Safety and security[edit]

Safety and security[edit]

New security features in Windows 8 include two new authentication methods tailored towards touchscreens (PINs and picture passwords),[71] the addition of antivirus capabilities to Windows Defender (bringing it in parity with Microsoft Security Essentials).[72] SmartScreen filtering integrated into Windows,[73] Family Safety offers Parental controls, which allows parents to monitor and manage their children's activities on a device with activity reports and safety controls.[74][75][76] Windows 8 also provides integrated system recovery through the new "Refresh" and "Reset" functions,[77] including system recovery from USB drive.[78] Windows 8's first security patches would be released on November 13, 2012; it would contain three fixes deemed "critical" by the company.[79]

Windows 8 supports a feature of the UEFI specification known as "Secure boot", which uses a public-key infrastructure to verify the integrity of the operating system and prevent unauthorized programs such as bootkits from infecting the device's boot process.[80] Certified Windows 8 devices must have secure boot enabled by default, and provide ways for users to disable or re-configure the feature. ARM-based Windows RT devices must have secure boot permanently enabled.[81][82][83]