In this regard Vista provides some useful control features; such as setting up every user as an administrator by default and the User Account Control feature. The User Control limits application software to standard user privileges until an administrator authorizes a higher privelage level. This useful feature prevents "…users from making inadvertent changes to system settings and locks down the computer to prevent unauthorized applications from installing or performing malicious actions" (Morejon). However, initial tests of the Vista security protection have not always shown positive results. As one critic has noted; "Vista remains riddled with holes, despite its multilayer security architecture and embedded security tools. Besides providing no improvement in virus protection vs. XP, Vista brings little or no security gains over its predecessor ..." (Morejon). It should also be noted that subsequent upgrades and fixes have to a large extent helped to remedy this problem.

Many reviewers point to negative aspects in a comparison of Vista and Windows XP. One of the most prevalent of these is the view that Vista still has various backward compatibility issues with older software. This refers to the initial finding that Vista...

The suggested minimum amount of RAM to run Vista is one GB, which is much less than the requirement for XP.
While the Vista operating system was initially plagued by a plethora of problems it has matured and is now a stable and accessible operating system that exceeds Windows XP in terms of power, performance and usability

References

How to Compare Windows XP vs. Windows Vista Operating Systems. Retrieved May 4, 2009, from http://www.ehow.com/how_4446920_versus-windows-vista-operating-systems.html

Morejon M. Review: Vista, XP Users Equally At Peril To Viruses, Exploits.

Retrieved May 4, 2009, from http://www.crn.com/software/199701019;jsessionid=EDICKK0MSUUM0QSNDLQSKH0CJUNN

Vista vs. XP - Feature Comparison. A few Vista upgrade arguments. Retrieved May

4, 2009, from http://news.softpedia.com/news/Vista-vs.-XP-Feature-Comparison-47265.shtml

Windows Vista. Retrieved May 4, 2009, from http://www.bentuser.com/article.aspx?ID=332&page=1&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1