Whatâs this new âSecurity Centerâ thing in XP service pack 2 all about?
If youâve installed Windows XP Service Pack 2, one of the first things
youâll be presented with is the new âWindows Security Centerâ.
Whatâs it all about?
In a nutshell, itâs an attempt to raise awareness and put security issues
âin your faceâ while at the same time making it all just a little easier to
deal with.
Letâs look a little more closely.
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The security center focuses on three important areas related to keeping you
computer safe: your firewall, automatic Windows updates, and virus
protection.
Each of these three areas has a ârecommended settingâ that is typically the
most secure. In most cases, the recommended settings are correct, and if youâre
unsure, theyâre the settings to select.
The Windows Firewall is important to enable if you are
connected directly to the internet, or are using a portable computer on some
public network such as an internet cafe or hotspot. Itâs safe to disable if
youâre already behind a firewall, such as a router, and trust all the
other computers with you behind that router.
Automatic Updates should typically be enabled in some
fashion. I personally prefer to have it automatically download, but then
inform me that updates are ready to install so that I can chose when this
happens.
and if youâre unsure, theyâre the settings to select.â
You should have some kind of Virus Protection, and the
Security Center will alert you if it thinks you donât. While Microsoft does not
currently have itâs own anti-virus package, the Security Center includes a link
to a page where Microsoft lists several partners providing reputable anti-virus
solutions.
As I said, the Security Center is intended to raise awareness and make it
easier to configure these important components of keeping your computer safe on
the internet. For the most part, itâs alerting us to issues that we should all
be aware of, and dealing with.
Iâve teamed up with Lockergnome to provide a new
video tip each week. View the tip Exploring the Windows XP
Security Center and watch as I walk through the various options presented
in this new Windows feature.
I just installed SP2 and I have Norton Antivirus and ZoneAlarm firewall so I tried to disable the Alert Settings in Security Center but everytime I reboot the settings donât save and Iâm bothered with the annoying âYou computer may be at riskâ alert. Do you have any ideas on how to solve this? I wouldnât mind just getting rid of Security Center as it just tells me a bunch of crap that I already know.
If you open up the security center, and hit the ârecommendationsâ button for anti-virus and for firewall, thereâs a checkbox that says âI have something Iâll monitor myselfâ. Select that for both and it should stop bugging you.
Leo, this does not work, for every time you reboot it resets itself and gives you the same
âYour computer may be at riskâ . Is there anyway to remove Security Center all together????
Actually it does work. Iâve rebooted enough times to be certain of that, and the security center is not bugging me at all (and Iâve set it as I described â I monitor my own firewall and anti-virus). Iâm not aware of any way to uninstall the security center. Make sure you have administrator privileges when you change the settings â thatâs all I can think of that might be getting in the way right now.
Ok well thanks for trying. It still doensât work.
Actually Leo, Randy is right. Iâve selected that option too and everytime I restart I get the same crap. I think it has to do with ZoneAlarm. But anyway, I have found a way to disable Security Center and I donât see any harm in doing this because itâs just a stupid app that tells computer illiterate people that their comp is not protected.
To disable, click Start/Run. Type msconfig and click ok. Now click the Services tab and search for Security Center (probably near the bottom) and unselect the check box and press ok. At the confirmation box, click Restart and it will be gone for as long as that box is unchecked. :)
And thanks for trying to help Leo. I appreciated it.
You can disable it another way, too. Right-click on My Computer and click Manage. Expand Services and Applicatoins and click on Services. On the right, find Security Center. Right-click and select Properties. First hit the âStopâ button to stop the service, then in the selection box for âStartup Typeâ select âDisabled.â Then hit âApply.â You shouldnât get any more messages as long as the service is turned off.
Hi guys â Symantec confirm that their code prevents Security Center from detecting the status of Norton Antivirus, but that an update will be available soon from LiveUpdate that will sort it out. They donât say exactly when, just âsoon after SP2 is availableâ. Hope that helps.
However, nice isnât it that Norton has to release an update so that the Security Center isnât thought of as a virus? Any conspiracy theorists out thereâŠ?
Thanks for the solution Kyle (and Joshua) I restarted a hundred times and the damn thing pops up everytime no matter what options I chose.
I have both Zone Alarm and Norton Antivirus but I think it had more to do with Zone Alarm since it was only the firewall annoyance that kept coming up.
I think that update from Symantec is already out. If itâs the WMI update thing, Iâve already had it and it didnât stop the annoyances.
it also blocks codecs from being dled from microsofts codec site which makes media player all that useless
@drew
instead of media player try JetAudio (plus)
http://jeraudio.com
:)
Go to http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=883792
It explains how to use the âChange the way security center alerts meâ to stop the annoying pop up.
Mark
I had the same firewall alert annoyance ever since I installed SP2. and that is despite the fact that I checked the âI have a firewall solution that Iâll monitor myselfâ tab under recommendations. I donât have zonelaram or any other firewall program installed on my computer.
I wonder what makes this stupid bug occur.
thanks guys for the tips on how to disable that ridiculous security center.