You want details, huh? OK, but remember, you asked for it.
First, I just want to note that the offer from Microsoft to upgrade to Windows 8 pro for $40 ends January 31. I expect the price will double after that.
Now, answers to questions:
Hyper-V: It is free on the Pro and volume license version of Windows 8. It is the full Hyper-V that was previously only offered on Windows Server. You can also manage virtual machines running on other servers in your network - so it' very handy. I have loaded the following operating systems on it:
- Windows Vista
- Windows 7
- Windows XP
- DOS
- Ubuntu
- Red Hat Linux
I haven't done much with the Linux versions after I installed them, so take that for what it's worth. But just getting those installed is usually the toughest part.
Performance
Like Windows 7, Windows 8 runs faster than its predecessor on older hardware. This means you will see a bigger performance difference on a six-year-old computer than on a 1-year-old computer. I have it on my old 2008 ThinkPad, and that laptop is now faster than it was with Windows XP - it's original operating system.
Super fast boot: Everyone will notice this immediately. My new laptop comes up in less than 8 seconds. My old laptop that usually took about a minute and a half to boot, now comes up in about 25 seconds. This is a night and day difference.
Security:
Windows 8 has had a radical security overhaul compared to Win 7. I am particularly impressed with how they made the OS both more obscure and harder to hack, and at the same time made it easier live with a highly secured system in day-to-day activities.
Boot: Win 8 will use UEFI Secure boot, if you have newer hardware that supports it. This allows only trusted, signed, operating systems to be installed on the computer. No one can put in a USB stick and boot the computer into another OS and then proceed to hack the computer.
Anti-virus is NOT optional: There is no such thing as an unprotected Windows 8 machine. Every Win 8 computer has sophisticated anit-virus / anti-malware installed. This is initially Microsoft Security Essentials, but you can replace it with Norton, McAfee, or whatever suite you want. Regardless of what you use, they all integrate with the OS.
- At boot, the first component of the anti-malware software loads before the the kernel. It checks the boot files and makes sure they are the signed versions and haven't been changed. (This prevents root-kit attacks.)
- Internet Explorer integrates with the security software. Web site code is checked before it is loaded. All downloads are automatically scanned.
- The new ReFS file system integrates with the anti-malware software. Every file operation includes a scan for suspicious code.
New memory management randomizes program addresses: Memory management has been completely overhauled. Instead of consistently loading the kernel and services into specific memory addresses, it constantly changes their location. This makes if very difficult for malware programmers to target a specific piece of vulnerable code.
Sync Settings between Computers: Now we get to the security features that make life easy. Just like you use a Google account to set up your Android phone, or your iTunes account to set up your iPad, you can use a Microsoft account to sign in to your Windows 8 computer. (This is a Hotmail, xbox, Live, Outlook.com account. But you can also register a gmail or yahoo address to use as your Microsoft account.) If you do that, a whole world of things become easier, especially if you use multiple computers. For one, your settings automatically sync between computers: favorites, history, passwords, desktop backgrounds, Start page design, and others. So setting up a new or second computer or tablet becomes much easier.
Picture password: Naturally, this makes keeping your Microsoft account safe of particular importance. So, go ahead, use a long and nonsense password that is unique for that account. But, you're thinking now you are going to have to type that long thing in every time you start the computer or it wakes up? Nope. Introducing the picture password. Use a picture (your own, or one of Microsoft's) as the background on your lock screen. Then, either with touch or a mouse, trace a random gesture pattern on the picture. That now is how you log in. With the mouse, I just draw a series of three lines, and I'm in. There is a long and impossible to guess password on the account, but I don't have to type it in every day. I have all the advantages of the complicated password, with none of the time-consuming disadvantages.
But wait! There's more! Since I don't use a lot of WinRT apps this isn't as relavant ot me personally - but all WinRT apps are "sandboxed" so they are isolated from all other apps. If one app is compromised, it has no path to affect other apps. Again, another very high barrier for Malware writers to overcome. It also supports Trusted Platform Modules (TPM) which can tie the individual OS fingerprint to application transactions (like, maybe to your bank). This verifies that not only are you the valid user, but your computer has not been compromised. This defeats spy software, and also keeps the network to which you are connecting more secure.
The bottom line on security is that Windows 8 makes it so much more difficult for the virus writer, it will be a long time before it is even worth their trouble to break when there are so many easier targets out there. And if you are running one of those older versions of Windows, you are now on the preferred hacking target.
