An Inside Look at Windows Security Center?
Microsoft’s Windows Security Center is a component of the
Windows operating system that provides users with comprehensive
protection from all of the most common security threats. Windows
Security Center is not installed on all versions of Windows, but
Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 all offer this service.
Although Windows Security Center does not offer same level of
computer protection as security programs offered by companies like
Norton and McAfee, the Windows Security Center acts provides an
excellent level of protection whenever a commercial security
program has been disabled. Here is an inside look at the primary
features of Windows Security Center and the areas in which it falls
short.
Windows Security Center lets computer users monitor the security
of their computer system from a control panel that provides very
easy to understand indications of whether everything is operating
smoothly. The control panel indicates the current states of a
computer’s security by turning green when everything is protected,
yellow when there is something that a computer user should be aware
of and red when there is a serious problem. Windows Security Center
consists of Windows Defender, Windows Firewall and Windows Updates
and typically runs smoothly in the background of the operating
system by running system scans and downloading updates without a
computer user needing to take any action.
While Windows Security Center provides a good deal of coverage
from the most major online threats that the average computer user
is likely to encounter, it is also has a number of flaws. One of
the most well-known flaws presented by this component of the
Windows operating system is a vulnerability that allows scareware
to increase the threat level indicated by Windows Security Center.
Scareware is a type of malware that is designed to frighten
computer users into installing a spyware program promoted as an
antivirus program or to provide their credit card number to an
unscrupulous software vendor. Some types of scareware are able to
change the settings on Windows Security Center to indicate that
there are damaging viruses that have infected the computer when the
only malicious code on the computer is the scareware itself.