Creating sandbox accounts
Perhaps the greatest security issue for any PC is its users. You may know exactly what you’re doing online, but if you share the system with less-experienced family members then you may be used to seeing settings changed, unfamiliar software installed or antivirus alerts about dubious files that they have downloaded appear. With this in mind, it’s good to know that Windows 7 will include a potential solution called PC SafeGuard.
Simplifying encryption Encryption is another option that’s traditionally kept away from home user versions of Windows, and this isn’t a situation that will change with Windows 7, with the full set of encryption features only available in the Ultimate Edition. If you’re willing to spend the cash, though, you’ll at least find that the encryption options are easier to access than before.
To encrypt a file in XP or Vista, you must by default right-click it, select ‘Properties’, click ‘Advanced’, check the ‘Encrypt’ option and click ‘OK’ twice. That’s a fairly convoluted procedure to follow each time that you want to encrypt a file. Windows 7 finally changes this needlessly complex behaviour, and protecting a file is now as easy as right-clicking it and selecting ‘Encrypt’. That’s much more convenient.
It’s a similar story with drives. Vista could encrypt them with BitLocker, but you could only do this if you already knew where to find the option. In Windows 7 all you have to do is right-click the drive, select ‘Turn on BitLocker’ and follow the instructions. Even the instructions are much simpler now, as BitLocker automatically creates its hidden boot partition without you having to worry about the details.
A new feature called BitLocker To Go extends this functionality to easily lost devices like USB flash drives. This is very welcome additional protection for your important data, especially as administrators can set a policy forcing USB drives to be BitLocker-enabled before data can be written to them. The system even includes an application that allows the drive to be read on XP and Vista systems, so your data will be visible elsewhere. This legacy access is read-only, though, so you won’t be able to change anything, and the data won’t be visible on Macs, Linux systems or anything else that can’t launch the BitLocker application. So while there are solid steps forward here, the system still has its limitations – and we think it’s increasingly unacceptable that home versions of Windows come with no encryption options at all. In the current safety-conscious climate, they shouldn’t be an optional extra for those customers who can afford to pay more.