Action Center

Action Center, provides a central reporting area for problems related to security and maintenance. Action Center notifications appear in taskbar balloons that remind users that they should address certain issues related to their computer. Action Center can provide security and maintenance warning messages on the following subjects:

• Windows Update
• Internet security settings
• Network firewall
• Spyware and related protection
• User Account Control (UAC)
• Virus Protection
• Windows Backup
• Windows Troubleshooting

Action Center relies upon the Security Center service being active. If this service is not active, the Action Center does not function. Other networking services, such as Network Access Protection (NAP), which is used to keep computers that do not have updates installed from connecting to either local corporate networks or virtual private networks (VPNs) also rely on the Security Center service being active. A user with administrative privileges can configure Action Center to customize which message types are displayed. You can reach this dialog box by clicking the Change Action Center settings item in the Action Center Control panel.