Security Improvements
Security problems have plagued Microsoft since the Windows inception, but only in the last few years, as more people have become connected, have those flaws been exploited by malcontents. Indeed, some of the vulnerabilities in products that we see patches for on "Patch Tuesdays" are the results of poor design decisions. These types of flaws are the ones Microsoft is hoping to stamp out in the release of Windows Server 2008. You'll see quite a bit of change to the architecture of services in Windows Server 2008, including increasing the number of layers required to get to the kernel, segmenting services to reduce buffer overflows, and reducing the size of the high-risk, privileged layers to make the attack surface smaller.
While fundamentally changing the design of the operating system, the Windows Server 2008 team has also included several features designed to eliminate security breaches and malware infestations, as well as capabilities meant to protect corporate data from leakage and interception. Let's take a look at some of the improvements.
Operating System File Protection
A new feature currently known as operating system file protection ensures the integrity of the boot process for your servers. Windows Server 2008 creates a validation key based on the kernel file in use, a specific hardware abstraction layer (HAL) for your system, and drivers that start at boot time. If, at any subsequent boot after this key is created, these files change, the operating ...