Microsoft will not wait for Longhorn to improve security in Internet Explorer Microsoft is not going to wait for the next version of Windows, codenamed Longhorn, to ship before it makes changes to improve the security of key components such as Internet Explorer, which will see a significant security upgrade in its next release due for beta in summer 2005. "We made the decision that the things we were doing wouldn't just be in Longhorn and that we needed to get them into the hands of the current installed base as well. IE 7 is down-level to XP, even though somewhat of a superset of it is the browser in Longhorn," said Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates in an interview at WinHEC. In Longhorn, Internet Explorer will run in its own protected space and will isolate itself from other parts of the operating system. Microsoft is adding several security enhancements to IE 7.0. The new version will have technology to prevent cross-domain scripting, and the default mode will be one with a reduced privilege level to help prevent attackers from using IE as a stepping-off point for other attacks. Version 7.0 may also include integration with Microsoft's emerging anti-spyware technology, which is currently in beta. Source: Winbeta