Microsoft Improves Windows XP Mode With New Windows 7 RC

From DailyTech: One of Windows 7's most interesting features is going to be the Windows XP mode, available on Professional and Ultimate edition licenses. Typically, virtual machines are only supported via separately purchase software from vendors such as VMWare and Microsoft. This limits its audience and appeal to many everyday users. So Microsoft decided to do something unique and bundle Windows 7 with a virtual machine with Windows XP inside. This allowed them not only to bring virtualization to the masses, but also to seamlessly integrate compatibility for legacy applications.

The feature, however, was only in rough form in the beta candidate and previous release candidate builds. Yesterday Microsoft release a new release candidate that at last added a near-finalized version of this functionality. The build is available here and runs Windows XP SP3.

Aware of security risks, Microsoft has accompanied the build with a warning that users should install anti-malware and antivirus software to protect Windows XP. It has been speculated that malicious users could exploit the virtual machine via vulnerabilities -- such as lack of ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) or a Internet Explorer Protected Mode -- to perform guest-to-host attacks. This problem is minimized by the fact that the install comes with a firewall and that Microsoft will be offering free antivirus support for XP as well as Vista and Windows 7 this fall (a second beta is expected to drop soon).

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