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Tired of Windows 7 already? Then we have some good news for you: you only have one more year to wait for Windows 8 to be released! Doesn’t that sound excellent? It should, because if you liked Windows 7, you’ll absolutely love Windows 8! New features and graphical changes are going to be only a few of the changes it will bring.

Here are some more features that it may contain, but keep in mind that these are not officially confirmed by Microsoft. They are simply gathered from rumors and screenshots floating around online. Take these with a grain of salt, but remember that most of them have a high chance of appearing in the final product.

The most notable feature is native PDF support. What does that mean to regular users? It means they’ll no longer have to install Adobe Acrobat Reader or any other PDF reading software guide, as they’ll have the Modern Reader application. This makes new users happy and it makes experienced users happy as well. Why install extra software if it’s not required? Some rumors state that Modern Reader will allow different formats to be opened, and not only PDF, but this remains to be seen or confirmed.

Do you have an Android phone? Then you probably know the log-in screen with the 9 block grid where squares have to be tapped in order for the phone to be unlocked. Well, Microsoft though it would be nice for Windows 8 to have this feature as well, only instead of a 9 block grid it will have a 16 block grid. This will be much more difficult to crack by other users and will provide the computer with an added security boost.

Something else that will add a security boost to the computer is facial recognition. A good webcam is required for this and users will be able to log in to the computer only if the software recognizes them. Such software already exists but it doesn’t have the best of results, so Microsoft is trying to produce its own, with perfect detection rate. If they’ll succeed or not we’ll only know once Windows 8 is launched.

The extremely familiar Task Manager is finally getting an upgrade. New options, better visualization, and other extra features will be available in the new Task Manager. It should be easier to use by everyone, new users and experienced users alike, so this is one change everyone is looking forward to.

Internet Explorer 10 will also make an appearance, as is expected. Internet Explorer 9 is relatively new but this doesn’t stop Microsoft from working on the new version. It will be a part of Windows, like always, and people should get used to it much easier. It has a very easy to use full screen interface; it offers multiple skins, better functionality, and a minimum number of options. All of these combined create a browser that is not only easy to use but also quite fast.

For extra Internet security, a Smart-screen filter exists. This will scan any site you open or any file you download and it will prevent you from opening the file or site if it finds a bad report about it in the database. This will quickly become invaluable to inexperienced users who were constantly having problems due to downloads and computer viruses. System administrators will also find this to be helpful as it will cut down on the number of viruses and computer crashes caused by users downloading the wrong files.

Check back soon for a complete list of features Windows 8 will have!

This article is written by Kevin Moor who writes for online-virus-scan.org, a site reviewing and testing various online virus scan issues.