In addition, AutoRun has been disabled when you use USB flash drives and other non-removable optical storage as a safety precaution, because worms can use AutoRun to sneak malware onto your PC.
Changes to the User Account Control (UAC) may raise an eyebrow or two. While vastly unpopular in Windows Vista, the dialog boxes that pop up whenever a user tries to install new software, among other reasons, served a purpose. In Windows 7, users can adjust consent prompt behaviour using a slider control, if they have administrative privileges. Microsoft says they'll still be protected against malicious software, even if they never see another alert.
Other security features have been tweaked in the current release candidate. Scrollbars were removed in the configuration settings screen, as has the Software Explorer feature, and real-time protection in Windows 7 has been improved to reduce the impact on overall system performance.
Windows 7 extends BitLocker drive encryption support to removable storage devices, such as flash memory drives and portable hard drives. This means that users can keep sensitive data on all of their USB storage devices. Biometrics enhancements include easier reader configurations, allowing users to manage the fingerprint data stored on the computer and control how they log on to Windows 7.
Microsoft have also changed the recovery feature System Restore. System Restore now includes a list of programs that will be removed or added, providing users with more information before they choose which restore point to use. Restore points are also available in backups, providing a larger list to choose from, over a longer period of time.
Overall the improvements for Windows 7 push forward the security advances that were made with Vista without getting in the way of the end user. Users will still be reminded of actions and, in some cases, consequences but not with the degree of Vista annoyance. Networking changes such as location awareness when connected to a specific network (and then printing to the correct default printer) also make remote working or working from multiple locations a lot faster, easier and intuitive.
