Internet Explorer 7 for Longhorn Will Resist Spyware

Microsoft’s IE7 for Longhorn to Have “Low Rights”

by Yaroslav Lyssenko

[ 06/14/2005 | 01:29 PM ]

For the past couple of years Microsoft has been developing its next generation operating system (OS) – Longhorn. While the release of the OS has been several times postponed, some details on the Longhorn continue to emerge on the Internet: we do know that besides being more comfortable to work with, Longhorn will concentrate on tangibly improving security features. Since harmful programs, such as spyware and adware, annoy users all around the world, Microsoft is concentrated on developing some means, which will decrease the threat and damage done by spyware in future. 

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“Rob Franco, lead program manager for IE Security at Microsoft, wrote in a blog entry on Thursday that Internet Explorer 7 for Longhorn will contain a feature called “low rights IE”. The feature essentially removes administrator rights, so that the system will not allow unknown applications, such as spyware and other potentially dangerous code, to be installed without express permission from the user,” claims CNET News.com.

"The Web site’s code won’t have enough privileges to install software, copy files to startup folder, or hijack the settings for the browser’s homepage or search provider. The primary goal of Low Rights IE is to restrict the impact of a security vulnerability... It can limit the damage a vulnerability can do,” writes Rob Franco, lead program manager for Internet Explorer Security at Microsoft.

• CNET News.com: IE7 Being Developed to Resist Spyware.