Windows 7: Up and Running

Security

On the security front, Microsoft has made some UI tweaks to IE to encourage users to be more conscious of the sites they are visiting while at the same time adding new filters to help detect malicious websites.

Domain Highlighting

In IE8, the domain name in the URL is highlighted to draw your attention to the site you are visiting. As shown in Figure 6-24, it is apparent that the URL of the site is oreillynet.com, as it is highlighted in black while the rest of the URL is in gray.

Figure 6-24. Highlighting the domain name in the address bar

SmartScreen Filter

In IE7, Microsoft introduced the Phishing Filter, via which IE will try to warn users when they attempt to visit known phishing sites. In IE8, Microsoft has replaced the Phishing Filter with a feature called the SmartScreen Filter, which is still essentially a phishing filter, but with some advancement:

• Improved user interface

• Better performance

• Antimalware support

When a phishing site is detected, IE8 will display the warning page shown in Figure Figure 6-25.

Figure 6-25. IE8 detecting a phishing site

You can also manually check whether a site contains threats by clicking the Safety button and then selecting SmartScreen Filter→Check This Website (see Figure 6-26). IE8 will check the URL against the list of suspected sites from its ...