Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Vista DRM Prevents Kernel Tampering

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the in-theory-anyway dept.

mjdroner writes "A ZDNet blog reports on a new DRM feature for Vista that 'protects' the kernel from tampering. The blog quotes a Microsoft document: 'Code (CI) protects Windows Vista by verifying that system binaries haven't been tampered with by malicious code and by ensuring that there are no unsigned drivers running in kernel mode on the system.' The blog says that much of the DRM in Vista is simply a port from XP, but that this feature is new to the OS."

2 of 428 comments (clear)

  1. Coercion? by P(0)(!P(k)+P(k+1)) · · Score: 5, Interesting
    From a related article:
    Vista driver developers must obtain a Publisher Identity Certificate (PIC) from Microsoft. [] This costs $500 [EUR 412] per year, and as the name implies, is only available to commercial entities.
    Does this amount to indirect coercion? In XP, if I remember, unsigned drivers were allowed to run unhindered with loud information dialogs.
    1. Re:Coercion? by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Interesting
      > By allowing only signed drivers it will make it harder for root kit crackers. I don't think there are many voluntaires that write device drivers for Windows in the first place, so the requirement that only companies can get a Publisher Identity Certificate is not that big a loss. The cost of $500 a year is not much for a company, anyway.

      The cost of $500 a year is also not much for the Russian mob, or any other bunch of fuckweasels that want to sponsor the creation of a rootkit.