Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows or better known as Windows is a family of operating systems. developed by Microsoft, using the graphical user interface.

Windows operating systems have evolved from the MS-DOS, an operating system based on text mode and command-line. The first version of Windows, Windows Graphic Environment 1.0 was first introduced on 10 November 1983, but only out of the market in November 1985, which was made to meet the computer needs to display a picture. Windows 1.0 is 16-bit software (not an operating system) that runs on MS-​​DOS (and some variants of the MS-DOS), so he will not be able to run without a DOS operating system. Version 2.x, 3.x versions of the same. Some versions of Windows (starting from version 4.0 and Windows NT 3.1) is an independent operating system that no longer depend on the operating system MS-DOS. Microsoft Windows and can be developed and can be controlled using the operating system up to 90%.

- A Brief History of Windows

Starting from DosShell for Microsoft's DOS 6 and Microsoft wanted to compete against the best-selling Apple Macintosh that uses a GUI, Microsoft created Windows 1.0. The name is derived from the Microsoft employees who call the name of the application as a Windows program (Windows Program). Windows version 2 is the first Windows versions can install the program. The only program that can be added is a Microsoft Word version 1. Windows version 3 promises more additional applications, completeness of use, beauty of the user interface or interface and easy configuration. Windows version 3.1 is the version of Windows that can optimize its use in the processor 32-bit Intel 80386 and above. Windows Version 3.11 is the last version of Windows before the era of the Start Menu. Windows 3.11 was the first Windows version that supports networking / network. Hybrid version can be run without MS-​​DOS. The hybrid version is installed itself with DOS 7. Unlike the 16-bit Windows version which is a shell which must be installed through DOS first. Application is different. Although Windows 9X can run 16-bit Windows applications, but Windows 9X has a grade applications themselves - X86-32, Windows 9X is very popular with the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death).

Security

Consumer versions of Windows were originally designed for ease-of-use on a single-user PC without a network connection, and did not have security features built in from the outset. However, Windows NT and its successors are designed for security (including on a network) and multi-user PCs, but were not initially designed with Internet security in mind as much, since, when it was first developed in the early 1990s, Internet use was less prevalent.

These design issues combined with programming errors (e.g. buffer overflows) and the popularity of Windows means that it is a frequent target of computer worm and virus writers. In June 2005, Bruce Schneier’s Counterpane Internet Security reported that it had seen over 1,000 new viruses and worms in the previous six months. In 2005, Kaspersky Lab found around 11,000 malicious programs—viruses, Trojans, back-doors, and exploits written for Windows.

Microsoft releases security patches through its Windows Update service approximately once a month (usually the second Tuesday of the month), although critical updates are made available at shorter intervals when necessary. In versions of Windows after and including Windows 2000 SP3 and Windows XP, updates can be automatically downloaded and installed if the user selects to do so. As a result, Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, as well as Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2003, were installed by users more quickly than it otherwise might have been.

While the Windows 9x series offered the option of having profiles for multiple users, they had no concept of access privileges, and did not allow concurrent access; and so were not true multi-user operating systems. In addition, they implemented only partial memory protection. They were accordingly widely criticised for lack of security.

The Windows NT series of operating systems, by contrast, are true multi-user, and implement absolute memory protection. However, a lot of the advantages of being a true multi-user operating system were nullified by the fact that, prior to Windows Vista, the first user account created during the setup process was an administrator account, which was also the default for new accounts. Though Windows XP did have limited accounts, the majority of home users did not change to an account type with fewer rights – partially due to the number of programs which unnecessarily required administrator rights – and so most home users ran as administrator all the time.

Windows Vista changes this by introducing a privilege elevation system called User Account Control. When logging in as a standard user, a logon session is created and a token containing only the most basic privileges is assigned. In this way, the new logon session is incapable of making changes that would affect the entire system. When logging in as a user in the Administrators group, two separate tokens are assigned. The first token contains all privileges typically awarded to an administrator, and the second is a restricted token similar to what a standard user would receive. User applications, including the Windows Shell, are then started with the restricted token, resulting in a reduced privilege environment even under an Administrator account. When an application requests higher privileges or "Run as administrator" is clicked, UAC will prompt for confirmation and, if consent is given (including administrator credentials if the account requesting the elevation is not a member of the administrators group), start the process using the unrestricted token.

File permissions

All Windows versions from Windows NT 3 have been based on a file system permission system referred to as AGLP (Accounts, Global, Local, Permissions) AGDLP which in essence where file permissions are applied to the file/folder in the form of a 'local group' which then has other 'global groups' as members. These global groups then hold other groups or users depending on different Windows versions used. This system varies from other vendor products such as Linux and NetWare due to the 'static' allocation of permission being applied directory to the file or folder. However using this process of AGLP/AGDLP/AGUDLP allows a small number of static permissions to be applied and allows for easy changes to the account groups without reapplying the file permissions on the files and folders.

Windows Defender

On January 6, 2005, Microsoft released a Beta version of Microsoft AntiSpyware, based upon the previously released Giant AntiSpyware. On February 14, 2006, Microsoft AntiSpyware became Windows Defender with the release of Beta 2. Windows Defender is a freeware program designed to protect against spyware and other unwanted software. Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 users who have genuine copies of Microsoft Windows can freely download the program from Microsoft's web site, and Windows Defender ships as part of Windows Vista and 7.

Third-party analysis

In an article based on a report by Symantec, internetnews.com has described Microsoft Windows as having the "fewest number of patches and the shortest average patch development time of the five operating systems it monitored in the last six months of 2006."

A study conducted by Kevin Mitnick and marketing communications firm Avantgarde in 2004 found that an unprotected and unpatched Windows XP system with Service Pack 1 lasted only 4 minutes on the Internet before it was compromised, and an unprotected and also unpatched Windows Server 2003 system was compromised after being connected to the internet for 8 hours. However, it is important to note that this study does not apply to Windows XP systems running the Service Pack 2 update (released in late 2004), which vastly improved the security of Windows XP. The computer that was running Windows XP Service Pack 2 was not compromised. The AOLNational Cyber Security Alliance Online Safety Study of October 2004 determined that 80% of Windows users were infected by at least onespyware/adware product.Much documentation is available describing how to increase the security of Microsoft Windows products. Typical suggestions include deploying Microsoft Windows behind a hardware or software firewall, running anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and installing patches as they become available through Windows Update.

Emulation software

Emulation allows the use of some Windows applications without using Microsoft Windows. These include:

Wine – a free and open source software implementation of the Windows API, allowing one to run many Windows applications on x86-based platforms, including Linux and Mac OS X. Wine developers refer to it as a "compatibility layer"; and make use of Windows-style APIs to emulate the Windows environment.

1.  CrossOver – A Wine package with licensed fonts. Its developers are regular contributors to Wine, and focus on Wine running officially supported applications.

2.  Cedega – TransGaming Technologies' proprietary fork of Wine, designed specifically for running games written for Microsoft Windows under Linux. A version of Cedega known as Cider is used by some video game publishers to allow Windows games to run on Mac OS X. Since Wine was licensed under the LGPL, Cedega has been unable to port the improvements made to Wine to their proprietary codebase. Cedega ceased its service in February 2011.

3.  Darwine – A bundling of Wine to the PowerPC Macs running OS X by running Wine on top of QEMU. Intel Macs use the same Wineas other *NIX x86 systems.

ReactOS – An open-source OS that is intended to run the same software as Windows, originally designed to simulate Windows NT 4.0, now aiming at Windows XP and Vista/7 compatibility. It has been in the development stage since 1996.

- Windows Version

16-bit, berjalan di atas MS-DOS

1985 November - Windows 1.0

1987 9 Desember - Windows 2.0

1990 22 Mei - Windows 3.0

1992 Agustus - Windows 3.1

1992 Oktober - Windows for Workgroups 3.1

1993 November - Windows for Workgroups 3.11

Hibrida (16-bit/32-bit), berjalan tanpa MS-DOS (meski tidak sepenuhnya)

1995 24 Agustus - Windows 95 (Versi: 4.00.950)

1998 25 Juni - Windows 98 (Versi: 4.1.1998)

1999 5 Mei - Windows 98 Second Edition (Versi: 4.1.2222)

2000 19 Juni - Windows Millennium Edition (Me) (Versi: 4.9.3000)

Berbasis kernel Windows NT

1993 Agustus - Windows NT 3.1

1994 September - Windows NT 3.5

1995 Juni - Windows NT 3.51

1996 29 Juli - Windows NT 4.0

2000 17 Februari - Windows 2000 (Versi: NT 5.0.2195)

2001 - Windows XP (Versi: NT 5.1.2600)

2003 - Windows Server 2003 (Versi: NT 5.2.3790)

2006 - Windows Vista (Versi 6.0 Build 6000)

2007 - Windows Home Server (Versi 6.0.1800.24)

2008 - Windows Server 2008 (Versi 6.1)

2009 - Windows 7 (Versi 6.1 Build 7600)

2009 - Windows Server 2008 R2 (Versi 6.1)

2011 - 2012 - Windows 8 (in planning)

Source : Wikipedia