64-bit Vista Natively Bulletproofed Against Heap-Based Buffer Overruns
When it comes down to the 32-bit Windows Vista vs. 64-bit Windows Vista, the comparison generally focuses on the added benefits synonymous with handling system memory. Because the address space of 64-bit Vista is not limited to 4GB, users are able to use a maximum of 128 GB of RAM with the Ultimate, Business and Enterprise SKUS. But at the same time, there are added benefits, and one of them is in terms of security. The 64-bit editions of Vista come to the table with PatchGuard (Kernel Patch Protection), Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), Heap and Stack randomization, and even heap corruption detection.
As far as Heap Based Buffer Overruns are concerned, both 32-bit and 64-bit Vista offer protection, but only in the x64 versions of the operating system is the even heap corruption detection enabled by default. Michael Howard, Senior Security Program Manager in the Security Engineering group at Microsoft, explained that, in x86 Vista, software developers have to call the HeapSetInformation API in order to enable heal corruption detection. Read More»
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