How is window 7

Many of the issues were due to the fact that updates are happening more frequently, said Gartner Research analyst Steve Kleynhans. Read more: 6 simple security changes all Windows 10 users need to make. Besides a suite of security tools, Windows 10 also offers more features. One is the Your Phone app , which allows you to access texts, notifications and apps from your phone using your PC -- similar to Apple's Continuity features.

A dictation feature lets you easily record ideas. Microsoft's digital assistant Cortana is also available on Windows 10 PCs. Read more: 11 easy Windows 10 tricks you didn't know about. The most recent Windows 10 October update includes new features including a new Start menu, Microsoft Edge updates and revamped notifications.

Microsoft also recently announced the upcoming Windows 10 spring update as well, which will include more new features and set the stage for a bigger change to the OS down the line. Unlike previous versions of the OS, Windows 10 offers automatic updates by default, to keep systems more secure. Read more: 5 Windows 10 features that beat what you had on Windows 7.

While Microsoft technically ended its free Windows 10 upgrade program in July , as of December , CNET has confirmed the free update is still available for Windows 7, 8, and 8. Check out our step-by-step guide on how to upgrade to Windows 10 for free. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy , which we encourage you to read.

The Show desktop shortcut is the button on the extreme right of the taskbar see Figure Another cool new feature in Windows 7 is Aero Peek. Aero Peek displays live previews of active applications when you move the mouse over the application icon in the taskbar. Figure shows Aero Peek in action when the mouse hovers over the IE icon in the taskbar.

Aero Peek requires an Aero-capable video card and a Windows 7 edition that supports Aero. Aero Shake and Aero Snap will work on any Windows 7 system.

Windows displays the live previews of all running instances of IE. When the mouse hovers over one of the live previews, the selected window appears, and the rest of the windows turn transparent. To select the window, simply click the live preview. When an application has too many open windows, the title of each window will be displayed in a list instead of live preview thumbnails.

You will notice that all other windows will now be minimized, leaving the current window. To get all the other windows back to their respective states, perform the same shaking action again and they should now all appear again.

How many times have you tried to arrange multiple windows on your desktop so that you see the windows side-by-side? In Windows 7, when you drag a window to the left side of the screen, the window is automatically docked onto the left of the screen see Figure , occupying half the screen. Likewise, when dragged to the right, the window will be docked to the right.

When dragged to the top, the window will be maximized. Besides dragging, Windows 7 provides several shortcuts see Table for window management. Microsoft first introduced gadgets in Vista.

In Windows 7, gadgets are not confined to the sidebar which itself was docked to one side of your screen in Vista but are free to roam about on your desktop see Figure This time, both of them were updated to use the new ribbon interface that was introduced in Office Besides the Paint and WordPad applications, another longtime built-in Windows application has also received some new improvements.

The Calculator now has two additional modes in addition to the Standard and Scientific modes : Programmer and Statistics see Figure Besides the two new modes, the calculator also allows you to perform conversion tasks such as unit and date conversions. It also provides worksheets for you to calculate mortgages, vehicle leases, and fuel economy see Figure In this chapter, you have seen the various editions of Windows 7 and the system requirements that you need to satisfy in order to run it.

Over the years, Microsoft has streamlined the installation process—and Windows 7 is no exception. Windows 7 performs exceedingly well, and stays out of your way thanks to a less naggy UAC. In the following chapters, you will learn more about each of the new features of Windows 7 and how you can use each of them to your advantage. Skip to main content.

Start your free trial. Chapter 1. Installing Windows 7. Versions of Windows 7. Starter Edition A lightweight edition for netbook computers.

Windows 7 Starter Edition Application Limits? Home Basic This edition is designated for emerging markets only; it is for customers who are looking for an inexpensive entry-level Windows experience limited Aero support, no features such as Windows Media Center or multitouch support.

Professional This edition is designed for home workers and small businesses, and will include features like advanced network backup and the Encrypting File System.

Enterprise Includes everything that Professional includes and adds BitLocker protection. Ultimate Includes all the features available in Windows 7. Note Windows 7 Ultimate edition is really the same as the Enterprise edition. System Requirements. Upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7. Figure Two ways to install Windows 7—upgrade or fresh installation.

Warning If you are doing a clean install via the Custom advanced option, be sure to back up any important data you have previously saved on your hard drive before starting the installation. Touchscreen support. Microsoft Surface Globe Displays a 3D earth with which you can interact using—what else?

Microsoft Surface Collage Manages your digital photos; you can resize and rearrange them. Microsoft Surface Lagoon A screensaver that you can interact with through multitouch. Microsoft Blackboard A game utilizing physics where you can use gestures to rotate gears, fans, seesaws, and other objects. Microsoft Rebound A ball game in which you can play against another user or the computer. I have been running Kaspersky Total Security for several years, which has worked well so far. Microsoft Windows 7 — launched in — came to the end of its supported life on Tuesday.

What should people do next? To begin with, Windows 7 will not stop working, it will just stop receiving security updates.

It was so bad that Microsoft released a patch for XP , even though it was out of support. There are reasons to be fearful, because of the way the malware industry works.

On the second Tuesday of every month, Microsoft releases security patches that should be installed automatically by Windows Update. The malware industry analyses these patches to find the holes, and then looks for ways to exploit them. A lot of the code in Windows 10 goes back to Windows 7 and earlier versions. In this case, as with XP, there could be millions of relatively easy targets.

The core advice boils down to this: avoid coming into contact with any malware, and make sure you have nothing to lose. The second is tedious but essential. That applies to browsers in particular. Running good anti-virus software and a firewall should help minimise the risk, so it may be worth paying for something like Kaspersky Total Security.

You must also be super-suspicious about emails, and never click unsolicited attachments. According to Precisesecurity.