Microsoft Corp. quietly beefed up a key defensive feature of 64-bit Windows Vista yesterday to better protect the operating system against hacks that have plagued it for weeks.

The update to Vista's Kernel Patch Protection, a.k.a. PatchGuard, was issued through Windows Update as a high-priority download, but not as a patch per se. Microsoft, in fact, denied that it was a security fix. "While this updates adds additional checks to the Kernel Patch Protection system, it does not involve a security vulnerability," an advisory posted yesterday by the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) stated. "The update does increase the reliability, performance, and resiliency provided by Kernel Patch Protection."

Although the update targets all 64-bit editions of Windows, it's Vista that stands out by reason of recent events. Since late July, a pair of utilities have sidestepped a crucial Vista security feature that requires drivers to be signed by a valid digital certificate. Both utilities piggybacked unsigned code onto a legitimate driver to get the former past Vista's defenses and into the kernel.

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Microsoft, Windows Vista, Vista Kernel, Hack, Hacking, Hackers, Vulnerabilities, Security Updates, Vista Updates, Kernel Patch, Vista News