If you already own a copy of Microsoft Office that includes Outlook, you should explore that option. If you favor a desktop client, the Windows Mail app built into Windows 8 and 10 is actually a pretty solid choice if you don’t need extra features like rules-based sorting. And those are probably your best bet in terms of continually updated features, spam protection, and increased security. To be fair, most people these days have switched over to using a web-based email service like Gmail or.

Having new security updates available is pretty important in an email client. Though you can still keep using it if you want to, we don’t recommend it. Windows Live Mail is probably the most important component of Windows Essentials 2012 for you to replace.

The Best Alternatives to Windows Live Mail If you’re using Windows 7, you will need to download the OneDrive app, but it’s all new since the one offered in Windows Essentials 2012 and it’s continually updated. OneDrive is also now built into Windows 8 and 10. They’re not quite as fully featured as those that the Family Safety app offered, but they should do most of what you need. If you’re using Windows 7, there are Parental Controls built in. RELATED: How to Use Parental Controls on Windows 7 In fact, if you are using either of those, you won’t even get the option to install the Family Safety app along with the suite. So what if you want to replace Windows Essentials apps with modern equivalents? We’ll start with the easy stuff: All the features of the Family Safety app and OneDrive have been built into Windows 8 and 10, so if you use either of those, you’re good to go. You Don’t Need to Replace Family Safety and OneDrive You’re probably better off with one of the below alternatives anyway. There are copies of it floating around the web, but we generally don’t recommend installing from third-party sources you don’t know or trust, so we won’t link to them here. Microsoft no longer offers the installer for Windows Essentials 2012 for download. For the other apps in the suite, it’s less important. For users of Windows Live Mail, having no security updates will matter the most. Just be aware that there will be no future updates, including security updates. If you’ve already got it installed, you can keep on using it just like you always have. Official support for Windows Essentials 2012 will end, but that doesn’t mean you have to quit using it. You Can Keep Using Windows Essentials 2012

How to install essentials