Windows Vista Security For Dummies®

Chapter 3. Dispensing Security from Windows Security Center

In This Chapter

• What's new in Windows Security Center (WSC)

• Monitoring your security status with WSC

• Managing your essential security tools with WSC

Windows Security Center (WSC) made its debut with Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), offering users a central interface that alerts them when certain security settings need attention. It even went as far as to offer some recommendations as to how to fix a problem when it was detected, but it fell short of providing the user a clear and intuitive path. In the end, it was very much up to the user to figure out how to fix the problem that WSC cited. Even still, WSC was a hit with many users. WSC presents users with a dashboard where they can view security settings, such as Firewall, Automatic Updates, Virus Protection, and Internet Options.

During the development of Vista, quite a bit of hype and controversy surrounded the new and improved WSC. Microsoft piled the hype on WSC almost as much as on Vista itself. Third‐party vendors screamed foul because they believed that Microsoft was imposing WSC on users and not allowing them to integrate their products with WSC. When the smoke cleared, however, third‐party vendors could integrate with WSC and the features and functionality in the Vista WSC. In this chapter, you find out how to dispense security for your Vista system by using the new and improved WSC.

Windows Security Center Essentials

Windows Security Center comes with a handful of new ...