The age of Windows 7 is upon us as the new operating system from Microsoft will be released in the next few hours.
As usual there will be the normal people who update as soon as the new system is available on shelves or is ready to legitimately be downloaded.
There are also others who will update when they get a new computer over time.
Windows 7 Security
Whatever type of person you are, it will pay to know how to secure your new operating system from all of the dangers that the Internet can contain.
With the releases of this new operating system a lot of the old exploits will be made null and void.
But, as with any expansive piece of new software being released, new exploits will be found and taken advantage of.
It will pay for you to be prepared in the long run.
Securing Windows 7 is not too much different than securing Windows Vista or Windows XP.
Again it will take a combination of the latest software and the (much needed) common sense on your part to keep your operating system secured.
Antivirus
The first thing that you will want to do is to make sure that you have the latest version of antivirus that you use on your computer.
Microsoft has been working with all of the biggest vendors that provide antivirus solutions, so that they could keep their software updated for the new OS.
Now might be a good time to think about switching to one of these vendors for a short time while the other companies race to catch up.
You do not want to use an outdated and incomplete antivirus system on your new operating system.
Firewall
Microsoft has also upgraded the choices that you now have with their integrated firewall that comes built into the system.
It is now easier than ever to allow certain pieces of software to talk to an outside network with your permission.
The outbound and inbound network traffic analyzer has been much improved.
The whole program has been made more flexible, which was a major complaint in the past.
As I said with the antivirus if you use a third party firewall, then you might want to go with one of the major companies until the smaller companies have had a chance to catch up.
Until they catch up the built-in Firewall that Windows 7 provides is a decent solution.
Spyware
Spyware will still end up being a problem with your new system, even though they have taken steps to try to eliminate the problem.
Their solution to the problem, Windows Defender, has been upgraded and has been receiving major kudos this time around from the security community.
For a short amount of time they will have the inside track as being one of the better spyware solutions until the others have caught up.
One of the best in the business, Ad-Aware, I did not see on the list of companies that Microsoft has been working with.
This will give them a temporary disadvantage but not much of one since beta copies of Windows 7 have been released all through the development cycle.
So I hope this article gives you a good understanding on what’s available and how to secure your brand new Windows 7 system.
Not too much has changed but the security has been raised to a new level.