Windows is the operating system for most personal computers. It has a file manager, program manager, and Internet Explorer browser programs.
It also includes a task manager to allow users to view and control running applications and processes. The system can be accessed by clicking the Start button or by pressing the keyboard’s start key.
Overview
Microsoft Windows is a computer operating system used on personal computers (PCs). It comes preloaded on most PCs and allows users to complete common tasks such as browsing the Internet, checking email, editing digital photos, listening to music, playing games, and writing documents.
The first version of Windows was released in 1985 as a graphical shell for MS-DOS. It allowed users to visually navigate a virtual desktop and open graphical “windows” displaying electronic folders and files instead of typing commands at a text prompt.
Since then, Microsoft has released a number of new versions of Windows, including Windows 8, which introduced features designed to improve the experience on touch-based devices such as tablets and all-in-one PCs. Each version of Windows also includes a variety of tools for changing and configuring the system, such as the Control Panel, which allows users to set a default language, change keyboard and mouse settings, configure power saving options, and view system logs.
Security
Keeping your Windows computer up-to-date is a critical step in protecting it. Many hardware and software vendors offer security patches and updates on a regular basis to fix problems or patch vulnerabilities that hackers can use to gain access to your system. Subscribe to your vendor’s mailing list so that you and your IT staff receive the latest notifications when patches are available.
Another built-in security feature is the User Account Control. This tool warns you whenever a program tries to change your computer’s settings and locks the screen until an Administrator confirms the action. This prevents malware from making unauthorized changes to your system.
Another feature is BitLocker, which encrypts the contents of your drive using a standard called XTS-AES and uses 128-bit encryption by default. This ensures that even if a device is stolen, the data is unreadable. It also offers a number of security options, including a hardware root-of-trust and secure boot.
Compatibility
Windows compatibility features enable you to run software designed for an older version of Windows on a newer version. This is useful when you upgrade hardware or move to a new operating system.
Compatibility fixes, or shims, work by adding a layer of indirection between the application and the external binary files. When API calls to the DLL are made, the shim redirects them to the compatible Windows function instead. This is similar to the way a proxy works, but is much more sophisticated.
A disadvantage of using compatibility mode is reduced performance because the emulation process can consume system resources. Additionally, running legacy software in compatibility mode may expose the system to security risks if the original vendor has not fixed vulnerabilities that have been discovered in newer versions of the application or operating system. For these reasons, it is important to identify mission-critical applications and test them against the target OS prior to an organizational-wide rollout.
Maintenance
Keeping your Windows computer updated with the latest patches is one of the best ways to keep it running smoothly. The Automatic Maintenance feature in Windows automatically scans your PC for updates and lets you know when new ones are available.
The Automatic Maintenance feature in windows automatically runs the following tasks during idle time on a daily basis: software & app updates, security & malware scanning, disk optimization & defragmentation and system diagnostics. It does not interrupt the user experience and respects the Power Management policy on laptops, allowing the machine to wake up for the specified duration (a maximum of 1 hour per session) and then go back to sleep.
IT professionals can use the maintenance window feature to define when Configuration Manager can run impacting tasks on a collection of devices. Each maintenance window can be configured with an effective date, a start and end time, and a recurrence pattern. The maximum duration of a maintenance window is 24 hours.