Windows 7 Features

Windows 7 Feature - Windows Defender and Firewall

One of the important features of the Windows 7 security modules is the Windows Firewall. The windows firewall is a tool that blocks any unwanted traffic from the Internet to the user’s PC which protects the user from harmful programs and/or hackers that could infect their computer. By default, the windows firewall is set to ‘enabled’ with a basic set of firewall rules.

With the release of Windows 7, Microsoft has improved the graphical interface of the firewall tool which allows the user to fine-tune their protection and notifications for each network profile. These profiles are also an added addition to the firewall tool which allows the user to pick which profile to use for which connection they establish. Currently there are 3 profiles with different rule sets – Home, Work and Public. Each profile has it’s own set of rules depending on the environment. An example of this would be if the user was at the public library and connected to their wireless connection. Because they are on a ‘Public’ connection, they would pick the public rule when asked. This profile is the most secure because of a ‘public’ environment versus the ‘home ‘profile.

Windows 7 - Parental Control

The windows 7 – Parental Control feature is a great feature for parents who do not have the money or knowledge of setting up third-party parental control applications. Microsoft has made it easy for parents to control the content their children view and access.

With parental control, the parents can limit how much time the children spend on the computer, what programs and games they can use and when. The parental control feature can also block which shows and movies that are inappropriate for their viewing. The parental control feature also works well with Windows Live Family Safety, which is a free program that helps manage websites and chat program the children may use.