Windows 8 is more than just a tablet-style user interface glued on top of Windows 7. For Windows 8, Microsoft thought of several new ways to make desktop computing safer and more efficient.

#1—Windows 8 Is The Most Secure Version Of Windows Yet

As the leading operating system in the world, Windows has always been the number one target for hackers. Especially now days with so many new ways to gather your information and even steal your identity. Over the years we’ve become used to thinking of Windows as insecure, but the security of Windows has been making significant improvements since Vista.

Windows 8 takes a major step forward by encouraging users to install applications only from the Windows Store. Before a programmer can add an app to the Windows store, the app needs to pass a test suite and be verified by Microsoft, ensuring the app works correctly and does not deliberately harm your computer.

If you only install apps from the Windows Store, you can disable all other programs from installing on your computer, effectively blocking most viruses. This is fantastic news for computer security in windows 8 but if you still have earlier versions of Windows you may need to see these 10 computer security tips.

Windows 8 also continues Microsoft’s tradition (since Windows XP SP2) of bundling a firewall, so Windows 8 includes all of the necessary security tools.

#2—Less Maintenance Required

The Windows Store also fixes one of the long-standing problems on Windows—different applications can interfere with each other.

Applications from the Windows Store must pass a test suite which prevents them from conflicting with each other. Although no automated test suite is perfect, most pre-8 application were never tested at all, so the increase in system stability will be enormous. Therefore in theory this will cut down computer maintenance tasks and save a lot of headaches.

#3—Touchscreen Support

Much of the criticism of Windows 8 focuses on its touchscreen, but I suspect many of the critics never tried using a touchscreen on previous versions of Windows.

In previous versions of Windows, the touchscreen was treated like a mouse. That seems to make sense until you try to use a touch screen as a mouse. How do you right click on a touch screen? What do you use as a scroll wheel? What happens if you accidentally touch two parts of the screen at the same time?

Windows 8 fixes all of that and also introduces a user interface which makes touchscreens enjoyable—a significant improvement over previous versions of Windows.

#4—Support For Non-x86 Platforms

Almost all Windows computers since Windows 1.0 have used either 32-bit or 64-bit Intel processors (x86 processors). A few old versions of Windows briefly supported the Intel Itanium (IA) processor and there was a rumored abandoned port to the PowerPC platform Macs used for so many years.

Windows 8 is the first version of Windows to offer mainstream support for a non-x86 platform. You can now buy laptops and netbooks running Windows 8 on the ARM chipset, which is great news because the ARM chipset uses less power than most traditional Intel-style chips.

No previous version of Windows has tried so hard to be portable.

#5—Reinstall Without Reinstalling

The most effective way (but not always the most efficient way) to fix software problems on your computer has always been to reinstall Windows by formatting the hard drive. Also, securely deleting your data and reinstalling Windows is an annoying but necessary step before selling your computer to someone else.

Unfortunately, almost no computer manufacturer gives away Windows install disks anymore and their reinstall boot options are a mixed bag.

The new Windows Reset And Refresh option makes reinstalling Windows easy. You can reset your settings to default but save all of your applications. Or you can reinstall Windows and wipe out your data. Or you can even securely erase your computer and reinstall Windows.

Although Windows 8 should be more secure (improvement #1) and more stable (improvement #2) than previous versions of Windows, it’s now also easier to fix and give away.