Windows Vista Security Center
Mon, 03/05/2007 - 19:36 — Ciprian
The Windows Security Center was first included in Windows XP Service Pack 2. Its main purpose is to provide the ability to view and change the status of computer security settings and services. Even though it looks the same, Windows Security Center evolved a bit in Windows Vista.
Now the Security Center monitors a wider variety of settings and informs the user if there is a problem. In this guide we will show you how to configure it.
First, type "security center" in one of the search boxes from the Start Menu or from the Control Panel and click on the first result. As you can see, the information provided by the Security Center is split into several categories.
In the Firewall category, Security Center checks and shows if the computer is protected by a software firewall. If the firewall is off, Security Center will give you the possibility to turn it back on.
Also, you can use Security Center to make sure Automatic updating is turned on. If it is turned off, the Security Center will display a notification and will give you the possibility to turn it back on. To do that, click on the Change settings... button.
In the first screen you have two options: Install updates automatically and Let me choose. If you want to configure when the updates are downloaded and installed, choose the second option. Otherwise the first option is just perfect.
If you choose the second option, Windows Vista will show another window were you can make further configuration settings. After you finished, click the OK button.
In the Malware protection section, the Security Center shows if you have up-to-date anti-spyware and antivirus software installed.
The Other security settings section reports if your Internet security settings and User Account Control settings are set at the recommended levels. If they are not, the Security Center will show a notification. In our screenshot, the Security Center reports that UAC is turned off. To turn it back on, press the Turn on now button.
You can also change the way you want to be notified of security issues. On the left side of the Security Center window there is an option called Change the way Security Center alerts me. Click on it and you will see the following screen. You can choose to keep both the icon and notifications, to keep only the icon or to completely disable the Security Center by selecting the third option.
Related articles:
Windows Firewall
Windows Defender
How to turn on or off the Windows Vista Firewall
Change the permissions and take ownership of your files and folders
What is Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool (mrt.exe) and how to use it
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Comments
Web Sites
I have spent 7 hours on the phone with tech support with no success. I can not access all the web sites that I want to. I bought this Dell computer (with Vista) one week ago to use it the way I want, not the way It tells me I can use it. Plus it is very slow accessing webs sites. If I finally get the site then it won't let me link to something on that web site. Can anybody help. I'm ready to send it back. One more thing, when I hook up my old Demension 2400 with XP, I have no problen navigating anywhere I want. I'm at my wits end!!!!!
use the forum
Please write a topic on the forum about this. More people will see the title of the topic and you have more chances of getting the help you need.
Disabling Security Center Notifications for all users.
Does anyone know if there is a way to do this via a policy or a regkey entry? I know you can set it though the gui per user , in the reg if you know the users SID, or if you have a domain controller.
Some of my computers have multiple users that log into it and the popups and tray icon are annoying.
Thanks in advance.
Security clash - can't stop POP-UPs
Hi, my daughter is away at uni and has vista on her laptop.
She has Norton internet security and a couple of weeks ago (last visit) there was a prompt to enable windows vista security, so I did. Since then although the pop-up blocker is set to the highest level they keep popping up! as long as the laptop is connected to the internet she gets pop-ups, she can be watching a DVD and not even have the internet running in the back ground and she will get pop-ups across the DVD she is watching, the only solution so far is take the internet cable out of the laptop has anyone any suggestions?
Pop-ups
What messages do you receive via those pop-ups?
What are they telling you?
Pop-Ups
The pop-ups issue sounds like you have some adware on the laptop. Vista + Norton/Symantec is a pretty good resource hog setup. Vista alone requires a more decked out comp, and there's noticeable delays in you being able to use the desktop, because when it shows up, Vista starts running all kinds of other services to check for updates and crap, which bogs down the user's usage. Vista then has things like Windows Defender constantly going, which can lag down the user, since Windows Defender is running at the same priority as the user, you're end up fighting to use the same resources. And, since Windows Defender and other Services are software, they have supernatural reflexes and can tie up resources faster than you can.
Add in Norton & Symantec, which are both decent products, but notoriously heavy and system-intensive, and you end up with quite a bit of overhead bogging down your comp while you're trying to use it.
So, typical scenario for a non-tech-savvy user is to just go through a little habit of right-clicking on all the task bar icons that show up and exiting / quitting all of it, since stops those programs from bogging things down ... at the risk of getting infected with a virus or ad/spy/mal-ware.
You may have thought you were doing a good thing by putting all that stuff on there to protect your daughter's laptop, but she probably habitually turns it all off when she's using the computer so the computer, you know, is actually responsive to her. And, in surfing the net, she probably got some adware that Norton isn't familiar with.
You should get the following, and use them in addition to anti-virus:
* Spybot Search & Destroy
* Spyware Blaster
* Ad-Aware
They're all free, and you can get them at MajorGeeks.com, Download.com, or other respectable software d/l sites. Spyware Blaster sets up an address block list of common bad offenders to prevent them from touching your computer in the first place. It's like putting a condom on your computer to protect against spyware.
Spybot S&D lets you scan your comp for anomalies that may have slipped past the prophylactic. It also lets you enable a watch-dog that monitors for registry & IE changes on-the-fly, to catch junk as it happens and put a stop to it.
Ad-Aware is the old anti-adware fav, which is updated regularly and helps sweep adware pop-up things off your comp.
You should also steer away from Internet Explorer and move towards Firefox, using the Ad-Block Plus and No Script plug-ins. Firefox does a good job of eliminating pop-ups from surfing, but Ad-Block Plus lets you eliminate sneaky ones, and prevent picture ads and junk. No Script basically prevents all pages from running Active X & Java scripts, which may be hostile. You can easily temporarily or permanently allow scripts to run on pages or sites on a case by case basis as you see fit.
However, while that adds extra protection to prevent you from getting things while surfing in the future, if you're getting pop-ups even when you're not surfing the net, it's pretty good bet you have adware sneaked onto your system, and Norton is either not catching it, or you don't have its anti-adware component running (not even sure if it has an anti-adware component...I thought Symantec and Norton were all-in-one, so I assume it does). If it has an anti-adware feature, try manually running it and see what it finds. If you get nothing, try manually running Ad-Aware and see what it finds. There's a few other anti-adware programs you can try on MajorGeeks.com. One of them should be able to sniff out what's violating your computer.
Hope this helps.
Secruity Center Problem
ok so I turn on my computer and the screen automatically goes to the secruity center. It shows there are problems with the program, I believe 50 errors. But the thing is I cant get to the desktop to download a norton. I wanted to use norton instead but I cant install it because I cant get to the decktop. I used ctrl, alt, del to shut down the secruity center page but then the background is just blue. Please tell me how to get to the desktop.
Security Center Problem
Try opening your internet browser via the Task Manager. Then navigate to the site, download and save it to an area you will remember. Open that folder via the Task Manager again, and then install the file
Telstra USB modem
I believe that the Security Centre in Windows Vista is preventing the modem software from loading. How do I change the security to enable the software to load.
problems after installing Vista Security Center
When Vista Security Center kept popping up and warning me that I was being threatened by Trojan Horse and Worm, I purchased it for three years.
The next time I started up, it had vanished from my system, but I could not open any files by doubleclicking, and the computer keeps asking me which program the file is to be opened with (!!@@##!!).
What is going on here ? Please help me out,
Theo from Holland
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