Now that I have Microsoft Windows 7 installed on an old test machine I’ve started looking at more under the hood and to see what it has to offer compared to Windows XP and Windows Vista. So far I am impressed with the latest Operating System from Microsoft and I can already see a few advantages users are going to have over using one previous release’s of Microsoft Windows.If you decide to switch over to using Windows 7 I would suggest that you first install it onto a test machine ad play around with it before making that switch to your production machine.

Basic security configurations for Windows 7

When you do get Windows 7 installed for the first it’s advisable to perform some basic configuration steps for better security. These are steps I take when first installing Microsoft Windows for clients and although they are very basic then can help reduce the risk of an attack on your computer.

Create a Standard User Account

When you first install Windows 7 you are prompted to create a user account, this is the main Administrator account. You should never use the Administrator account unless it’s completely essential. Set-up a new Standard User Account and use that instead, it’s has less privileges than an Administrator account so if you ever get struck with a computer virus it will have less access privileges needed to spread.

Enable Windows Firewall

Switched off by default the Windows Firewall should be enabled before you start browsing the web with your newly installed Windows 7. Unless of course you already have a firewall installed, either way protect your PC with a firewall from the start.

The native Windows Firewall can be configured to block or allow programs and ports from accessing the internet. I’ll cover this in more details later.

Run Windows Update

Microsoft have already released a number of updates for Windows 7 and its essential that you download them when you first install the new O/S and connect to the web. I would also recommend having Windows Update enabled and set it to download and install automatically, it’s surprising how many people keep this disabled and never bother installing the latest patches from Microsoft which are essential for keeping your installation of Windows 7 up to date.

Install Anti-virus Software

You may already have an anti-virus program that is compatible with Windows 7 and if you have the install disc then I suggest installing the anti-virus as soon as possible. You can also download and try the Microsoft Security Essentials software or get software from one of the official Windows 7 partners.

Upgrade your browser

It’s easy to browse onto an innocent website that maybe distributing malicious software without the owner’s knowledge. It’s essential you use the latest edition of your Internet browser and download any updates when they are made available.

When using Windows Vista for the first time its likely you will be using Internet Explorer to get started, make sure you download all the latest updates before you start the browsing the web. There is alternative to using Internet Explorer which is FireFox, a free open source browser.