Windows Vista is vulnerable by design. At least this is the conclusion of security developer Kaspersky. And there are two arguments for this, the excessive enforcement of security measures and the weakest link of Windows Vista.

Historically, no barrier has been insurmountable. And this is a reality that tailor fits the Windows operating system throughout its history. In the same manner, the security enhancements of Windows Vista will not pass the test of time.

"Given that Microsoft systems are very popular, cyber criminals will always be interested in finding vulnerabilities. We'll take an incurably optimistic approach, and not take Microsoft's previous security record, established over many years, into account. The fact is that neither the quality nor the quantity of barriers intended to protect against hackers play a significant role. In fact, the opposite is true: they simply stimulate the interest of a particular subsection of the computer underground," predicted Alisa Shevchenko, Virus analyst, Kaspersky Lab.

Kaspersky regards Vista security features such as the user Account Control, PatchGuard and IE Protect Mode inadequate due to the fact that they represent restrictions, and they enforce user limitations at the expense of usability. What will the end-user choose between restriction and flexibility, even if the latter implies an elevated threat level? It's a love-fate relationship that is in the detriment of security.

The fact of the matter is that as long as a user will stand in front of the PC, the weakest link in the security chain will also be in front of the computer. The threat environment is shifting towards social engineering and phishing, and users are unpatchable.

"The only significant factor is that hackers and virus writers will search for vulnerabilities - that much is clear. And if they are searching for vulnerabilities they will find them," added Shevchenko.