14 DAY TRIAL // In addition to traditional technologies that developers can leverage to build programs for the next major iteration of Windows, Windows 8 also allows devs to use HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript to put together immersive applications designed to run on top of the new Metro platform. Microsoft is offering guidance to web developers looking to start building Metro apps so that they can bulletproof their projects and ensure end users are protected.
The “Secure development of Metro style apps with HTML5” whitepaper, available as a free download from the software giant, highlights security best practices for Metro apps developed with web technologies.
Essentially, developers get a collection of guidelines from Microsoft on how to follow Windows 8 security best practices when putting together Metro apps.
“Windows 8 support for the development of Metro style HTML5 apps enables developers to combine the versatility and expressiveness of web technologies alongside a wide range of powerful APIs available in the Windows Runtime,” the Redmond company noted.
“Web applications running on Windows 8 have all the power of conventional native applications and thus need to be equivalently secure. Consequently, the Windows 8 web application platform has been designed with security in mind and includes security “guardrails” which, when combined with best practices, make it easy to create a secure application.”
The whitepaper deals with two main topics, namely secure data validation and the protection of sensitive data.
Microsoft stresses that devs will need to perform data sanitization even if their apps are leveraging what’s perceived as trusted sources.
In addition, protecting the users’ sensitive data is paramount. This is why the software giant recommends that HTML5 Metro apps take advantage of SSL in order to make sure that no info can be intercepted.
“The Windows HTML5 Metro style app platform was created with security in mind, and many of the most important security features operate without any extra code or effort from developers. Using the simple tips and best practices outlined in this article to complement the platform’s security “guardrails” will ensure that your application is at top of the list when it comes to security,” the company added.
Visual Studio 11 Developer Preview is available for download here. Windows 8 Developer Preview Build 8102 Milestone 3 (M3) is available for download here.