Researchers feed newspapers to computers

"In some cases, the product group is waiting for the code drop every Friday," Schroeder said. "There are a set of problems around Trustworthy Computing that are just crucial."

One of those areas is a highly touted concept called shield technology. Microsoft's highest executives have promised that the idea will find itself soon into the core Windows operating system. The idea is that when there is a vulnerability, a shield can provide a Band-Aid that makes sure nothing gets in the wound until a full patch can be applied to close the hole.

Much of the fundamental research in the area, however, is still ongoing, even at Microsoft. Helen Wang is part of a team of researchers trying to advance the state of the art, even as the Windows teams scrambles to include the technology in forthcoming versions of the operating system.

While shields will not prevent exploits that occur just as a vulnerability is discovered, Wang notes that 90 percent of attacks exploit a well-known vulnerability. In most cases a patch is available before the attack, but may not be widely installed.

"People do not patch [in a] timely [manner]," Wang said.

Rather than fight a losing battle trying to convince companies to change their ways, Wang said shields can offer protection without the same need for testing. In some areas, shields could replace patching altogether. In the pharmaceutical industry, for example, companies have to disclose to regulators any patches they do, but the same might not be true of shields.

It's that kind of "street smarts" that seems characteristic of Microsoft's researchers. To thrive inside the software maker's lab, one also has to be ready to shift one's field of study.

"The set of things that are worth [looking into] shifts as time goes by," Schroeder said. "A good researcher has to be cognisant of that and be flexible."

However, even with the attention being given to near-term problems, Schroeder says Microsoft's research unit isn't going to lose its long-term focus. He said there's a healthy balance of work that is 10 or 15 years from having a practical application, work that is useful immediately, and all sorts of projects in between.

"Any good lab is going to have a mix," he said.