Windows Vista Home Basic Edition Upgrade from Microsoft is the entry-level version of Microsoft's Vista operating system. This upgrade can be used by licensed owners of Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP or another edition of Windows Vista.

Vista Home Basic is designed to meet the needs of home users. It features the enhanced security of an integrated firewall with Windows Defender spyware prevention software, parental control tools, a powerful Instant Search program and Internet Explorer 7 for web browsing. Vista Home Basic is an excellent operating system for home users who require basic functionality.

• Windows Defender and Firewall

Windows Defender works to protect your computer from viruses, spyware and other threats. Spyware can often cause pop-up ads, spam e-mail and other annoyances on your computer. Vista also includes an integrated firewall that protects your computer from malicious attacks that originate from the Internet.

• Instant Search

Vista features the Instant Search box, conveniently located on the start menu that allows you to quickly search the contents of your computer. Instant Search is a great tool for quickly locating a document based on a word, phrase, property or file name.

• Internet Explorer 7

Internet Explorer 7 is included for web browsing. IE7 is a fully-functional web browser that includes support for tabbed browsing, RSS feeds and advanced web pages. It even features a protected mode for browsing that allows full web functionality but locks out users from changing important settings on the computer itself.