Users will have to balance their IT security requirements
with potential Java and .net performance problems if they are to
take advantage of the features being introduced in Windows XP
Service Pack 2.
XP SP2, which is due out in the first half of 2004, will be an
important step in Microsoft's strategy to provide a secure IT
environment. But the highest level of security offered through SP2
will require the use of "no execution" (NX) technology, which is
currently only available on machines equipped with AMD's Athlon an
Opteron 64-bit chips.
NX uses a feature of the processor to prevent a buffer overflow
exploit, by stopping a hacker from running a Trojan horse program.
Microsoft said NX should prevent worms such as MS Blaster from
replicating.
Gartner research fellow Martin Reynolds said, "Buffer overflow will
be a lot harder to exploit under SP2." But he pointed out that some
applications might not be compatible with NX. "Some code may
deliberately execute from the data area - for example, just-in-time
compilers for Java - and require the NX feature to be disabled," he
said.
Intel said its next Pentium 4 chip, Prescott, would not support NX.
"There are compatibility concerns around NX. We would only
introduce it once those are dealt with," an Intel spokesman told
Computer Weekly.
Carla Arend, analyst on IDC's European security research team,
said, "NX technology should be considered by companies as part of
their upgrade plans." She said if NX processors are already
available from AMD and if Intel is about to launch them, companies
that can wait before immediately upgrading should do so to take
advantage of the NX fix.