Microsoft offers free antivirus protection for Genuine Windows users.

Microsoft Security Essentials is a free antivirus program for those who have genuine copies of Windows. As I'm not using (at all) any OS from MS I wasn't able to test it, but I can tell you some details and what is being told about it. So, what's good is that it is free (of course, if your copy of Windows is licensed) and it is made by Microsoft, who knows exactly what's inside the operating system so they can fix any vulnerability faster than a regular security company.

They say that it protects your computer against viruses, spyware and other kinds of malicious software, all in real-time. What I think that is bad, simply because it is made by Microsoft, is that it may fail regularly in different situations (fake alarms, issues when running, weak detection and stuff). But this is not something proven and is based on my past experience with Microsoft's products.

Those who tested said that it detected and resolved several threats better than NOD32, and even used less resources, but I doubt that this is something relevant (as I haven't seen any "serious" tests). There are comments on blogs where this product was reviewed in which the people told that it is a very bad protection program, because it wasn't able to detect important trojans/viruses so my doubts come also from here.

You can download and try Microsoft Security Essentials from http://www.microsoft.com/Security_essentials/ .

Did you know that Windows 7 can run applications designed for previous versions of Windows ?

For those who recently turned from Windows XP to 7, there is an (very) useful option that can make programs made for Windows XP, to run on Windows 7, even if they're not compatible with it. All you have to do is to right-click on an application, click "Properties", then go on "Compatibility" tab. You now have to click on "Run this program in compatibility mode for:", and select "Windows XP (Service Pack 2)".

This trick works to applications, games, and even drivers. Even if this usually works, it is recommended to use the Windows 7 designed versions, especially for drivers, which may have different problems if they are ran this way (may be unstable, cause crashes, and even may not work at all).

Warning: this trick may not work for any application; i'm not responsable for any loss/damage you can occur by using this trick