With Windows 7, the security pain of the past decade comes to a decisive close. This is the most secure Windows version ever created, one that builds on the solid and proven foundation of Windows Vista while removing some of the heft and monolith intransience of its predecessor. Perfect? No, Microsoft still bows to the industry machinery that prevents it from just protecting Windows users across the board and bundling core anti-malware functionality into the OS. But it's still better than ever, and let's face, there isn't a PC sold today that doesn't come with some form of additional security software. And Microsoft's unfortunately separate (but free) Security Essentials package completes the picture. Let's take a look.