Windows Vista Security: Praxisorientierte Sicherheit für Profis

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Chapter 15: Protecting Your Computer with Windows Defender and Windows Firewall

Introducing the Windows Security Center

Microsoft introduced the Security Center in Windows XP. Windows Vista follows

suit, and its Security Center offers greater flexibility than the previous offerings of the

product. Here you are presented with a console to manage the most common security

tasks and elements associated with your computer. Microsoft has made it very simple

and effective to use, and continues with the standard “lighting” scheme of red, yel-

low, and green for ease of use. Figure 15-1 shows an example of the Security Center

management window and its available features.

The Security Center offers you the ability to manage security operations on the com-

puter from a single interface. You can find the Security Center in the Control Panel

within Windows Vista. To open the Windows Security Center, follow these steps:

1. Click Start and then click Control Panel.

2. In the Control Panel, click Security and then click Security Center.

When working in a workgroup configuration, you’ll find options for

turning the various security features on and off. These features are not

available when your computer is a member of a domain. Further, in a

domain configuration, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to change security-

related settings, because they’re usually managed through Group Policy.

Figure 15-1. Viewing the security status of your computer