Windows 7 is six times more likely to get infected than Windows 8 and Windows XP is 21 times more likely to be exploited, product manager Chris Hallum told Techradar. But that was still all defensive reactions; for Windows 8.1, he said, Microsoft is going on the offensive with better malware protection, new ways of checking the security certificates web sites rely on - and with a plan to add encryption and biometric security to every PC.
The built-in anti-malware tool Defender will protect against more threats in the browser, including from plugins and ActiveX controls. Now with the Windows 8.1 update, the OS will scan those payloads before they're executed.
Source: Techradar