A white paper: Windows 8's Security Features

[NOTE: For the latest information about compatibility between ESET's software and Windows 8, please see the following blog post: W8ing for V6: What ESET has in store for Windows 8 Users. (10/23/2012, 4:15PM)]

Windows 8 will be available to the public in three weeks, and interest in the latest version of Microsoft's flagship operating system by consumers, businesses and the media remains high. At ESET, our primary focus has been on updating our security software to be compatible with this new version of Windows, but we have also been examining Windows 8's security features in depth.

It would be impossible for us to go over all of Windows 8's security features in a paper of the typical length we write at ESET, so we have chosen to focus on the following areas based on the interest we have seen from our customers and in the security community:

• Windows Defender
• the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) and Secure Boot
• Early Launch Anti Malware (ELAM)
• potential attacks on Windows 8

In addition to all of the above, we also make use of some educated guesswork to determine the likelihood for success or failure for Windows 8.

Are you planning on buying a computer with Windows 8 when they become available?   Or perhaps you are already running it.   Please let us know what you think about the security of this new version of Windows, below, as well as any questions you might have about the white paper.