According to Microsoft, "Windows 7 improves security, reliability, and performance while helping to optimize PC management." Concepts like Kernel Patch Protection, Data Execution Prevention, Address Space Layout Randomization, and Mandatory Integrity Levels sound good, but the early propaganda about Vista hyped security too, and much of its promise failed to materialize. Will Windows 7 do better at living up to the hype? True, the goals for Windows 7 sound a little less pie-in-the-sky than Vista's concept of Three Magical Pillars of Trusted Computing, or whatever it was supposed to be. I scoped out security elements in both the beta and the Release Candidate. Now that I've had a chance to look at the final code, too, it's clear to me that Security in Windows 7 is better than in Vista—just not hugely so. Not-Quite Automatic Updates Installing the beta and RC editions went quickly because I performed a clean install on a test system. Upgrading my production s...