When you are used to using Windows based computers, installing the right security tools on the operating system becomes a way of life. You know that there are hundreds of different pieces of malware that are out there waiting to be installed on your computer and cause havoc. The only thing to stop them is the protection software that you put on your computer. In the past you had to purchase most of your protection separately from the operating system. That is no longer the case. In this article we will talk about three pieces of software that you can get from the Microsoft web site that will make sure that your computer is safe.

Microsoft Security Essentials

The first tool that we are going to talk about is Microsoft Security Essentials. This tool will allow you to install the latest antivirus and Spyware protection from Microsoft. Over the years, Microsoft has let third parties do most of the heavy lifting when it came to the protection against viruses on the computer. Recently they have realized that hoping for third parties to do the job isn’t enough. So they have placed their own versions of the tools on the market and best of all they are free.

No one else should know how to protect the Windows operating system better than Microsoft. They have the available source code and are able to find bugs inside the crevices better than anyone else. Another good thing about having this software installed on your computer is that you get regular updates with the normal Windows update manager. This way not only will you be reminded to install the updates of the antivirus; you will also be reminded to install the updates of the rest of the operating system as well. This leads to better security overall.

Microsoft Firewall

While this software comes installed automatically on the latest Windows operating system, it doesn’t on the older versions. Also, you can use the Windows update to make sure that you are running the latest versions. To be sure that you are totally protected when you are on the Internet, you need a firewall. This will protect the ports that are open on your computer. These ports are used by the bad guys to be able to get into your computer remotely. With the firewall software installed this will not happen.

The latest version of Internet Explorer

What a lot of people do not understand is that security on the internet starts with the browser. If you do not have a strong browser then you are only asking for trouble. There are a lot of alternative strong browsers available for free but there is still a large group of people who like IE. If you are going to use IE then you should go to the web site and use the latest version. If you do not then you are setting yourself up for trouble.

These are three tools that you can get from Microsoft that will allow your computing experience to be a lot safer.

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