In addition, firewall developers can selectively turn parts of the Windows Firewall on or off.
Using Windows Filtering Platform, developers can build firewalls, intrusion detection systems, antivirus programs, network monitoring tools, and parental controls into their applications. Windows Filtering Platform integrates with and provides support for a wide variety of firewall features, including authenticated communication and dynamic firewall configuration based on applications' use of sockets API (application-based policy). Windows Filtering Platform also provides infrastructure for policy management, change notifications, network diagnostics, and stateful filtering.
The initial architecture of Windows Filtering Platform in Windows Vista® provided capabilities for IP-based traffic. Other non-IP protocols—such as such as Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) and media access control (MAC)-layer protocols for network management and authentication—also require filtering, inspection, or logging. In Windows 7, an NDIS inspection layer that supports MAC and ETHERNET filtering has been provided to satisfy this need.
User Account Control
User Account Control is a security component in Windows 7 that allows developers to build applications that enable users to perform common tasks as non-administrators. Developers can reduce security risks by running applications under a standard user token, reducing the risks of mistakes or attacks.
User accounts that are members of the local Administrators group will run most applications as a standard user. By separating user and administrator functions while enabling productivity, User Account Control gives developers greater control over the level of access that users have over protected areas of an application. User Account Control requests credentials in a Secure Desktop mode, where the entire screen is protected to prevent spoofing of the user interface or the mouse.
Performance
Windows 7 maximizes hardware energy efficiency and scalability while maintaining high performance. Energy efficiency is improved through reduced background activity and new support for the trigger starting of system services. Windows 7 also offers improvements in the Windows kernel that enable applications and services to scale efficiently between platforms.
Performance of many features and APIs is improved in Windows 7 versus Windows Vista. For example, driver performance on servers is optimized by new user-mode and kernel-mode topology APIs. Graphics rendering is considerably smoother and faster. Accessibility performance is also significantly faster than before.
Building Power-Efficient Applications
Building energy efficient applications that take advantage of the latest power management technologies is a significant challenge developers are facing today. Typically, processor and device manufacturers get all of the attention as their latest offerings are measured and benchmarked. However, a single application can easily prevent the latest generation of hardware from realizing its energy-efficiency potential. For example, a single application that increases the platform timer resolution can decrease battery life by 10 percent.
Extended operation on battery power and the use of energy efficient technologies are key requirements for today’s developers. Windows 7 greatly reduces the number of activities that the operating system performs that prevent use of power-saving modes. It also supports the trigger-starting of system services to enable processors to become idle more often and stay idle longer, which decreases power consumption. In addition, Windows 7 takes advantage of the latest energy-efficient hardware, including network adapters, storage devices, and graphics cards.
Windows 7 provides the infrastructure and tools that make it easy for developers to determine the energy impact of their applications. A set of event callbacks enable applications to reduce their activity when the system is on battery power and automatically scale up when the system is on AC power. For applications that involve a background process or service, Windows 7 features new infrastructure to automatically enable background tasks when most appropriate in order to maximize energy efficiency.
Service Control Manager
The Windows 7 Service Control Manager has been extended so that a service can be automatically started and stopped when a specific system event, or trigger, occurs on the system. Trigger-start capabilities remove the need for services to start up automatically at computer startup and then poll or wait for an event to occur, such as device arrival. Common trigger events for services include:
Device-class interface arrival: Start a service only when a certain type of device is present or attached on the system.
Domain join: Start a service only if the system is joined to a
Windows domain.
Group policy change: Start a service automatically when group policies are refreshed on the system.
IP address arrival: Start a service only when the system is connected to the network.
Software developers can use the predefined trigger types for Windows 7 and the configuration options to enable trigger-start capability. The Windows 7 Service Control Manager exposes a new set of APIs that enable a service to register for specific custom trigger events.
Windows Troubleshooting Platform
Windows 7 delivers a comprehensive and extensible Troubleshooting Platform that uses a PowerShell-based mechanism to troubleshoot and resolve problems. The key components of the Troubleshooting Platform include a troubleshooting package, troubleshooting engine, and troubleshooting wizard. The troubleshooting pack is a collection of PowerShell scripts and relevant metadata. The troubleshooting engine launches a PowerShell runtime to execute a troubleshooting pack, and exposes a set of interfaces to control troubleshooting pack execution.
The troubleshooting wizard provides a consistent experience across troubleshooting packs, communicating with the troubleshooting engine to troubleshoot and resolve problems that are specified in a troubleshooting pack. Execution of a troubleshooting pack can also be controlled through a set of PowerShell commandlets.
The Troubleshooting Platform seamlessly integrates with the Windows 7 PC Solution Center, enabling other applications to execute diagnostics in a similar manner as part of their PC management regimen. The Troubleshooting Platform is configurable by IT professionals through Group Policy for use within the enterprise, and a Windows Troubleshooting Toolkit that allows developers to author troubleshooting packs is also available.
The Troubleshooting Platform seamlessly integrates with the Windows 7 PC Solution Center
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