- #RING SECURITY SYSTEM DRIVERS#
- #RING SECURITY SYSTEM FULL#
- #RING SECURITY SYSTEM CODE#
- #RING SECURITY SYSTEM WINDOWS 7#
- #RING SECURITY SYSTEM WINDOWS#
Thus code executing with the virtual PC set to 0圎200000, for example, would automatically be in ring 7, and calling a subroutine in a different section of memory would automatically cause a ring transfer. One example is the Data General Eclipse MV/8000, in which the top three bits of the program counter (PC) served as the ring register. In some systems, areas of virtual memory are instead assigned ring numbers in hardware. The hardware remains aware of the current ring of the executing instruction thread at all times, with the help of a special machine register. The original Multics system had eight rings, but many modern systems have fewer. micro-kernels (particularly in Usenet newsgroups and Web forums), Microsoft's Ring-1 design structure as part of their NGSCB initiative, and hypervisors based on x86 virtualization such as Intel VT-x (formerly Vanderpool). OpenVMS uses four modes called (in order of decreasing privileges) Kernel, Executive, Supervisor and User.Ī renewed interest in this design structure came with the proliferation of the Xen VMM software, ongoing discussion on monolithic vs.
In addition to this, DR-DOS' EMM386 3.xx can optionally run some modules (such as DPMS) on ring 1 instead.
#RING SECURITY SYSTEM DRIVERS#
Under DOS, the kernel, drivers and applications typically run on ring 3 (however, this is exclusive to the case where protected-mode drivers and/or DOS extenders are used as a real-mode OS, the system runs with effectively no protection), whereas 386 memory managers such as EMM386 run at ring 0. OS/2 does to some extent, using three rings: ring 0 for kernel code and device drivers, ring 2 for privileged code (user programs with I/O access permissions), and ring 3 for unprivileged code (nearly all user programs).
#RING SECURITY SYSTEM WINDOWS#
Many modern CPU architectures (including the popular Intel x86 architecture) include some form of ring protection, although the Windows NT operating system, like Unix, does not fully utilize this feature.
#RING SECURITY SYSTEM WINDOWS 7#
For example, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 (and their predecessors) use only two rings, with ring 0 corresponding to kernel mode and ring 3 to user mode, because earlier versions of Windows ran on processors that supported only two protection levels. However, most general-purpose systems use only two rings, even if the hardware they run on provides more CPU modes than that.
#RING SECURITY SYSTEM FULL#
The GE 645 mainframe computer did have some hardware access control, but that was not sufficient to provide full support for rings in hardware, so Multics supported them by trapping ring transitions in software its successor, the Honeywell 6180, implemented them in hardware, with support for eight rings.
Multiple rings of protection were among the most revolutionary concepts introduced by the Multics operating system, a highly secure predecessor of today's Unix family of operating systems. Programs such as web browsers running in higher numbered rings must request access to the network, a resource restricted to a lower numbered ring. For example, spyware running as a user program in Ring 3 should be prevented from turning on a web camera without informing the user, since hardware access should be a Ring 1 function reserved for device drivers. Correctly gating access between rings can improve security by preventing programs from one ring or privilege level from misusing resources intended for programs in another. Special call gates between rings are provided to allow an outer ring to access an inner ring's resources in a predefined manner, as opposed to allowing arbitrary usage. Ring 0 is the level with the most privileges and allows direct interaction with the physical hardware such as certain CPU functionality and chips on the motherboard. Rings are arranged in a hierarchy from most privileged (most trusted, usually numbered zero) to least privileged (least trusted, usually with the highest ring number). This is generally hardware-enforced by some CPU architectures that provide different CPU modes at the hardware or microcode level. A protection ring is one of two or more hierarchical levels or layers of privilege within the architecture of a computer system. In computer science, hierarchical protection domains, often called protection rings, are mechanisms to protect data and functionality from faults (by improving fault tolerance) and malicious behavior (by providing computer security).Ĭomputer operating systems provide different levels of access to resources. Privilege rings for the x86 available in protected mode