While security features in Windows Vista will make it harder for malware coders to develop worms that target operating system vulnerabilities, Symantec is tipping that malware coders will turn their attention to other vulnerabilities, like Vista’s new Windows SideBar and gadgets.

It appears that Vista users still need to use third-party anti-spyware after Microsoft’s Windows Defender was found to only block 47% of spyware threats in quick scan mode, in a recent test of spyware products by independent lab Enex TestLab on behalf of security and utility products vendor PC Tools.

Microsoft has acknowledged a security issue in both Vista and the new Internet Explorer 7, but does not consider the problem “high risk”.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told analysts they were “somewhat too bullish” about the sales of Microsoft’s new Vista operating system at a recent financial analyst briefing in New York. Ballmer also revealed that while he believed that the controversial Windows Genuine Advantage anti-piracy program might improve revenue growth, he wasn’t counting on it to be a ”huge thing on the scale of this business”.

Computer users wanting to run Vista on Mac OS or Linux will have to buy an expensive version of Vista if they want to legally install it on their systems using virtualization technology.*

Thinking of upgrading to Vista? Here’s a complete guide to buying and installing Vista on your PC!

The pre-Vista scan

According to a high-level Microsoft executive, Vista’s replacement, code named ”Vienna”, is already being developed, and could be on the shelves by 2009.

Vista is finally out, and every one wants to know whether they should upgrade. As the token nerd in my circle of family and friends, it often falls to me to answer these kinds of thorny questions.

So you’ve heard all the hype about Windows Vista, but wonder what it means for you. Here’s a guide on how Microsoft’s Windows Vista stacks up against XP:

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